Guru maharaj: Srila Prabhupad when He was six years old, He was given small Radha Krishna deities by his father and he worshipped those as practice deities. They weren’t installed but they were worshipped. When he went to college, he gave those deities to his younger sister, who continued the worship, and then they were given to Mayapur. So we had them installed, and we are worshipping. So one can worship a picture, which is called citrapat. When one wants to worship a deity, they can do so as a practice, practice deity, not installed. It is like citrapat worship. But if one offends the deity, it is more serious.
HH JAYAPATAKA SWAMI
9th February 2019
Chennai, India