We Realize God Simply By Eating

Giriraj Swami: In Bombay, Srila Prabhupada received an invitation from Hari Krishna Das Agarwal, an industrialist who founded Prem Kutir, a religious institution where Prabhupada had stayed for some days before going to America. Hari Krishna Das invited Prabhupada and the devotees to attend a Vedanta Sammelan conference in Amritsar, and Srila Prabhupada agreed. Thus Prabhupada and his party of disciples went by train to Amritsar.

The conference was held at the Vedanta Ashram, which was dedicated to the propagation of impersonal Mayavada philosophy, and the buildings and walkways displayed signs with popular Mayavadi slogans such as tat tvam asi (you are that) and aham brahmasmi (I am spirit). We had programs in the evening, and every morning we would go into Prabhupada’s room and sing the Gurv-ashtaka prayers in front of his Radha-Krishna Deities, and he would speak with us. One morning he explained the different Mayavadi slogans. And he added that the organizers knew that he did not agree with their philosophy but that they had still invited him and his disciples because they had known that the "foreign" devotees' kirtana would attract people.

While discussing their philosophy, Prabhupada commented, "They will talk and talk about Vedanta, but it is simply mental speculation, and they never come to any conclusion." Just then, one of the devotees brought the morning offering from Srila Prabhupada's Deities to him. Srila Prabhupada continued, "They will go on speculating for many lifetimes" - from the plate of maha-prasada he popped a sweet in his mouth - "but we will realize God simply by eating."