486
Bhagavad-णोंबे  As It Is A
[Ch. 9]
devotee of the Lord. One who is not a devotee of the Lord has no good qualifications whatsoever. The question remains, then, how can a person engaged in abominable activities—either by accident or intention—be a pure devotee? This question may justly be raised. The miscreants, as stated in the Seventh Chapter, who never come to the devotional service of the Lord, have no good qualifications, as is stated in the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . Generally, a devotee who is engaged in the nine kinds of devotional activities is engaged in the process of cleansing all material contamination from the heart. He puts the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, and all sinful contaminations are naturally washed away. Continuous thinking of the Supreme Lord makes him pure by nature. According to the  Vedas , there is a certain regulation that if one falls down from his exalted position, he has to undergo certain ritualistic processes to purify himself. But here there is no such condition because the purifying process is already there in the heart of the devotee, due to his remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly. Therefore, the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare should be continued without stoppage. This will protect a devotee from all accidental falldowns. He will thus remain perpetually free from all material contaminations.
TEXT 32
मां हि पार्थ व्यपाश्रित्य येऽपि स्युः पापयोनयः। 
    स्त्रियो वैश्यास्तथा शूद्रास्तेऽपि यान्ति परां गतिं ॥३२॥
mām hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te’pi yānti parām gatiṁ
mām —unto Me;  hi —certainly;  pārtha —O son of Pṛthā;  vyapāśritya —particularly taking shelter;  ye —anyone;  api —also;  syuḥ —becomes;  pāpa-yonayaḥ —born of a lower family;  striyaḥ —women;  vaiśyāḥ —mercantile people;  tathā —also;  śūdrāḥ —lower class men;  te api —even they;  yānti —go;  parām —supreme;  gatim —destination.
TRANSLATION
O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth—women, vaiśyas [merchants], as well as śūdras [workers]—can approach the supreme destination.