SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM - Prabhupada

256 Srbnad-Bhigavabun [Canto 7, Ch. 5perfectly performed simply through hearing, chanting, rememberingand worship of the lotus feet of the Lord. Rupa Gosvami states:sri-vb. sraval)-e parik$id abhavad vaiyasakib. kirtaneprahladab- smaral)-e tad-anghri-bhajane lak$miiJ, prthuiJ, pujaneakrii.ras tv abhivandane kapi-patir diisye 'tha sakhye 'rjunaiJ,sarvasvdtma-nivedane balir abhii.t kr:ulptir earil param"Parikit Maharaja attained salvation simply by hearing, and SukadevaGosvlimi attained salvation simply by chanting. Prahlada Maharaja attainedsalvation by remembering the Lord. The goddess of fortune,Lakmidevi, attained perfection by worshiping the Lord's lotus feet.P:rthu Maharaja attained salvation by worshiping the Deity of the Lord ..Akriira attained salvation by offering prayers, Hanuman by renderingservice, Arjuna by establishing friendship with the Lord, and BaliMaharaja by offering everything to the service of the Lord." All thesegreat devotees served the Lord according to a particular process, butevery one of them attained salvation and became eligible to return home,back to Godhead. This is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam.It is therefore recommended that initiated devotees follow theprinciples of Narada-paiicaratra by worshiping the Deity in the temple.Especially for householder devotees who are opulent in material possessions,the path of Deity worship is strongly recommended. An opulenthouseholder devotee who does not engage his hard-earned money in theservice of the Lord is called a miser. One should not engage paidbrahma7Jas to worship the Deity. If one does not personally worship theDeity but engages paid servants instead, he is considered lazy, and hisworship of the Deity is called artificial. An opulent householder can collectluxurious paraphernalia for Deity worship, and consequently forhouseholder devotees the worship of the Deity is compulsory. In ourl(:rl).a consciousness movement there are brahmacaris, grhasthas,vanaprasthas and sannyas£s, but the Deity worship in the temple shouldbe performed especially by the householders. The brahmacaris can gowith the sannyas£s to preach, and the vanaprasthas should preparethemselves for the next status of renounced life, sannyasa. Grhastha devotees,however, are generally engaged in material activities, andtherefore if they do not take to Deity worship, their falling down is