190
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 7, Ch. 14]
na tad-bhakteṣu cānyeṣu sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ
“A person who is very faithfully engaged in the worship of the Deity in the temple but does not know how to behave toward devotees or people in general is called a  prākṛta-bhakta , or  kaniṣṭha-adhikārī .” A  prākṛta  devotee, or neophyte devotee, is still on the material platform. He certainly engages in worshiping the Deity, but he cannot appreciate the activities of a pure devotee. It has actually been seen that even an authorized devotee who is engaged in the service of the Lord by preaching the mission of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sometimes criticized by neophyte devotees. Such neophytes are described by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura:  sarva-prāṇi-sammānanāsamarthānām avajñā spardhādimatām tu bhagavat-pratimaiva pātram ity āha . For those who cannot properly appreciate the activities of authorized devotees, Deity worship is the only way for spiritual advancement. In the  Caitanya-caritāmṛta  ( Antya  7.11) it is clearly said,  kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana : without being authorized by Kṛṣṇa, one cannot preach the holy name of the Lord throughout the entire world. Nevertheless, a devotee who does so is criticized by neophyte devotees,  kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs , who are on the lower stages of devotional service. For them, Deity worship is strongly recommended.
TEXT 40
ततोऽर्चायां हरिं केचित् संश्रद्धाय सपर्यया । उपासत उपास्तापि नार्थदा पुरुषद्विषाम् ॥४०॥
tato 'rcāyām harim kecit samśraddhāya saparyayā upāsata upāstāpi nārthadā puruṣa-dviṣām
tataḥ —thereafter;  arcāyām —the Deity;  harim —who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead (the form of the Lord being identical with the Lord);  kecit —someone;  samśraddhāya —with great faith;  saparyayā —and with the required paraphernalia;  upāsate —worships;  upāstā api —