58 The Nectar of Instruction

devotee should be accepted as a spiritual master. Everything
one possesses should be offered to him, for it is enjoined that
one should deliver whatever he has to the spiritual master.
The brahmacari in particular is supposed to beg alms from
others and offer them to the spiritual master. However, one
should not imitate the behavior of an advanced devotee or
mahda-bhagavata without being self-realized, for by such
imitation one will eventually become degraded.

In this verse Srila Ripa Gosvami advises the devotee to be
intelligent enough to distinguish between the kanistha-
adhikdari, madhyama-adhikdri and uttama-adhikdri. The
devotee should also know his own position and should not
try to imitate a devotee situated on a higher platform. Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura has given some practical hints to the
effect that an wttama-adhikari Vaisnava can be recognized
by his ability to convert many fallen souls to Vaisnavism.
One should not become a spiritual master unless he has at-
tained the platform of uttama-adhikdri. A neophyte
Vaisnava or a Vaisnava situated on the intermediate plat-
form can also accept disciples, but such disciples must be on
the same platform, and it should be understood that they
cannot advance very well toward the ultimate goal of life
under his insufficient guidance. Therefore a disciple should
be careful to accept an uttama-adhikari as a spiritual master.

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