The Guru's Kitchen: A Journey of Bliss and Vegetarianism

As I stepped into the guru's kitchen, I was immediately struck by the sheer scale of the operation. Seven thousand vegetarian meals were being prepared for dinner tonight alone, a staggering number that seemed to defy logic. The guru, a self-proclaimed advocate of vegetarianism, explained to me that this was just one aspect of his philosophy - a way of living that emphasizes simplicity, integrity, and a deep connection with nature.

The kitchen itself was a testament to the guru's commitment to his principles. With an emphasis on organic produce and locally sourced ingredients, every dish was prepared with precision and care. The chef, a volunteer who had dedicated themselves to the cause, explained the intricacies of fermentation and fermentation timing in creating the perfect masala dosa. This labor of love required patience and attention to detail, but the end result was well worth it.

I couldn't help but notice the eerie silence that filled the kitchen as I entered. It was clear that eating in this environment was not just a physical act, but a spiritual one as well. The guru explained to me that this silence was a key aspect of their approach, allowing individuals to truly connect with their food and the world around them.

As I sampled the delicious dishes being prepared, I couldn't help but ask the question on everyone's mind: what about meat? Wasn't the guru's stance against it a form of moral absolutism? The answer was not a simple yes or no. "Food is not a morality," the guru explained. "It's a question of well-being." In this context, the decision to eat meat became a personal choice, one that was deeply tied to an individual's values and relationship with the natural world.

I must admit, I found myself torn on the issue. As a meat-eater for most of my life, the idea of giving up chicken or lamb seemed radical. But as I watched the chefs expertly preparing each dish, their movements fluid and deliberate, I couldn't help but feel drawn to this way of living. The emphasis on simplicity, sustainability, and community resonated deeply with me.

The guru's philosophy is not just about food; it's about a way of being in the world. As he put it, "vegetarianism is a chemistry of blissfulness." This is not just about eating vegetables; it's about cultivating a deeper connection to life itself. And for those who experience it, this is indeed a profoundly transformative force.

One thing was certain - my experience at the guru's kitchen would be one I would never forget. As I sat down to enjoy my meal in silence, I felt a sense of calm wash over me that I had not experienced in years. The guru smiled knowingly as he watched me take my first bite, his body language conveying a deep understanding of the power of food to transform our lives.

The experience was not without its challenges, however. I soon discovered that eating in silence was not easy for someone like me - accustomed to chatting with friends or watching TV before meals. But with the guru's guidance and support, I slowly learned to quiet my mind and focus on the present moment.

It's been said that spending time at an ashram can be a game-changer. For those willing to take the leap, it offers a chance to recalibrate one's priorities, let go of attachment to certain foods or lifestyles, and connect with something deeper and more meaningful. And for me, my experience in the guru's kitchen was just that - a reminder that sometimes, all it takes is a shift in perspective to transform our lives in profound ways.

As I left the kitchen and bid farewell to the guru and his disciples, I couldn't help but feel grateful for this unexpected journey into the world of vegetarianism. It had been an eye-opening experience, one that would stay with me long after I left the ashram behind. And as I looked back at the peaceful scene unfolding before me, I knew that I would carry the lessons of this place with me forever - a reminder that sometimes, it's not what we eat, but how we eat, that truly matters.

