Sinful life (CC and Other Books)

Expressions researched:
"sinful life" |"sinful lives"

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 3.60, Translation:

The sinful life of the living beings results from ignorance. To destroy that ignorance, He has brought various weapons, such as His plenary associates, His devotees and the holy name.

CC Adi 8.26, Purport:

One cannot be situated in the devotional service of the Lord unless one is free from sinful life. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.28):

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmanām

te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ

"Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the duality of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination." A person who is already cleansed of all tinges of sinful life engages without deviation or duality of purpose in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.

CC Adi 8.26, Purport:

If one always chants the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, gradually one is freed from all reactions of sinful life, provided he chants offenselessly and does not commit more sinful activities on the strength of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. In this way one is purified, and his devotional service causes the arousal of his dormant love of God. If one simply chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and does not commit sinful activities and offenses, one's life is purified, and thus one comes to the fifth stage of perfection, or engagement in the loving service of the Lord (premā pum-artho mahān).

CC Adi 9.41, Purport:

Although the present leaders of India are influencing the people not to believe in God, not to believe in a next life and not to believe in a distinction between pious and impious life, and although they are teaching them how to drink wine, eat meat and become supposedly civilized, people are nevertheless afraid of the four activities of sinful life—namely illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling—and whenever there is a religious festival, they gather together by the thousands. We have actual experience of this. Whenever the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement holds a saṅkīrtana festival in a big city like Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Ahmedabad or Hyderabad, thousands of people come to hear. Sometimes we speak in English, but even though most people do not understand English, they nevertheless come to hear us. Even when imitation incarnations of Godhead speak, people gather in the thousands, for everyone who is born in the land of India has a natural spiritual inclination and is taught the basic principles of spiritual life; they merely need to be a little more educated in the Vedic principles. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says here, janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra: if an Indian is educated in the Vedic principles, he is able to perform the most beneficial welfare activity for the entire world.

CC Adi 9.41, Purport:

At present, for want of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness, the entire world is in darkness, having been covered by the four principles of sinful life—meat-eating, illicit sex, gambling and intoxication. Therefore there is a need for vigorous propaganda to educate people to refrain from sinful activities. This will bring peace and prosperity; the rogues, thieves and debauchees will naturally decrease in number, and all of human society will be God conscious.

The practical effect of our spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement all over the world is that now the most degraded debauchees are becoming the most elevated saints. This is only one Indian's humble service to the world. If all Indians had taken to this path, as advised by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, India would have given a unique gift to the world, and thus India would have been glorified. Now, however, India is known as a poverty-stricken country, and whenever anyone from America or another opulent country goes to India, he sees many people lying by the footpaths for whom there are not even provisions for two meals a day. There are also institutions collecting money from all parts of the world in the name of welfare activities for poverty-stricken people, but they are spending it for their own sense gratification. Now, on the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has been started, and people are benefiting from this movement.

CC Adi 12.73, Purport:

Indeed, in all parts of the world, in every country where we preach the saṅkīrtana movement, we find that people very easily accept the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra without hesitation. The visible effect of this chanting is that the members of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, regardless of their backgrounds, all give up the four principles of sinful life and come to an elevated standard of devotion.

Although posing as great scholars, ascetics, householders and svāmīs, the so-called followers of the Hindu religion are all useless, dried-up branches of the Vedic religion. They are impotent; they cannot do anything to spread the Vedic culture for the benefit of human society. The essence of the Vedic culture is the message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Lord Caitanya instructed:

yāre dekha, tāre kaha "kṛṣṇa"-upadeśa

āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa

(CC Madhya 7.128)

One should simply instruct everyone he meets regarding the principles of kṛṣṇa-kathā, as expressed in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. One who has no interest in kṛṣṇa-kathā or the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is like dry, useless wood with no living force. The ISKCON branch, being directly watered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, is becoming undoubtedly successful, whereas the disconnected branches of the so-called Hindu religion that are envious of ISKCON are drying up and dying.

