256
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 7, Ch. 5]
perfectly performed simply through hearing, chanting, remembering and worship of the lotus feet of the Lord. Rūpa Gosvāmī states:
śrī-viṣṇoḥ śravaṇe parīkṣid abhavad vaiyāsakiḥ kīrtane prahlādaḥ smaraṇe tad-aṅghri-bhajane lakṣmīḥ pṛthuḥ pūjane akrūras tv abhivandane kapi-patir dāsye 'tha sakhye 'rjunaḥ sarvasvātma-nivedane balir abhūt kṛṣṇāptir eṣāṁ param
“Parīkṣit Mahārāja attained salvation simply by hearing, and Śukadeva Gosvāmī attained salvation simply by chanting. Prahlāda Mahārāja attained salvation by remembering the Lord. The goddess of fortune, Lakṣmīdevī, attained perfection by worshiping the Lord’s lotus feet. Pṛthu Mahārāja attained salvation by worshiping the Deity of the Lord. Akrūra attained salvation by offering prayers, Hanumān by rendering service, Arjuna by establishing friendship with the Lord, and Bali Mahārāja by offering everything to the service of the Lord.” All these great devotees served the Lord according to a particular process, but every one of them attained salvation and became eligible to return home, back to Godhead. This is explained in  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam .
It is therefore recommended that initiated devotees follow the principles of  Nārada-pañcarātra  by worshiping the Deity in the temple. Especially for householder devotees who are opulent in material possessions, the path of Deity worship is strongly recommended. An opulent householder devotee who does not engage his hard-earned money in the service of the Lord is called a miser. One should not engage paid  brāhmaṇas  to worship the Deity. If one does not personally worship the Deity but engages paid servants instead, he is considered lazy, and his worship of the Deity is called artificial. An opulent householder can collect luxurious paraphernalia for Deity worship, and consequently for householder devotees the worship of the Deity is compulsory. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement there are  brahmacārīs ,  gṛhasthas ,  vānaprasthas  and  sannyāsīs , but the Deity worship in the temple should be performed especially by the householders. The  brahmacārīs  can go with the  sannyāsīs  to preach, and the  vānaprasthas  should prepare themselves for the next status of renounced life,  sannyāsa .  Gṛhastha  devotees, however, are generally engaged in material activities, and therefore if they do not take to Deity worship, their falling down is