Rāmeśvara: She wants to know, seeing you chose the United States to begin this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement ten years ago, now do you find that in the United States there is the most active membership financially speaking. In terms of contributing to this movement, supporting the movement, is the best field America?
Prabhupāda: No, without finance we can go on.
Rāmeśvara: Without finance we can go on.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Interviewer: Oh, we can go on?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Interviewer: How?
Prabhupāda: Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not have any financial help, but His movement is going on. It does not depend on a..., on financial. It is independent. Spiritual movement is independent of any material help. That is spiritual movement.
Interviewer: But how would you be able to carry out your educational or book publishing program if you did not have a financial backing?
Prabhupāda: How I am managing now?
Interviewer: But now you are doing well financially.
Prabhupāda: You are stressing on financial help but my reply is that this movement does not depend on financial help. That is the reply.
Bali-mardana: In the beginning...
Prabhupāda: Any time, it does not depend on financial help.
Interviewer: Why would you say you were doing so well?
Rāmeśvara: We don't tithe our members. In other words, our congregations do not pay dues. We are depending on Kṛṣṇa. We're simply trying to print books, and we show them to people, and then Kṛṣṇa inspires them to purchase or give a contribution. It's not that we have people making large contributions or a congregation that pays dues.
Interviewer: So where does most of your money come from?
Rāmeśvara: She wants to know where most of our money comes from.
Prabhupāda: Money comes from Kṛṣṇa.
Interviewer: From where?
Rāmeśvara: Kṛṣṇa.
Interviewer: Ah, Rāmeśvara, maybe if Prabhupāda just told how, in the first year how the books were sold, before there was this publishing. There was a time in which there was just a storefront. How were these books sold in the very beginning?
Rāmeśvara: Prabhupāda personally went to the printer in Japan. He personally made the arrangement with the printer, the first printing.
Interviewer: But how did he sell his first book in America?
Hari-śauri: On the boat to the ship's captain.
Interviewer: There was a process...
Prabhupāda: I mean to say, "What is our financial arrangement?" Why these questions are being raised? This is not interview about the movement. They are very much interested about our financial help.
Rāmeśvara: Prabhupāda's observing that they are very interested in our financial backing.
Interviewer: What do you think about some of the other gurus, if you will, since you are yourself considered a guru? Do you study anybody else?
Prabhupāda: These answers you can give.
Bali-mardana: She said what do you think about the other gurus.
Prabhupāda: Why shall I think of other gurus?
Bali-mardana: He does not study them.
Prabhupāda: Why shall I think of other gurus? "Oil your own machine." (laughter)
Devotees: "Oil your own machine."