Devotee (3): And it's the same spiritual body that we had before we came into the material world?
Prabhupāda: Yes. You are one ten-thousandth part of the point. How this big body has developed? It has developed materially. Similarly, it will develop spiritually. What is the difficulty to understand? Is there any difficulty still?
Devotee (3): No.
Prabhupāda: You are one ten-thousandth part of a point, and you have developed a big body like elephant. (laughter) Or Brahmānanda Swami. (laughter) (chuckles) When he was getting fat, I was very much thinking that, "This boy is getting fat." To get fatty is not very favorable for spiritual understanding. My Guru Mahārāja said.
If you'd say some disciple is getting fat, he'll immediately say: "Oh, he is getting fat?" Yes. Spiritual life does not mean very fat. That is an impediment. That means materially he's becoming developed. (laughter) That's a fact. So we should not eat more to get fat. You should simply eat to keep yourself (chuckling) body and soul together. Not to get fatty. No. That's not good. Of course, we are not fatty.
Devotee: You told us about that Bhāratī Mahārāja.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Bhāratī Mahārāja. (chuckles)
Yamunā: What was that?
Prabhupāda: My Godbrother, there was one Bhāratī Mahārāja. He was . . . (laughter) So Prabhupāda used to criticize, "Oh, this man is getting fatty." And actually, he was not very . . . (chuckles)
(pause) Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (BG 9.13). You have to take shelter; therefore you are marginal. You have to take shelter of the material energy or the spiritual energy. When you take shelter of the material energy, you materially develop. When you take spiritual energy, you spiritually develop. That's all.
Therefore your position is marginal. Daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ. Mahātmā, those who are mahātmās, they have given up. The Māyāvādī philosopher thinks that as soon as he has given up, liberated from the matter, now he has become God. No. You give up this material energy, you have to take up spiritual energy. Mahāmāyā, yogamāyā. Yes?
Devotee: I've experienced that the more we know about these different processes, when we speak them, the people are impressed that we are understanding scientifically. So sometimes we ask a question, it is not so much out of doubt, but we just want to understand that process.
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. That should be. Yes. That is good. Paripraśnena. Tad viddhi paripraśnena, praṇipātena, and sevayā. The questions should be put, guided by two principles: surrender and service. That is the way.