Anyone who takes to Krishna consciousness, he doesn't require to endeavor for becoming a good man separately.

Turning over a new leaf

Gerald Blanchard executed a daring burglary of the Sisi Star, and much, much more...

Punishment does not reform bad habits

Everyone in this material world is working like a madman under certain impressions falsely acquired in the material condition. For example, a thief who knows that stealing is not good and who knows that it is followed with punishment by a king or by God, who has seen that thieves are arrested and punished by the police, nonetheless steals again and again. He is obsessed with the idea that by stealing he will be happy. This is a sign of madness. Despite repeated punishment, the thief cannot give up his stealing habit; therefore the punishment is useless.

Pulling the plug on criminal tendencies

There is a story how habit is the second nature. There was a thief, and he went to pilgrimage with some other friends. So at night, when other friends were sleeping... Because his habit was to steal at night, he, so he got up at night and he was taking one body's baggage and tried to pickpocket or take something. But he was thinking, "Oh, I have come to this holy place of pilgrimage. Still, shall I do that, committing theft, my habit? No, no. I shall not do it." So he was taking the bag of one person and another and was keeping in another place. So in the whole night the poor fellow did like that. But due to his conscience that, "I have come to this holy place. At least, during my stay here I shall not do this stealing business." So in the morning, when all other friends got up, everyone said, "Oh, where is my bag? I don't see!" Another man says, "I don't see my bag." Then somebody says, "Oh, here is your bag!" So there was some row. They thought, "What is the matter? How it so happened?" Then the thief rose up and told all friends, "My dear gentlemen, I am a thief by occupation. Because I have that habit to steal at night, so I wanted to steal something from your bag, but I thought that 'I have come to this holy place. I shall not do it.' So I might have placed one man's bag in another man's place. So excuse me." So this is habit. This is habit. He does not want to commit theft, but he has got the habit of doing that, so sometimes he does.

So therefore Krishna says, "In that condition, one who has decided to stop all bad or immoral habits and just to make his progress in Krishna consciousness, even by chance, if he does something which is immoral in the face of the society, that should not be taken account of." Of course, that is by chance. And in the next verse, you'll find, kshipram bhavati dharmatma: "Because he has dovetailed himself in Krishna consciousness, it is sure that he will become a pure saint very soon. Very soon."

For example, just like the electric fan is going on, and if you put off the switch, you'll see the fan is still going on. But that going on will stop because the switch is already off. Similarly, if one dovetails himself in Krishna consciousness, then automatically he'll become a saintly person, automatically. Because his switch is made off. Just like the fan, when the switch is made off, the current supply is stopped. You may see that it is running for few minutes. But it will stop. Similarly, anyone — it doesn't matter what he is — if he puts himself, dovetails himself in Krishna consciousness, then he, all his material contamination will be washed off. Washed off.

This is the easiest process. Of course, there are, in scriptures, there are many, many good examples. But it is a fact that anyone who takes to Krishna consciousness, he doesn't require to endeavor for becoming a good man, I mean to say, separately. That Krishna consciousness will help him to be the best man in the world. Api chet su-duracaro bhajate mam ananya-bhak sadhur eva sa mantavyah samyag vyavasito hi sah: "Even if one commits the most abominable actions, if he is engaged in devotional service, he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated." [Bhagavad-gita 9.30] And there are other confirmations in the Bhagavata: yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñchana sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah: [Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.12] "Anyone who has attained Krishna consciousness, he attains all good qualities automatically." And harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-gunah: "Anyone who is not in Krishna consciousness, or God consciousness..." — when I speak of Krishna, you can take it as God — so a person who is devoid of God consciousness, however he may be qualified from the material point of view, the scripture says that his qualification will not check him from doing things which are not desirable. He'll not be prevented from doing things which are not desirable. Harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-guna manorathenasati dhavato bahih: "Because he's devoid of Krishna consciousness, then he's sure to commit mischief in this material world." [SB 5.18.12]