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In the U.S. religious and spiritual organizations can get a tax exemption if they register as a 501(c)3, which gives them a nonprofit organization status, but that does not mean that an organization registered as “nonprofit” can not make a profit. It just means they are a service or charitable organization. But I don’t know if that tax exemption applies to the people who work at those organizations.
I also do free spiritual work as a volunteer; I teach meditation classes to veterans and family members effected by war, I facilitate a discussion group on death with a national organization called “Death Café.” Spirituality is a focus in both of these groups and I get no income from them. Of course, I do get other things from doing this, just like I get a non-monetary return sharing, consoling, and advising here on Spiritual Forums.
While I agree that God is the only teacher, as green1 has stated, lots of people who come to spirituality may have a religious background but no conscious spiritual connection. A lot of people start with an external teacher and then they move to their internal teacher. Some will stay with an external teacher lifelong. Spiritual teachers are human and therefore they are fallible; many are operating in this world from a place of duality.
In essence, I feel like every person on Earth is both a teacher and a student, because a good teacher has to be a good student. I am a former college professor, and yes I was paid very well for teaching college classes, but also my students were asked to submit Teacher Evaluations to my Dean on me every semester. Although I could not let my students evaluating me interfere with how I graded them. That in my opinion would also be unethical.
People do have the right to leave a spiritual teacher if they feel they are not getting their needs met with that teacher, regardless whether they are paying that teacher money or not.
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