Choosing a Spiritual Master 67

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?
Srila Prabhupada: 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?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, there are many.

Reporter: Were their spiritual lives in any way spoiled by the fake gurus?
Srila Prabhupada: 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.

Srila Prabhupada: No, that is not my purpose. I started my movement
simply by chanting Hare Krsna. I chanted in New York in a place called
Tompkins Square Park, and soon people began to come to me. In this
way, the Krsna consciousness movement gradually developed. Many ac-
cepted, and many did not accept. Those who are fortunate have accepted.
Reporter: Don’t you feel that people are suspicious because of their ex-
perience with fake gurus? If you went to a quack dentist and he broke
your tooth, you might be suspicious about going to another dentist.
Srila Prabhupada: 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
Krsna consciousness, you must be either very fortunate or well aware of
this science. From the Bhagavad-gita we understand that the genuine
seekers are very few: manusyanam sahasresu kascid 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
