66
THE SCIENCE OF SELF-REALIZATION
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Sometimes people provide us with a room in a first-class hotel, but we generally stay in our own temples. We have some one hundred temples around the world, so we don't require to go to any hotels.
Reporter:  I wasn't trying to make any accusations. I was merely trying to illustrate that I think your warning is a valid one. There are so many people interested in finding a spiritual life, and at the same time there are a lot of people interested in cashing in on the "guru business."
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Are you under the impression that spiritual life means voluntarily accepting poverty?
Reporter:  Well, I don't know.
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  A poverty-stricken man may be materialistic, and a wealthy man may be very spiritual. Spiritual life does not depend on either poverty or wealth. Spiritual life is transcendental. Consider Arjuna, for instance. Arjuna was a member of a royal family, yet he was a pure devotee of God. And in the  Bhagavad-gītā  [4.2] Śrī Kṛṣṇa says,  evaṁ paramparā-prāptaṁ imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ : "This supreme science was received through the chain of discipline succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way." In the past, all kings who were saintly understood spiritual science. Therefore, spiritual life does not depend on one's material condition. Whatever a person's material condition may be—he may be a king or a pauper—he can still understand spiritual life. Generally people do not know what spiritual life is, and therefore, they unnecessarily criticize us. If I asked you what spiritual life is, how would you answer?
Reporter:  Well, I'm not sure.
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Although you do not know what spiritual life is, you still say, "It is this," or "It is that." But first you should know what spiritual life is. Spiritual life begins when you understand that you are not your body. This is the real beginning of spiritual life. By seeing the difference between your self and your body, you come to understand that you are a spirit soul ( ahaṁ brahmāsmi ).
Reporter:  Do you think this knowledge should be a part of everyone's education?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Yes. People should first be taught what they are. Are they their bodies, or something else? That is the beginning of education. Now everyone is educated to think he is his body. Because someone accidentally gets an American body, he thinks, "I am an American." This is just like thinking, "I am a red shirt," just because you are wearing a red