CC Adi 13.98, Translation:

Thus by His causeless mercy the full moon, Gaurahari, rose in the district of Nadia, which is compared to Udayagiri, where the sun first becomes visible. His rising in the sky dissipated the darkness of sinful life, and thus the three worlds became joyful and chanted the holy name of the Lord.

CC Adi 17.217, Purport:

Confirming the potency of the saṅkīrtana movement, these words from the very mouth of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu express how people can be purified simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The Kazi was a Muslim mleccha, or meat-eater, but because he several times uttered the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, automatically the reactions of his sinful life were vanquished and he was fully purified of all material contamination. We do not know why the pāṣaṇḍīs of the present day protest that we are deteriorating the Hindu religion by spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world and claiming all classes of men to the highest standard of Vaiṣṇavism. But these rascals disagree with us so vehemently that some of them do not allow European and American Vaiṣṇavas to enter the temples of Viṣṇu. Thinking religion to be meant for material benefit, these so-called Hindus have actually become vicious by worshiping the numerous forms of the demigods. In the next verse Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirms the Kazi's purification.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 3.196, Translation:

"Because I am the lowest among men, I shall not be able to see You. How shall I maintain my sinful life?"

CC Madhya 11.112, Purport:

As soon as one enters a holy place, he must observe fasting for the day, and after shaving his head clean, he must take a bath in a river or ocean near the holy place. These methods are adopted to neutralize the effects of sinful activities. Visiting a holy place of pilgrimage means neutralizing the reactions of a sinful life. Those who go to holy places of pilgrimage actually unload the reactions of their sinful lives, and consequently holy places are overloaded with sinful activities left there by visitors.

When a saintly person or pure devotee visits such a holy place, he absorbs the sinful effects left by the common men and again purifies the holy place. Tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni (SB 1.13.10). Therefore a common man's visit to a holy place and an exalted saintly person's visit there are different. The common man leaves his sins in the holy place, and a saintly person or devotee cleanses these sins simply by his presence.

CC Madhya 15.107, Translation:

“Simply by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa once, a person is relieved from all the reactions of a sinful life. One can complete the nine processes of devotional service simply by chanting the holy name.

CC Madhya 15.162, Translation:

“My Lord, my heart breaks to see the sufferings of all the conditioned souls; therefore I request You to transfer the karma of their sinful lives upon my head.

CC Madhya 15.169, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu here informed Vāsudeva Datta that since Kṛṣṇa is all-powerful, He can immediately deliver all conditioned souls from material existence. In essence, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "You desire the liberation of all kinds of living entities without discrimination. You are very anxious for their good fortune, and I say that simply by your prayer all living entities within the universe can be liberated. You do not even have to take up the burden of their sinful activities. Thus there is no need for you to suffer for their sinful lives. Whoever receives your compassion becomes a Vaiṣṇava immediately, and Kṛṣṇa delivers all Vaiṣṇavas from the reactions to their past sinful activities." Kṛṣṇa also promises this in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.66):

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

CC Madhya 15.169, Purport:

As soon as one fully surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, he becomes a Vaiṣṇava. In this verse from the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa promises to relieve His devotee from all the reactions to sinful life. It is a fact that a fully surrendered Vaiṣṇava is completely out of the range of material infection. This is to say that he does not suffer the results of his previous pious or impious actions. Unless one is freed from sinful life, one cannot become a Vaiṣṇava. In other words, if one is a Vaiṣṇava, his sinful life is certainly ended. According to the Padma Purāṇa:

aprārabdha-phalaṁ pāpaṁ kūṭaṁ bījaṁ phalonmukham

krameṇaiva pralīyeta viṣṇu-bhakti-ratātmanām

"There are different stages of dormant reactions to sinful activities to be observed in a sinful life. Sinful reactions may be just waiting to take effect (phalonmukha), reactions may be still further dormant (kūṭa), or the reactions may be in a seedlike state (bīja). In any case, all types of sinful reactions are vanquished one after another if a person engages in the devotional service of Lord Viṣṇu."

