Question: We have a family friend that has been attending the ISKCON temple for years (but not regularly). He has just recently started chanting. We are very happy for him and his progress to 10 rounds a day. My question is: he still has not given up eating meat totally, yet. Is it an offense to chant the Holy Name while still eating meat?
Answer by Romapada Swami:
This situation in itself does not preclude your friend from the eligibility to chant; one can and should be encouraged to chant from any circumstance of life. As long as one sincerely takes the Holy Name, while trying to purify oneself step-by-step of detrimental habits according to one’s honest capacity, the Holy name will purify the heart and help purge those sinful habits.
However, if a chanter continues to cling to sinful activities despite understanding its demerits without making effort to change, such chanting will not be very effective. Moreover, if they specifically think that by chanting they can counteract the effects of sinful activities, then that constitutes a serious offense to the Holy Name and must be rectified.
