Practicing Yoga in the Age of Quarrel
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Mr. Faill:  So the recognition of the spiritual spark comes first?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Yes. Recognizing the existence of the spirit soul within the body is the first step. Unless one understands this simple fact, there is no question of spiritual advancement.
Mr. Faill:  Is it a question of just understanding it intellectually?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  In the beginning, yes. There are two departments of knowledge: theoretical and practical. First one must learn spiritual science theoretically; then, by working on that spiritual platform, one comes to the point of practical realization.
Unfortunately, today almost everyone is in the darkness of the bodily conception of life. Therefore this movement is very important because it can lift civilized men out of that darkness. As long as they are in the bodily conception of life, they are no better than animals. “I am a dog,” “I am a cat,” “I am a cow.” Animals think like this. As soon as someone passes, a dog will bark, thinking, “I am a dog. I have been appointed here as watchdog.” Similarly, if I adopt the dog’s mentality and challenge foreigners—“Why have you come to this country? Why have you come to my jurisdiction?”—then what is the difference between the dog and me?
Mr. Faill:  There is none. To change the subject a little, is it necessary to follow certain eating habits to practice spiritual life?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Yes, the whole process is meant to purify us, and eating is part of that purification. I think you have a saying, “You are what you eat,” and that’s a fact. Our bodily constitution and mental atmosphere are determined according to how and what we eat. Therefore the  śāstras  recommend that to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, you should eat remnants of food left by Kṛṣṇa. If a tuberculosis patient eats something and you eat the remnants, you will be infected with tuberculosis. Similarly, if you eat  kṛṣṇa-prasāda , then you will be infected with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Thus our process is that we don’t eat anything immediately. First we offer the food to Kṛṣṇa, then we eat it. This helps us advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Mr. Faill:  You are all vegetarians?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Yes, because Kṛṣṇa is a vegetarian. Kṛṣṇa can eat anything because He is God, but in the  Bhagavad-gītā  [9.26] He says, “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water, I will accept it.” He never says, “Give Me meat and wine.”
Mr. Faill:  How about the tobacco question?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Tobacco is also an intoxicant. We are already intoxicated by being in the bodily conception of life, and if we increase the intoxication, then we are lost.