The Perfect Devotee 57

BOB: Excuse me?

SRILA PRABHUPADA: One should not imitate the best
devotee.

BOB: Imitate. Oh. I see.

SYAMASUNDARA: One time you said that sometimes you
feel sickness or pain due to the sinful activities of your
devotees. Can sometimes disease be due to that? Caused by
that?

SRILA PRABHUPADA: You see, Krsna says:

aha tvarn sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma Sucah

“I will deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” So
Krsna is so powerful that He can immediately take up all
the sins of others and immediately make them right. But
when a living entity plays the part on behalf of Krsna, he
also takes the responsibility for the sinful activities of his
devotees. Therefore to become a guru is not an easy task.
You see? He has to take all the poisons and absorb them. So
sometimes—because he is not Krsna—sometimes there is
some trouble. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has forbid-
den, “Don’t make many §isyas, many disciples.’ But for
preaching work we have to accept many disciples—for ex-
panding preaching—even if we suffer. That’s a fact. The
spiritual master has to take the responsibility for all the sin-
ful activities of his disciples. Therefore to make many disci-
ples is a risky job unless one is able to assimilate all the sins.

vaticha-kalpa-tarubhyas ca
krpa-sindhubhya eva ca

patitanam pavanebhyo
vaisnavebhyo namo namah
