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John Lennon: How would you know, anyway? How are you able to tell? I mean, for any of your disciples …

Śrīla Prabhupāda: You shouldn’t go to just any spiritual master.

Who’s a Genuine Guru?

John Lennon: Yes, we should go to a true master. But how are we to tell one from the other?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: It is not that you can go to just any spiritual master. He must be a member of …

John Lennon: But what if one of these masters who’s not in the line says exactly the same thing as …

Śrīla Prabhupāda: If the mantra is actually coming through a bona fide disciplic succession, then it will have potency.

John Lennon: But the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is the best one?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes.

Yoko Ono: Well, if Hare Kṛṣṇa is the best one, why should we bother to say anything else other than …

Śrīla Prabhupāda: It’s true: you don’t have to bother with anything else. We say that the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is …

George Harrison: Isn’t it like flowers? Somebody may prefer roses, and somebody may like carnations better. Isn’t it really a …

Śrīla Prabhupāda: But still there is a distinction. A fragrant rose is considered better than a flower without any scent.

Yoko Ono: In that case, I can’t ...

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Let’s try to understand this flower example.

Yoko Ono: Okay.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: You may be attracted by one flower and I may be attracted by another flower, but among the …

Yoko Ono: Is the flower that has fragrance better?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore, your attraction for a particular flower is not the solution to the question of which is …