CC Madhya 20.93, Translation:

Sanātana Gosvāmī replied, "The Supreme Personality of Godhead has saved me from the sinful life of material existence. By His desire, my last piece of material attraction is now gone."

CC Madhya 24.254, Translation and Purport:

“The hunter continued, "My dear sir, please tell me how I can be relieved from the reactions of my sinful life. Now I fully surrender unto you and fall down at your lotus feet. Please deliver me from sinful reactions."

By the grace of Nārada Muni, the hunter came to his good senses and immediately surrendered unto the saint's lotus feet. This is the process. By associating with a saintly person, one is able to understand the reactions of his sinful life. When one voluntarily surrenders to a saintly person who is a representative of Kṛṣṇa and follows his instructions, one can become freed from sinful reactions. Kṛṣṇa demands the surrender of a sinful man, and Kṛṣṇa's representative gives the same instructions. The representative of Kṛṣṇa never tells his disciple, "Surrender unto me." Rather he says, "Surrender unto Kṛṣṇa." If the disciple accepts this principle and surrenders himself through the representative of Kṛṣṇa, his life is saved.

CC Madhya 24.330, Purport:

Similarly, a disciple's qualifications must be observed by the spiritual master before he is accepted as a disciple. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, the requirement is that one must be prepared to give up the four pillars of sinful life—illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. In Western countries especially, we first observe whether a potential disciple is prepared to follow the regulative principles. Then he is given the name of a Vaiṣṇava servant and initiated to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, at least sixteen rounds daily. In this way the disciple renders devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master or his representative for at least six months to a year. He is then recommended for a second initiation, during which a sacred thread is offered and the disciple is accepted as a bona fide brāhmaṇa. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura introduced the system of giving the sacred thread to a bona fide Vaiṣṇava, and we are following in his footsteps.

CC Madhya 25.77, Translation:

""Being touched by the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, that serpent was immediately freed from the reactions of his sinful life. Thus the serpent gave up his body and assumed the body of a beautiful Vidyādhara demigod.""

CC Madhya 25.77, Purport:

Nanda Mahārāja was fasting, and he lay down near the forest. At that time a serpent, who was formerly cursed by Āṅgirasa Ṛṣi, appeared. This serpent had formerly been named Sudarśana, and he had belonged to the Gandharvaloka planet. However, because he joked with the ṛṣi, he was condemned to take on the body of a big snake. When this serpent attacked Nanda Mahārāja, Nanda Mahārāja began to call, "Kṛṣṇa! Help!" Kṛṣṇa immediately appeared and began to kick the serpent with His lotus feet. Due to being touched by the Lord's lotus feet, the serpent was immediately freed from the reactions of his sinful life. Being freed, he again assumed his original form of Sudarśana, the Gandharva.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 2.166, Purport:

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura remarks that after one adopts the renounced order and accepts the dress of either a sannyāsī or a bābājī, if he entertains the idea of sense gratification, especially in relationship with a woman, the only atonement is to commit suicide at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā. Only by such atonement can his sinful life be purified. If such a person is thus punished, it is possible for him to attain the shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Without such punishment, however, the shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is very difficult to regain.

CC Antya 2.172, Purport:

By chastising Junior Haridāsa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited His mercy toward him, thus showing how elevated was Junior Haridāsa's devotion for Him. Because of this transcendental relationship, the Lord corrected even a slight offense committed by His pure devotee. Therefore one who wants to be a pure devotee of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu should give up all material sense gratification; otherwise, the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are very difficult to attain. (6) If one dies in such a celebrated holy place as Prayāga, Mathurā or Vṛndāvana, one can be relieved of the reactions to sinful life and then attain the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (7) Although a pure or faithful devotee may fall down, he nevertheless ultimately gets the chance to go back home, back to Godhead, by the mercy of the Lord.

CC Antya 3.61, Translation:

Nāmācārya Haridāsa Ṭhākura continued, “If one offenselessly utters the holy name even imperfectly, one can be freed from all the results of sinful life.

