There are two different kinds of religious preachers. One of them is called the professional preacher, and the other is called the acarya. The professional preachers are like the rainfall from the sky, but the acaryas are like waterfalls. The professional traders in Bhagavatam and Ramayana will speak from the portion of the scripture that will appeal to the mundane senses of the audience. For example, the professional Bhagavatam reciter will generally speak on the subject of rasa-lila, which appears to the layman to be something like the dealings of ordinary men and women. Thus the professional reciters earn money from their so-called admirers. But an acarya will never speak on rasa-lila to the general mass of people. The rasa-lila chapters of the Bhagavatam are the most confidential part of the scripture, and they are meant for advanced students of spiritual realization. In the Bhagavatam there are twelve cantos, and the rasa-lila is in the tenth. So before one comes to the Tenth Canto, the Bhagavatam tries to convince him of the transcendental nature of the Absolute Truth. Unless one has grasped the spiritual status of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is sure to accept Him as an ordinary man and thereby commit offenses at His lotus feet by so many unwanted activities.

The acarya is he who knows the scriptures well and teaches his disciples in terms of the disciples capacity to understand and advance in spiritual realization. Therefore he sometimes speaks and sometimes does not speak. The holy messages of Godhead have to be received from the realized soul, and not from the professional man. Although rainwater and the waterfalls are the same, the water from the waterfalls has a different effect than ordinary rainwater. One should not accept messages from the professional men, as one should not accept milk touched by the tongue of a serpent. Milk is good, but as soon as it is touched by the snake it becomes poisonous. The acarya, therefore, is not a mercenary order-supplier like the professional reciter of scriptures.