many books?

These ten items are essential for a neophyte devotee who is beginning to follow the path of devotional service. The next stage is as follows: 11. One should try to avoid offenses in the service to the Lord, and in chanting the Holy Names of the Lord. There are ten kinds of offenses in chanting the Holy Name and they should be avoided. The offenses are: I. Blaspheming a devotee of the Lord; 2. Considering the Lord and the demigods on the same level, or to think that there are many Gods; 3. To neglect the orders of the spiritual master; 4. To minimize the authority of Scriptures (the Vedas); 5. To interpret the Holy Names of God; 6. To commit sin on the strength of chanting; 7. To instruct the Glories of the Lord's Name to the unfaithful; 8. To compare the Holy Name with material piety; 9. To be inattentive while chanting the Holy Name; 10. To remain attached to material things in spite of chanting the Holy Names. 12. One should avoid the association of unholy non-devotees. 13. One should not attempt to have many disciples. 14. One should not take the trouble of understanding various books or to understand partially any particular book, and one should avoid discussing different doctrines. 15. One should be equipoised both in gain and loss. 16. One should not be subject to any kind of lamentation. 17. One should not disrespect demigods, or other Scriptures. 18. One should not tolerate blaspheming the Supreme Lord and His devotees. 19. One should avoid ordinary topics of novels and fiction, but there is no injunction that one should avoid hearing ordinary news. 20. One should not give any trouble to any living creature, including a small bug.    (More...)

The next set of instructions is listed as follows: 1) One should rigidly give up the company of nondevotees. 2) One should not instruct a person who is not desirous of accepting devotional service. 3) One should not be very enthusiastic about constructing costly temples or monasteries. 4) One should not try to read too many books, nor should one develop the idea of earning his livelihood by lecturing on or by professionally reciting Srimad-Bhagavatam or the Bhagavad-gita. 5) One should not be neglectful in ordinary dealings. 6) One should not be under the spell of lamentation in loss or tribulation in gain. 7) One should not disrespect the demigods. 8) One should not give unnecessary trouble to any living entity. 9) One should carefully avoid the various offenses in chanting the holy name of the Lord, or in worshiping the Deity in the temple. 10) One should be very intolerant towards the blasphemy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, or His devotees.    (More...)