Choosing a Spiritual Master
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shirt. You are not a red shirt; you are a human being. Similarly, this body is like a shirt or coat over the real person—the spirit soul. If we recognize ourselves simply by our bodily “shirt” or “coat,” then we have no spiritual education.
Reporter:  Do you think that such education should be given in schools?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Yes—in schools, colleges, and universities. There is an immense literature on this subject—an immense fund of knowledge.
What is actually required is that the leaders of society come forward to understand this movement.
Reporter:  Have you ever had people come to you who had previously been involved with a fake guru?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Yes, there are many.
Reporter:  Were their spiritual lives in any way spoiled by the fake gurus?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  No, they were genuinely seeking something spiritual, and that was their qualification. God is within everyone’s heart, and as soon as someone genuinely seeks Him, He helps that person find a genuine guru.
Reporter:  Have the real gurus like yourself ever tried to put a stop to the false gurus—that is, put pressure on them to put them out of business, so to speak.
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  No, that is not my purpose. I started my movement simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. I chanted in New York in a place called Tompkins Square Park, and soon people began to come to me. In this way, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement gradually developed. Many accepted, and many did not accept. Those who are fortunate have accepted.
Reporter:  Don’t you feel that people are suspicious because of their experience with fake gurus? If you went to a quack dentist and he broke your tooth, you might be suspicious about going to another dentist.
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Yes. Naturally, if you are cheated, you become suspicious. But this does not mean that if you are cheated once, you will always be cheated. You should find someone genuine. But to come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you must be either very fortunate or well aware of this science. From the  Bhagavad-gītā  we understand that the genuine seekers are very few:  manuṣyāṇām sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye . Out of many millions of people, there may be only one who is interested in spiritual life. Generally, people are interested in eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. So how can we expect to find many followers? It is not difficult to notice that people have lost their spiritual interest. And almost all those who are actually interested are being cheated by so-called