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 par-
tially study many scriptures just to be able to give references and expand ex-
planations.

PURPORT

Accepting an unlimited number of devotees or disciples is very risky for one
who is not a preacher. According to Srila Jiva Gosvami, a preacher has to accept
many disciples to expand the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This is risky be-
cause 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 assimi-
late 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 Krsna consciousness movement we have
therefore limited our study of Vedic literatures to Bhagavad-gité, Srimad-
Bhagavatam, Caitanya-caritamrta and Bhakti-rasamrta-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 philoso-
phy.

TEXT 119
aifa-mice aa, cretion aa a Bee |
wagers, Tati fra ai SFA | 50 Nl
hani-labhe sama, sokadira vasa na ha-iba
anya-deva, anya-sastra ninda na kariba
SYNONYMS

hani—in loss; labhe—in gain; sama—equal; soka-adira—of lamentation and so
on; vasa—under the control; nd ha-iba—we should not be; anya-deva—other
demigods; anya-sastra—other scriptures; nindd—criticizing; na 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
