TRANSCENDENTAL HIGHER LIFE
Kurma Dasa from the Hare Krishna’s Interviewed on animal rights, vegetarianism and karma-free living. Interview By Claudette Vaughan

Kurma Dasa is one of the world’s leading proponents of pure vegetarian cuisine. Dubbed “Australia’s Vegetarian Guru,” Kurma has been writing cookbooks, teaching students and hosting internationally broadcast TV shows for over thirty-five years. Kurma’s innovative cooking continues to shake off the outdated notion that vegetarian food is lackluster. We at the Abolitionist are great fans of his because every recipe book works – like magic! Even some of the supposedly complicated recipes like breads are easy to follow with Kurma’s recipes and every recipe is a success. All Kurma’s dishes are consistent with the concept of Indian Ayurveda – this means no meat derived products, no fish, eggs, garlic, onions or mushrooms. Vegan soy milk can easily be substituted when required by a recipe. His cookbooks won’t let you down!

Kurma Dasa lives in Perth, Australia. He has written four cookbooks to provide an adventure in world culture, taste and nutrition. He has also published two recipe card sets, “Quick Vegetarian Cards” and “Cooking With Kurma Vegi Cards”. For more info visit him at www.kurma.net

Abolitionist: What is the Hare Krishna’s contribution to animal rights?Kurma Dasa: The Hare Krishnas have contributed enormously to the rights of animals ever since the inception of the Krishna Consciousness Movement over 40 years ago, specifically in the following ways: distributing literally millions of books in over 38 languages, encouraging people to become vegetarians; establishing farming communities all over the world where animals are allowed to peacefully live out their natural lives; and cooking and distributing tens of millions of plates of pure vegetarian food in all our restaurants, temples and festivals.Abolitionist: The Animal Rights Movement fights for one right for God’s animals and that is the right for all animals live out their natural lifespan and that this natural lifespan, like a human’s, must not be truncated by humans as all species exist and from that then all are entitled to a right to life. What’s a Hare Krishna’s understanding, Kurma Dasa?

Kurma Dasa: We agree. All creatures are sons and daughters of God. So the animals are our brothers and sisters. We have no right to kill and eat our brothers and sisters.

Abolitionist: What is spiritual food to a Hare Krishna devotee?

Kurma Dasa: Way back in 1966, Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna Movement, himself a wonderful cook, showed us how to hold regular ‘Love Feasts’ every week. He said that such feasts for the public should become an important part of the Hare Krishna movement. “Vegetarian food offered to Krishna becomes spiritual”, he said, “and whoever eats the food – called prasadam – receives great spiritual benefit.”

So cooking can actually be yoga – bhakti-yoga – “the yoga of love”.

One of the main elements of bhakti-yoga…(rest of interview)