66 THE SCIENCE OF SELF-REALIZATION
Srila Prabhupada: 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 peo-
ple 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.”’
Srila Prabhupada: Are you under the impression that spiritual life
means voluntarily accepting poverty?
Reporter: Well, I don’t know. ,
Srila Prabhupada: 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 Ar-
juna, for instance. Arjuna was a member of a royal family, yet he was a
; pure devotee of God. And in the Bhagavad-gita [4.2] Sri Krsna says,
evam parampara-praptam imam rdjarsayo viduh: ‘“This supreme science
was received through the chain of disciplic 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.
Srila Prabhupada: 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 (aham brahmdsmi).
Reporter: Do you think this knowledge should be a part of everyone’s
education? :
Srila Prabhupada: 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 acci-
dentally 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
