190 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 7, Ch. 14

na tad-bhaktesu canyesu
sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah

“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 prakrta-bhakta, or kanistha-adhikari.” A prakrta de-
votee, 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 devo-
tee who is engaged in the service of the Lord by preaching the mission of
Krsna consciousness is sometimes criticized by neophyte devotees. Such
neophytes are described by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura: sarva-
prani-sammdénandsamarthaénaém avajfa spardhadimatam tu bhagavat-
pratimaiva patram ity aha. For those who cannot properly appreciate the
activities of authorized devotees, Deity worship is the only way for spiri-
tual advancement. In the Caitanya-caritamrta (Antya 7.11) it is clearly
said, krsna-Sakti vind nahe tara pravartana: without being authorized by
Krsna, one cannot preach the holy name of the Lord throughout the en-
tire world. Nevertheless, a devotee who does so is criticized by neophyte
devotees, kanistha-adhikaris , who are on the lower stages of devotional
service. For them, Deity worship is strongly recommended.

TEXT 40

amnsalat aft faq eras are |
THAT STANT anlar qeafany live!

tato ’reayam harim kecit
samsraddhaya saparyaya
updsata updastapi
narthada purusa-dvisim

tatah—thereafter; arcaéyam—the Deity; harim—who is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead (the form of the Lord being identical with the
Lord); kecit—someone; sarisraddhaya—with great faith; saparyaya—
and with the required paraphernalia; updsate—worships; updsta api—
