Bhagavad Gita 9.30 · BG 9.30
Chapter 9Verse 30
Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga
अपि चेत्सुदुराचारो भजते मामनन्यभाक्। साधुरेव स मन्तव्यः सम्यग्व्यवसितो हि सः॥
api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ
Translation
Even if someone of very bad conduct turns to me with undivided devotion, they should be considered righteous, for they have resolved rightly.
The moment you sincerely turn things around, you're already on the right path.
What does this mean?
A sincere turn in the right direction counts from the moment you make it, not after you've proven yourself for years. Krishna says even someone with a bad track record, if they've genuinely committed, should be regarded as on the right path already. The resolve is what matters. The rest follows.
In simple words
Krishna says that even someone with a genuinely bad track record, if they turn toward him with their whole heart, should be counted as on the right path already, because they've made the right decision. The resolve is what matters. The rest follows from it.
The deeper idea
The verse pushes back hard on the idea that you have to earn your way back over years before a change of direction counts. Krishna says the sincere turn itself, having resolved rightly, is enough to be regarded as righteous from that moment. It's not claiming the past behavior didn't happen or that change is instant. It's saying the decisive thing is the wholehearted commitment to a new direction, and that gets credited immediately, not retroactively after a probation period.
How it applies to life
People trying to change, an addiction, a pattern of harm, a way of treating people, often get told, and tell themselves, that they don't get to feel any different until they've proven it for a long time. This verse disagrees. The genuine decision to turn things around is itself the turning point, and treating it as real from day one, rather than as provisional, is part of what lets it hold. Slips afterward don't cancel the direction.