Finally, as I sat down to finish my breakfast, I noticed an old potato sitting on the edge of my plate. The guru had called it "spud" earlier, and now, as I looked at it, I felt a sense of affection for this humble vegetable. It was, after all, not so different from us - a source of nourishment, comfort, and life itself.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwith 14 million people mumbai is india's financial hub and home to bollywood and then from there down south to some of the most stunning coastal line anywhere in the world famed for its fish it's home of the spices it's where the spices originated from i'm completing my culinary adventure of india in the south it's famous for its fish curries and unique spices india produces over half the world's supply but i'm uneasy because south india is also a hotbed of vegetarianism two-fifths of indians are vegetarians and half regularly eat a veggie diet personally i'm a rampant carnivore and vegetarian holier-than-thou attitudes wind me up captain madras please welcome to mumbai thank you very much already within the first two minutes just seemed crazy i mean everyone's a thousand mile an hour look at that the most amazing indian wedding beautiful absolutely starving i'm meant to be rendezvousing with a culinary expert right captain mcgrath rasmus no chicken anywhere i'm meeting rashmi yuday singh she's in his top food critic and wrote the country's very first restaurant guide rashmi hey how are you darling nice to see you thank you lovely to see you you look wonderful thank you and you look really wonderful but you look a little hungry you know i'm very hungry all i want is butter chicken this is a pure vegetarian restaurant the district is pure vegetarian even if you want to rent an apartment garden right i know there's a lot of veggies in india but a whole town they're convinced vegetarianism can combat the evils of modern life what is it with meat eaters why are you so antsy eating so much of chunks of meat and foie gras and all that we believe that that is what is responsible for your bad temper eating meat makes you bad tempers what load of bollocks unlike all that stuff you eat this is actually good for your spirit your emotions your feelings will give you calm it will relax you meat doesn't make me angry it makes me excited just calm down let's get you something to eat please then we'll talk about our south indian mission yeah let's okay repeat after me promise promise to try to try the vegetarian food seriously i i promise i will try vegetarian food you can open mine with an open mind to show me what's out there rashmi's ordered me the most popular veggie meal in india italy samba and roll dosa pancake what's that a lamb shake isn't that beautiful where's the light bulb we buy things like that at the flea market in london do you have a clothes what is that first i'm eating the idlis in a spicy samba soup the texture's like a like a sort of warm sort of texture's like a warm scone it's nice yeah i like that it's moorish it's lovely okay lovely nice you have an open mind and you enjoyed it definitely against my better judgment i've asked rashmi's advice on where to find great vegetarian food she has a radical suggestion you are going to visit an ashram a what an ashram spiritual retreat you are going to go and live there with monks there's a lot of fabulous vegetarian food there i'm not spending all week and my last sort of exciting week as a vegetarian no chance now i'm going now the whole week no you're going to go back with a journey not just to india but into yourself i am not amy winehouse's husband i'm not checking into rehab you're not checking in rehab you're going to find yourself you are in our country you are our guest you are like god the god in me salutes the god of you have a great time good lord be with you the lord jesus and call me if you need me uh yes absolutely i've heard his cooking is the best in the state it's not the kind of transport expected to use to get around no people always have this idea being holy means being impractical yes yeah that's right i have a wife and 1 million children guru's ashram is the aisha center it gets over 700 000 visitors a year he's a popular maharishi and he's looking a bit more serious now i'm very excited to be here more nervous than excited i'm never gone two days of my life without eating meat your system is essentially designed to handle vegetarian diet right if you eat according to that it it handles food effortlessly yes every human experience has a chemical basis in the system right so if you want to create the right kind of chemistry there are various things that one can do yes one of the things is food if you create a chemistry of blissfulness that's how you are all the time that's impossible i'm not going to argue in your temple that's for sure i'm dying to see the kitchens let's go thank you so the guru reckons being vegetarian makes you a joyful karma person if that's true then these kitchens must be amongst the happiest places on earth the size of this place wow it's a veggie hangout look at those vegetables are they grown are they grown here a bit of it that's incredible okay and here are the lychees i'd love one please thank you how long are you here for um for a while you're baking the fundamental rule nobody ever eats in the kitchen before the food is being offered to everybody they never eat you can't eat around food we're always picking in kitchens no fancy a cucumber fancy eliji you gave me it got me into trouble we're not allowed to eat in the kitchen how many meals would you be cooking for today seven thousand vegetarian meals well that breaks my heart the 70 chefs are mostly unpaid volunteers who work seven days on the truck feeding visitors to the ashram where's the meat section the meat is here this is the meat so what is this section they are making a special type of chapati seven thousand in for dinner tonight and look how calm it is how come the kitchen's so calm because