## Chapter XII Preaching, Temple Construction and Deity Worship ### 1. Book distribution is more important than Deity worship: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu set a practical example in that He did not establish any temples or Deities, but He profusely introduced the *saṅkīrtana *movement. Therefore Kṛṣṇa consciousness preachers should give more stress to the *saṅkīrtana *movement, especially by distributing transcendental literature more and more. This helps the *saṅkīrtana *movement. Whenever there is a possibility to worship the Deity, we may establish many centers, but generally we should give more stress to the distribution of transcendental literature, for this will be more effective in converting people to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. *— *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam *[[sb/7/14/39|7.14.39]]* ### 2. Preaching is more important than Deity Worship: Deity worship is especially meant for purifying the neophyte devotees. Actually, however, preaching is more important. In *Bhagavad-gītā *([[bg/18/69|18.69]]) it is said, *na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ: *if one wants to be recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he must preach the glories of the Lord. One who worships the Deity must therefore be extremely respectful to preachers; otherwise simply worshiping the Deity will keep one in the lower stage of devotion. *— *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam *[[sb/7/14/40|7.14.40]]* ### 3. Writing, publishing and distributing books is more important than temple construction; compared to playing on great mṛdaṅga: ... to write books and publish them for the enlightenment of the general populace is real service to the Lord. That was Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī's opinion, and he specifically told his disciples to write books. He actually preferred to publish books rather than establish temples. Temple construction is meant for the general populace and neophyte devotees, but the business of advanced and empowered devotees is to write books, publish them and distribute them widely. According to Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, distributing literature is like playing on a great mṛdaṅga. Consequently we always request members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to publish as many books as possible and distribute them widely throughout the world. By thus following in the footsteps of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, one can become a *rūpānuga *devotee. *— Cc. Madhya [[cc/madhya/19/132|19.132]]* ### 4. Distributing books and constructing temples must continue on parallel lines: For preaching, construction of temples is also necessary. The Gosvāmīs not only engaged in writing books but also constructed temples because both are needed for preaching work. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted the cult of His *saṅkīrtana *movement to spread all over the world. Now that the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has taken up this task of preaching the cult of Lord Caitanya, its members should not only construct temples in every town and village of the globe but also distribute books which have already been written and further increase the number of books. Both distribution of books and construction of temples must continue side by side in parallel lines. *— Cc. Ā*di *[[cc/adi/7/164|7.164]]* ### 5. Book publishing and distribution is more important than temple construction: ... a *sannyāsī* should not be enthusiastic about constructing temples. We can see in the life of various *ācāryas* in the line of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu that they are not very enthusiastic about constructing temples. However, if somebody comes forward to offer some service, the same reluctant *ācāryas* will encourage the building of costly temples by such servitors.... So a bona fide spiritual master should not personally take any responsibility for constructing temples, but if someone has money and wants to spend it in the service of Kṛṣṇa, an *ācārya* like Rūpa Gosvāmī may utilize the devotee's money to construct a nice costly temple for the service of the Lord.... a spiritual master needn't be very enthusiastic for constructing temple buildings simply in the name of so-called spiritual advancement. Rather, his first and foremost activity should be to preach. In this connection, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja recommended that a spiritual master print books. If one has money, instead of constructing costly temples, one should spend his money for the publication of authorized books in different languages for propagating the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. *— NOD [[books/noi/7|Ch. 7]]*