Krishna can forgive once, twice, but not regularly

There was no scarcity of flowers in Mexico City and every morning during guru-puja, over a hundred devotees and guests would come one by one before Srila Prabhupada to offer a palmful of flower petals at his lotus feet. By the end of the guru-puja, a small hill of flower petals spilled over Srila Prabhupada's legs, until finally he would gather up handfuls and throw them out to the ecstatic devotees, who continued their chanting and dancing with even greater rigor.

On Prabhupada's second morning in Mexico City, he spoke from Bhagavad-gita 2.12, on how the soul is eternally individual. "When you actually understand," Srila Prabhupada said, "that you are not American or Indian or Mexican but that you are spirit soul, then your spiritual life begins." He said the symptom of identifying oneself with the soul is that one becomes jubilant, jolly and to attain this, one has to undergo a process of purification. "Without purification, you cannot understand God but Lord Caitanya's prescription, which we are simply propagating, is chant Hare Krishna. So I am very glad to see that you, Mexican young boys, girls, ladies and gentlemen are coming here and joining and chanting Hare Krishna. I request you to continue this procedure. Please come here, join this chanting of Hare Krishna mantra and take prasadam and go home and surely you will be purified and qualified for going back to home, back to Godhead."

Questions and answers followed, with Hridayananda Maharaja translating.

Hridayananda Maharaja: "He wants to know if within marriage it is possible to achieve perfection."

Prabhupada: "Yes. Human being is meant for marriage, not the cats and dogs. If you can remain without marriage, without sex life, that is very good, but if you can't, then marry and be gentleman and remain peaceful."

Hridayananda Maharaja: "He wants to know if one can achieve Krishna consciousness outside the temple."

Prabhupada: "Oh, yes. You have to follow the rules and regulations, that's all."

Hridayananda Maharaja: "What about when one breaks the principles? Can Krishna forgive him?"

Prabhupada: "Yes, Krishna can forgive you once, twice but not regularly." Prabhupada smiled and the devotees laughed with him.

Hridayananda Maharaja: "Sometimes people come and join our movement and follow the four principles but there appears to be a fault in their character. So he says that by following the process, gradually the defects will be diminished. But is there any way to more rapidly?"

Prabhupada: "If a man comes and follows the regulative principles even for some time and again he falls down, so long as he has followed, that asset is permanent. Anything spiritual asset is never lost. So little, little, little! When it is complete cent percent, then you become liberated. Spiritual asset is never lost. Even if a person comes to the temple, follows the regulative principles for some time and again falls down, he is not a loser; he is a gainer. Others who do not take this lesson, who keep outside and perform their so-called material duties very perfectly, they are losers. So at least for some time let every one of you come here and follow the restriction. If you become perfect, it is all right but even if you go away, whatever you have done, that is your permanent asset. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, 'svalpam apy asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat'. Even that little asset can help you become freed from the greatest danger. So in the Bhagavad-gita, it is stated even if such a person falls down, he is given a chance in next life to take birth in a very rich aristocratic family or in a very pious brahmana family. A little spiritual asset in this human form of life will at least guarantee your next life in a very nice family  but without spiritual life, there is no guarantee whether you are going to become human being or cat or dog."