Text 119]
The Process of Devotional Service
397
TRANSLATION
“The twelfth item is to give up the company of nondevotees. (13) One should not accept an unlimited number of disciples. (14) One should not partially study many scriptures just to be able to give references and expand explanations.
PURPORT
Accepting an unlimited number of devotees or disciples is very risky for one who is not a preacher. According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, a preacher has to accept many disciples to expand the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This is risky because when a spiritual master accepts a disciple, he naturally accepts the disciple’s sinful activities and their reactions. Unless he is very powerful, he cannot assimilate all the sinful reactions of his disciples. Thus if he is not powerful, he has to suffer the consequences, for one is forbidden to accept many disciples.
One should not partially study a book just to pose oneself as a great scholar by being able to refer to scriptures. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we have therefore limited our study of Vedic literatures to  Bhagavad-gītā ,  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ,  Caitanya-caritāmṛta  and  Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu . These four works are sufficient for preaching purposes. They are adequate for the understanding of the philosophy and the spreading of missionary activities all over the world. If one studies a particular book, he must do so thoroughly. That is the principle. By thoroughly studying a limited number of books, one can understand the philosophy.
TEXT 119
হানি-লাভে সম, শোকাদির বশ না হইব । অন্যদেব, অন্যশাস্ত্র নিন্দা না করিব ॥ ১১৯ ॥
hāni-lābhe sama, śokādira vaśa nā ha-iba anya-deva, anya-śāstra nindā nā kariba
SYNONYMS
hāni —in loss;  lābhe —in gain;  sama —equal;  śoka-ādira —of lamentation and so on;  vaśa —under the control;  nā ha-iba —we should not be;  anya-deva —other demigods;  anya-śāstra —other scriptures;  nindā —criticizing;  nā kariba —we should not do.
TRANSLATION
“Fifteen: The devotee should treat loss and gain equally. (16) The devotee should not be overwhelmed by lamentation. (17) The devotee should not