George Harrison Blamed His Complexion and Weight on His Vegetarianism

George Harrison blamed his complexion and weight on his vegetarianism. The Beatle became vegetarian once he started practicing Hinduism in the 1960s.

George Harrison became a vegetarian once he became spiritual

In the mid-1960s, George hit a wall. Fame wasn’t impressing him. He wanted something more in life. Thankfully, a few important things happened next. He took LSD, which opened his mind to God-consciousness. He heard sitars on the set of The Beatles’ Help! and couldn’t stop hearing their sound. It all led him to his musical guru, legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar.

Shankar taught him sitar and that God is sound. They traveled to India, and George read about ancient gurus at the bottom of the Himalayan mountains. Suddenly, George embarked on a spiritual journey. All he cared about was connecting and communicating with God.

George’s diet changed as well. He became a vegetarian once he started practicing Hinduism.

George blamed his complexion and weight on his vegetarianism

For the most part, George liked being a vegetarian. When he visited his friends and members of the Hare Krishna Temple, they enjoyed coming together for a vegetarian dinner. However, George didn’t think the diet was good for his complexion and weight.

During a 1974 press conference, a reporter asked George, “I’m writing for women’s pages, and you are married. May I ask you, does your wife cook for you, and do you have any food you enjoy eating?”

George replied, “First of all, I don’t have a wife anymore [touching on his split from his first wife, Pattie Boyd]. Anyway, even when I did, she only used to cook sometimes. I learned to cook myself. I cook vegetarian Indian food, although I like other food as well. I don’t eat fish. I don’t eat chicken. I don’t eat meat; that’s why I’m so pale and thin.”

PETA wanted to turn George’s childhood home into a tribute center for ‘meat-free food and values of non-violence’

George became one of the most famous celebrity vegetarians. So much so that PETA wants to buy his childhood home and turn it into a tribute center for “meat-free food and values of non-violence.”

“The centre would celebrate the country where Harrison recorded part of his first solo album, ‘Wonderwall Music,’ and where he was inspired to go vegetarian,” PETA wrote on their website.

“Harrison was the first member of The Beatles to go vegetarian after his many visits to India, where he also learned about and embraced the virtue of ahimsa, or non-violence, which is central to three of India’s major religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism,” wrote PETA Vice President of International Affairs Poorva Joshipura.

“We’re always looking for ways to promote kindness to all living, feeling beings, regardless of species, and this tribute centre would encourage more people to practise non-violence and enjoy the vegetarian food that Harrison loved.”

“Harrison once said, ‘The thing that repelled me about eating meat was the idea of killing animals. … [I]t’s not healthy and not natural.'”

Being a vegetarian was part of George’s spirituality. His complexion and weight were an afterthought.