CC Antya 3.63, Translation:

“Even a faint light from the holy name of the Lord can eradicate all the reactions of sinful life.

CC Antya 3.139, Purport:

Sometimes the word gṛha-vṛtti is substituted for the word gṛha-vitta. Vṛtti means "profession." The gṛha-vṛtti of the prostitute was to enchant foolish people and induce them to indulge in sex. Here, however, gṛha-vṛtti is not a suitable word. The proper word is gṛha-vitta, which means "all the possessions she had in her home." All the girl's possessions had been earned by professional prostitution and were therefore products of her sinful life. When such possessions are given to brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas who can engage them in the service of the Lord because of their advancement in spiritual life, this indirectly helps the person who gives the charity, for he is thus relieved of sinful reactions. As Kṛṣṇa promises, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi: (BG 18.66) "I shall save you from all sinful reactions." When our Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees go out to beg charity or collect contributions in the form of membership fees, the money thus coming to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is strictly employed to advance Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. The Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees collect the money of others for the service of Kṛṣṇa, and they are satisfied with Kṛṣṇa's prasādam and whatever He gives them for their maintenance.

CC Antya 3.139, Purport:

They do not desire material comforts. However, they go to great pains to engage the possessions of prostitutes, or persons who are more or less like prostitutes, in the service of the Lord and thus free them from sinful reactions. A Vaiṣṇava guru accepts money or other contributions, but he does not employ such contributions for sense gratification. A pure Vaiṣṇava thinks himself unfit to help free even one person from the reactions of sinful life, but he engages one's hard-earned money in the service of the Lord and thus frees one from sinful reactions. A Vaiṣṇava guru is never dependent on the contributions of his disciples. Following the instructions of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, a pure Vaiṣṇava does not personally take even a single paisa from anyone, but he induces his followers to spend for the service of the Lord whatever possessions they have.

CC Antya 3.177, Translation:

Some of them said, "By chanting the holy name of the Lord, one is freed from the reactions of all sinful life."

Others said, "Simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord, a living being is liberated from material bondage."

CC Antya 3.180, Translation:

“Liberation and extinction of the reactions of sinful life are two concomitant by-products of chanting the holy name of the Lord. An example is found in the gleams of morning sunlight.

CC Antya 3.181, Translation:

“"As the rising sun immediately dissipates all the world"s darkness, which is deep like an ocean, so the holy name of the Lord, if chanted once without offenses, dissipates all the reactions of a living being's sinful life. All glories to that holy name of the Lord, which is auspicious for the entire world.’”

CC Antya 3.186, Translation:

“Similarly, the first hint that offenseless chanting of the Lord's holy name has awakened dissipates the reactions of sinful life immediately. And when one chants the holy name offenselessly, one awakens to service in ecstatic love at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.

CC Antya 9.145, Purport:

The result of advancement in spiritual knowledge is not material improvement, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised Gopīnātha Paṭṭanāyaka how to use material opulence without incurring reactions to sinful life. From this advice, it appeared that the Lord encouraged Gopīnātha Paṭṭanāyaka to enhance his material condition. Actually, however, He did not. In fact, this was but a manifestation of His great affection for His devotee.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 51:

He rebuked Him with the following words: "O Kṛṣṇa! I heard that You are a great hero born in the dynasty of Yadu, but I see that You are running away from fighting, like a coward. It is not worthy of Your good name and family tradition." Kālayavana was following, running very fast, but still he could not catch Kṛṣṇa because he was not freed from all contaminations of sinful life.

According to Vedic culture, anyone who does not follow the regulative principles observed by the higher castes (the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas) or even those observed by the laborer class (the śūdras) is called a mleccha or yavana. The Vedic social situation is so planned that persons accepted as śūdras can gradually be elevated to the position of brāhmaṇas by the cultural advancement known as saṁskāra, or the purificatory process. The verdict of the Vedic scriptures is that no one becomes a brāhmaṇa or a mleccha simply by birth; by birth everyone is accepted as a śūdra. One has to elevate himself by the purificatory process to the stage of brahminical life.

