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THE PATH OF PERFECTION
consciousness simply by coming in contact with the Society. In this age, life is very short, and a  yoga  process that takes a long time will not help the general populace. In Kali-yuga, people are all so unfortunate, and association is very bad. Therefore, this process of directly contacting the Supreme is recommended— hari-nāma . Kṛṣṇa is present in the form of His transcendental name, and we can contact Him immediately by hearing His name. Simply by hearing the name  Kṛṣṇa  we immediately become freed from material contamination.
As stated in the Seventh Chapter of  Bhagavad-gītā  (7.28),
yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
“Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated, and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination.” It is herein stressed that one must be completely fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devoid of duality, and must execute only pious activities. Because the mind is flickering, dualities will always come. One is always wondering, “Shall I become Kṛṣṇa conscious, or should I engage in another consciousness?” These problems are always there, but if one is advanced by virtue of pious activities executed in a previous life, his consciousness will be steadily fixed, and he will resolve, “I will be Kṛṣṇa conscious.”
Whether we acted piously in this life or a previous life really doesn’t matter. This chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is so potent that through it we will immediately be purified. We should have the determination, however, not to become implicated in further impious activities. Therefore, for those who want to be initiated in this Society for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there are four principles: no illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat-eating, and no gambling. We don’t say, “No sex.” But we do say, “No illicit sex.” If you want sex, get married and have Kṛṣṇa conscious children. “No intoxi-
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cation” means not even taking tea or coffee—to say nothing of other intoxicants. And there is no gambling and no meat-eating (including fish and eggs). Simply by following these four basic rules and regulations, one becomes immediately uncontaminated. No further endeavor is necessary. As soon as one joins this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and follows these rules and regulations, material contamination is immediately removed, but one must be careful not to be contaminated again. Therefore these rules and regulations should be followed carefully.
Material contamination begins with these four bad habits, and if we manage to check them, there is no question of contamination. Therefore, as soon as we take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we become free. However, we should not think that because Kṛṣṇa consciousness makes us free, we can again indulge in these four bad habits and get free by chanting. That is cheating, and that will not be allowed. Once we are freed, we should not allow ourselves to become contaminated again. One should not think, “I shall drink or have illicit sex and then chant and make myself free.” According to some religious processes, it is said that one can commit all kinds of sin and then go to church, confess to a priest, and be freed of all sin. Therefore people are sinning and confessing and sinning and confessing over and over again. But this is not the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If you are freed, that’s all right, but don’t do it again. After all, what is the purpose of confession? If you confess, “I have committed these sinful activities,” why should you commit them again? If a thief confesses that he has been pickpocketing, he is freed of his sin by virtue of his confession, but does this mean that he should go out again and pick pockets? This requires a little intelligence. One should not think that because by confessing one becomes freed, he should continue to commit sinful activities, confess again, and again become freed. That is not the purpose of confession.
We should therefore understand that if we indulge in unrestricted sinful activities, we become contaminated. We should be careful to have sex only according to the rules and regulations, to eat only food that has been prescribed and properly offered, to defend as Kṛṣṇa advised Arjuna—for the right cause.