they're not eating meat right because this is the heron's kitchen heaven's kitchen not hell's kitchen i like that the guru's disciples eat in a communal dining hall in total silence men and women sit in separate lines tonight's menu is a raw salad of red cabbage and sweet corn tomato chutney with lentils and cottage cheese it's not exactly silver service eating in silence isn't easy for someone like me fortunately i've made a new friend you can even keep your feet to the sidelines that's fine i'll try and cross the card another way just stretch both your legs out yes and sit like this this is called grandmother's style grandmother's side it's incredible i feel so bad i can't cross my legs there notice if you uh the kind of food that you eat also makes the body loose and flexible as well so you're saying if i become a vegetarian my body will become a lot more veg a lot more flexible possibilities i can't i can sit down i can't get to my food you can just hold your certain of course thank you food is actually delicious what amazes me is not just the level integrity but the volume of what they cook for because it's done with such precision you ever ask for more yesterday was a surprise but i've not been turned into a veggie disciple yet we've not had breakfast yet the guru is cooking his speciality the popular masala dosa is a pancake made with dal and rice batter that smells good smells very good smiley fermented that's the potato it's an art to get the dosa right because you have to ferment it to exactly the right proportions that's delicious very crispy see this is a pepper curry you just try a little bit of it the pepper comes straight from our backyard it's organically grown thank you try this and see it could be a little spicy for you yeah no i like that i've been won over by the delicious food but i'm not yet convinced by the guru's reasoning for me a vegetable a vegetable is as alive as a chicken or a lamb or whatever else wrong it is not wrong are you saying that a carrot has the same feelings as a chicken that's not the point feelings does not mean emotions they are sensitive to life around them yes you understand but you killed it you pulled it from the ground you pulled it from the ground but it's not dead if you plant it it'll grow you take such a high moral ground in terms of no meat eating whatsoever food is not a morality food is a question of well-being so you saying that i would be happier for the second half of my life without eating meat you will be calmer and more more at ease but i am calm i am i don't think the world thinks so about your calmness you wouldn't know you don't have any televisions here let's agree to disagree yes spud potato love it thank you have a lovely breakfast thank you it's taken a long time but you heard it here first i'm calling a ceasefire with vegetarians if you're ever thinking of going vegetarian then get to an ashram quickly because that's the confirmation of how good it can be but he is nuts i think he's gesticulating much less than yesterday don't you notice that his body movements are little first of all i'm definitely more chilled out there's no ways about that um yeah it has been an experience youwith 14 million people mumbai is india's financial hub and home to bollywood and then from there down south to some of the most stunning coastal line anywhere in the world famed for its fish it's home of the spices it's where the spices originated from i'm completing my culinary adventure of india in the south it's famous for its fish curries and unique spices india produces over half the world's supply but i'm uneasy because south india is also a hotbed of vegetarianism two-fifths of indians are vegetarians and half regularly eat a veggie diet personally i'm a rampant carnivore and vegetarian holier-than-thou attitudes wind me up captain madras please welcome to mumbai thank you very much already within the first two minutes just seemed crazy i mean everyone's a thousand mile an hour look at that the most amazing indian wedding beautiful absolutely starving i'm meant to be rendezvousing with a culinary expert right captain mcgrath rasmus no chicken anywhere i'm meeting rashmi yuday singh she's in his top food critic and wrote the country's very first restaurant guide rashmi hey how are you darling nice to see you thank you lovely to see you you look wonderful thank you and you look really wonderful but you look a little hungry you know i'm very hungry all i want is butter chicken this is a pure vegetarian restaurant the district is pure vegetarian even if you want to rent an apartment garden right i know there's a lot of veggies in india but a whole town they're convinced vegetarianism can combat the evils of modern life what is it with meat eaters why are you so antsy eating so much of chunks of meat and foie gras and all that we believe that that is what is responsible for your bad temper eating meat makes you bad tempers what load of bollocks unlike all that stuff you eat this is actually good for your spirit your emotions your feelings will give you calm it will relax you meat doesn't make me angry it makes me excited just calm down let's get you something to eat please then we'll talk about our south indian mission yeah let's okay repeat after me promise promise to try to try the vegetarian food seriously i i promise i will try vegetarian food you can open mine with an open mind to show me what's out there rashmi's ordered me the most popular veggie meal in india italy samba and roll dosa pancake what's that a lamb shake isn't that beautiful where's the light bulb we buy things like that at the flea market in london do you have a clothes what is that first i'm eating the idlis in a spicy samba soup the texture's like a like a sort of warm sort of texture's like a warm scone it's nice yeah i like that it's moorish it's lovely okay lovely nice you have an open mind and you enjoyed it definitely against my better judgment i've asked rashmi's advice on where to find great vegetarian