Krsna Book 70:

We are puzzled at the situation and cannot understand how it is possible. It may be that Jarāsandha has been deputed to give us such trouble because of our past misdeeds, but we have heard from revealed scriptures that anyone who surrenders unto Your lotus feet is immediately immune to the reactions of sinful life. We therefore offer ourselves wholeheartedly unto Your shelter, and we hope that Your Lordship will now give us full protection. We have now come to the real conclusion of our lives. Our kingly positions were nothing but the reward of our past pious activities, just as our suffering imprisonment by Jarāsandha is the result of our past impious activities. We realize now that the reactions of both pious and impious activities are temporary and that we can never be happy in this conditioned life. The material body is awarded to us by the modes of material nature, and on account of this we are full of anxieties. The material condition of life simply involves bearing the burden of this dead body.

Krsna Book 74:

When Śukadeva Gosvāmī narrated these incidents of Kṛṣṇa's killing Śiśupāla and described the successful execution of the Rājasūya-yajña by Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, he also pointed out that after the successful termination of the yajña only one person was unhappy. He was Duryodhana. Duryodhana by nature was very envious because of his sinful life, and he appeared in the dynasty of the Kurus like a chronic disease personified to destroy the whole family.

Śukadeva Gosvāmī assured Mahārāja Parīkṣit that the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa—the killing of Śiśupāla and Jarāsandha and the releasing of the imprisoned kings—are all transcendental vibrations, and that anyone who hears these narrations from authorized persons will immediately be freed from all the reactions of the sinful activities of his life.

Krsna Book 87:

You are the controller of the fourteen upper and lower worlds; and You are the controller of the three material qualities. Demigods and persons advanced in spiritual knowledge always hear and chant about Your transcendental pastimes because this process has the specific potency of nullifying the accumulated results of sinful life. Intelligent persons factually dip into the ocean of Your nectarean activities and very patiently hear about them. Thus they are immediately freed from the contamination of the material qualities; they do not have to undergo severe penances and austerities for advancement in spiritual life. This chanting and hearing of Your transcendental pastimes is the easiest process for self-realization. Simply by submissive aural reception of the transcendental message, one's heart is cleansed of all dirty things. Thus Kṛṣṇa consciousness becomes fixed in the heart of a devotee.” The great authority Bhīṣmadeva has also given the opinion that this process of chanting and hearing about the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the highest religious process. And the Taittirīya Upaniṣad says that worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the essence of all Vedic ritualistic performances.

Krsna Book 87:

If he is the Supreme God, then how is it that he has been overtaken by impious activities and thereby subjected to the tribulations of the law of karma? When the Māyāvādīs are asked about this, they cannot properly answer. The speculation that one is equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is another symptom of sinful life. One cannot take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness unless one is completely freed from all sinful activities. The very fact that the Māyāvādī claims to be one with the Supreme Lord means that he is not yet freed from the reactions of sinful activities. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says that such persons are aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ (SB 10.2.32), which means that because they falsely think themselves liberated and at the same time think themselves equal with the Absolute Truth, their intelligence is not purified. The personified Vedas said that if the yogīs and the jñānīs do not free themselves from sinful desires, then their particular process of self-realization will never be successful.

Narada-bhakti-sutra (sutras 1 to 8 only)

Narada Bhakti Sutra 2, Purport:

There are many bad habits we acquire in the association of material contamination, chief of which are illicit sexual relationships, eating animal food, indulging in intoxication, and gambling. The first thing the expert spiritual master does when he engages his disciple in regulated devotional service is to instruct him to abstain from these four principles of sinful life.

Since God is supremely pure, one cannot rise to the highest perfectional stage of love of God without being purified. In the Bhagavad-gītā (10.12), when Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord, he said, pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān: "You are the purest of the pure." The Lord is the purest, and thus anyone who wants to serve the Supreme Lord must also be pure. Unless a person is pure, he can neither understand what the Personality of Godhead is nor engage in His service in love, for devotional service, as stated before, begins from the point of self-realization, when all misgivings of materialistic life are vanquished.