Bhagavad Gita 9.30
अपि चेत्सुदुराचारो भजते मामनन्यभाक् | साधुरेव स मन्तव्यः सम्यग्व्यवसितो हि सः ||
api cet sudurācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk | sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ ||
Translation
Even if a man of very bad conduct worships me, devoted to none other, he is to be regarded as good. For he has rightly resolved.
Reflection
What turn in direction have you been refusing to credit?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Nine
One of the chapter's strongest verses. Even a man of seriously bad conduct, if he worships Krishna and only Him, is to be considered good. The reason is given. Samyag vyavasitah, he has rightly resolved. The decisive thing in him is the orientation of his will. The past misconduct has not yet been undone, but the direction has reversed, and direction is what matters. The verse is not a permission to misbehave with the cover of later devotion. It is a refusal to let a person's worst chapters define his trajectory forever. Krishna receives the turn whenever it happens. The conduct will be brought into line by the same devotion. The next verse will say how quickly.