food she has a radical suggestion you are going to visit an ashram a what an ashram spiritual retreat you are going to go and live there with monks there's a lot of fabulous vegetarian food there i'm not spending all week and my last sort of exciting week as a vegetarian no chance now i'm going now the whole week no you're going to go back with a journey not just to india but into yourself i am not amy winehouse's husband i'm not checking into rehab you're not checking in rehab you're going to find yourself you are in our country you are our guest you are like god the god in me salutes the god of you have a great time good lord be with you the lord jesus and call me if you need me uh yes absolutely i've heard his cooking is the best in the state it's not the kind of transport expected to use to get around no people always have this idea being holy means being impractical yes yeah that's right i have a wife and 1 million children guru's ashram is the aisha center it gets over 700 000 visitors a year he's a popular maharishi and he's looking a bit more serious now i'm very excited to be here more nervous than excited i'm never gone two days of my life without eating meat your system is essentially designed to handle vegetarian diet right if you eat according to that it it handles food effortlessly yes every human experience has a chemical basis in the system right so if you want to create the right kind of chemistry there are various things that one can do yes one of the things is food if you create a chemistry of blissfulness that's how you are all the time that's impossible i'm not going to argue in your temple that's for sure i'm dying to see the kitchens let's go thank you so the guru reckons being vegetarian makes you a joyful karma person if that's true then these kitchens must be amongst the happiest places on earth the size of this place wow it's a veggie hangout look at those vegetables are they grown are they grown here a bit of it that's incredible okay and here are the lychees i'd love one please thank you how long are you here for um for a while you're baking the fundamental rule nobody ever eats in the kitchen before the food is being offered to everybody they never eat you can't eat around food we're always picking in kitchens no fancy a cucumber fancy eliji you gave me it got me into trouble we're not allowed to eat in the kitchen how many meals would you be cooking for today seven thousand vegetarian meals well that breaks my heart the 70 chefs are mostly unpaid volunteers who work seven days on the truck feeding visitors to the ashram where's the meat section the meat is here this is the meat so what is this section they are making a special type of chapati seven thousand in for dinner tonight and look how calm it is how come the kitchen's so calm because they're not eating meat right because this is the heron's kitchen heaven's kitchen not hell's kitchen i like that the guru's disciples eat in a communal dining hall in total silence men and women sit in separate lines tonight's menu is a raw salad of red cabbage and sweet corn tomato chutney with lentils and cottage cheese it's not exactly silver service eating in silence isn't easy for someone like me fortunately i've made a new friend you can even keep your feet to the sidelines that's fine i'll try and cross the card another way just stretch both your legs out yes and sit like this this is called grandmother's style grandmother's side it's incredible i feel so bad i can't cross my legs there notice if you uh the kind of food that you eat also makes the body loose and flexible as well so you're saying if i become a vegetarian my body will become a lot more veg a lot more flexible possibilities i can't i can sit down i can't get to my food you can just hold your certain of course thank you food is actually delicious what amazes me is not just the level integrity but the volume of what they cook for because it's done with such precision you ever ask for more yesterday was a surprise but i've not been turned into a veggie disciple yet we've not had breakfast yet the guru is cooking his speciality the popular masala dosa is a pancake made with dal and rice batter that smells good smells very good smiley fermented that's the potato it's an art to get the dosa right because you have to ferment it to exactly the right proportions that's delicious very crispy see this is a pepper curry you just try a little bit of it the pepper comes straight from our backyard it's organically grown thank you try this and see it could be a little spicy for you yeah no i like that i've been won over by the delicious food but i'm not yet convinced by the guru's reasoning for me a vegetable a vegetable is as alive as a chicken or a lamb or whatever else wrong it is not wrong are you saying that a carrot has the same feelings as a chicken that's not the point feelings does not mean emotions they are sensitive to life around them yes you understand but you killed it you pulled it from the ground you pulled it from the ground but it's not dead if you plant it it'll grow you take such a high moral ground in terms of no meat eating whatsoever food is not a morality food is a question of well-being so you saying that i would be happier for the second half of my life without eating meat you will be calmer and more more at ease but i am calm i am i don't think the world thinks so about your calmness you wouldn't know you don't have any televisions here let's agree to disagree yes spud potato love it thank you have a lovely breakfast thank you it's taken a long time but you heard it here first i'm calling a ceasefire with vegetarians if you're ever thinking of going vegetarian then get to an ashram quickly because that's the confirmation of how good it can be but he is nuts i think he's gesticulating much less than yesterday don't you notice that his body movements are little first of all i'm definitely more chilled out there's no ways about that um yeah it has been an experience you\n"