"Although we find in the neophyte devotee some bad behavior due to his past experience, so we should not take him as nondevotee. Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). He is sādhu—if he sticks to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And the bad habits which are visible now, it will disappear. It will disappear.
So we have to give chance. Because we see some bad habits of a devotee, we should not reject. We should give another chance. We should give another chance, because he has taken the right things, but to past behavior he appears to be again going to the māyā's clutches. So we should not reject, but we should give chance. One may take little more time to come to the standard, but we should give him chance. If he sticks to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, very soon all these defects will be disappearing. Kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā. He will be completely a dharmātmā, a mahātmā.
Why? Kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati (BG 9.31): 'Anyone who has taken seriously My lotus feet, seriously surrendered to Me, he will never be vanquished. He will never be vanquished, although sometimes it appears that he is coming down.' So this should be our principle. We stick to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then everything will be all right in due course of time."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Tokyo, May 3, 1972)
"Even if you find in devotee something bad, and his behavior is not in the standard, but because he is Kṛṣṇa conscious, he has no other business, he is sādhu. Api cet sudurācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). He is sādhu. He is saintly man. Even if you find some defect in his character, because he is sticking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is saintly. Kṛṣṇa says. How is that, a saintly man has got some this bad character? So that answer is next verse:
kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā
śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati
kaunteya pratijānīhi
na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati
(BG 9.31)
'Yes, there are some defects. It is right. But it will be very soon finished.' Just like you make the switch off, electric fan. So after the switch is off, still it is moving. But that movement is not real movement because the switch is off. It will stop very soon."
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, Los Angeles, June 22, 1975)
Prabhupada: The first thing is one must have rigid, staunch faith in Kṛṣṇa. That is the qualification. Other things may be little deviation. It doesn't matter. The first thing is whether he is sticking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then he is sādhu.
Dr. Patel: Ananya-bhāk.
Prabhupada: Ananya-bhāk, yes. He has no other business.
Dr. Patel: Because he is samyag vyavasito, he is rightly doing.
kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā
śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati
kaunteya pratijānīhi
na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati
(BG 9.31)
Prabhupada: "Although there are some bad habits," kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ, "because he is My devotee, he will not be lost. He will take to the right position."
(Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, Bombay, April 2, 1974)
"He has got little practice of these nonsense things. But if he sticks to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this will be stopped very soon. That is the only remedy. So a devotee means he has taken vow before the spiritual master, before the fire, before... If he sticks to his principle, then he's free, even though some bad habits found due to his past behavior. That will be stopped. But he must stick. Bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. That must stick. Kṛṣṇa consciousness must continue. Everything will be corrected. And if there is slackness in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then again he'll fall down. That I was telling this morning, that if you have determination, māyā will put forward so many impediments, and with all sufferings, if he remains determined in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then life is success. A man is habituated to smoke. He has given up, has promised no more smoking, just like our students. Now he's put amongst some friends, they are smoking. But he has bad habit, he's thinking, 'Why not smoke?' And if the friends offer, 'It is friends. Who is going to see, your spiritual master?' 'Yes.' That is possible. But if he comes to his sense again, 'Oh, what I have done?' If he repents, 'I promised it before my spiritual master, before God, before fire. Now I'm doing this?' that repentance will help him. And if he thinks that 'I'm doing it. My spiritual master is not here, let me fall to it,' then he is finished. Then he is finished. If he repents for the wrong he has done, then he's excused. Otherwise finished.' "
(Srila Prabhupada Evening Darsana, Tehran, August 11, 1976)
"The demonic means atheist and unnecessarily, falsely, very much proud of their knowledge. This is demonic. This morning as I was talking, falsely, the so-called scientists, they are falsely proud and challenge, 'There is no God. Everything...' That is demonic.
So in the Kali-yuga the demonic spirit is very, very prominent. Everyone is thinking 'I am God.' So it is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mercy to cure all these madmen. Madmen.
piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya
māyār grasta jīvera haya se dāsa udaya
(Prema-vivarta)
Piśācī, ghost-haunted. A man is ghost-haunted, he speaks all nonsense. So in this age, Kali-yuga, they are mostly like that. They speak all nonsense. So we should be careful not to accept their proposal. We shall stick to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We shall accept what Kṛṣṇa says and reject everything. Then we'll be saved."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Mayapur, March 7, 1976)
"Always remember that this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a sort of declaration of war with this illusory material nature. So there is war. She will always try to get you fall down. Daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). It is very strong, powerful. How you can save yourself? Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. If you persistently simply adhere to the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa, there will be no more strength of this illusory nature to drag you. No more. There will be no more power to get you into this province of sense gratification. Material nature means the jurisdiction of sense gratification. That's all. Simply people are engaged by sense gratification like cats and dogs. That's all. This is material atmosphere. And in the spiritual atmosphere there is no sense gratification; there is only activity for satisfying the Supreme, Kṛṣṇa. That is the difference.
So if you adherently be always engaged in some sort of service, twenty-four hours in the service of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no power in the world who can drag you into this sense gratification province. You at once become nirguṇa. This is the process. So we have to stick to this principle: 'How I can serve Kṛṣṇa always, always?' Īhā yasya harer dāsye. If you cannot do, if you simply think, 'How can I do? How can I do? How can I do?' simply this, if you practically cannot do, but if you simply think that 'How can I do?' oh, then also you become liberated. Then also you become liberated. And what to speak of when we actually serve. This is such a nice thing, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So if you want to save yourself from this material turmoil, then always stick to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness persistently. Yes."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, New York, December 21, 1966)
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