Srila Prabhupada has told us that as soon as envy is wiped out we are effectively living in the spiritual world. He said we don’t need a certificate. We can examine out hearts and see how much we have freed ourselves of envy. If there is envy, we live in the material world; as soon as envy is eradicated we are residents of the spiritual world. Here’s the relevant text from the Teachings of Queen Kunti: “The word khala means ‘jealous.’ This material world is a world of jealousy and envy. I am envious of you, and you are envious of me. The Krsna consciousness movement, however, is meant for one who is no longer jealous or envious. By becoming free from jealousy and envy, one becomes a perfect person. Dharmah projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam (SB 1.1.2). Those who are jealous and envious are within this material world, and those who are not are in the spiritual world. Therefore, we can test ourselves. If we are jealous or envious of our friends or other associates, we are in the material world, and if we are not jealous we are in the spiritual world. There need be no doubt of whether we are spiritually advanced or not. We can test ourselves. Bhaktih pareshanubhavo viraktir anyatra ca (SB 11.2.42). When we eat, we can understand for ourselves whether our hunger is satisfied; we don’t have to take a certificate from others. Similarly, we can test for ourselves whether we are in the material world or the spiritual world. If we are jealous or envious, we are in the material world, and if we are not we are in the spiritual world.”