Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 9: The Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret

Bhagavad Gita 9.30

api cetsudurācāro bhajate māmananyabhāk | sādhureva sa mantavyaḥ samyagvyavasito hi saḥ ||

Even if a person of very bad conduct worships me with undivided devotion, that person should be regarded as good, for they have made the right resolve.

Modern context

This is a radical verse. Even someone of very bad conduct, if they turn to the divine with undivided devotion, should be regarded as good. The reason given is that they have made the right resolve. The past does not define them; the direction they have now chosen does. This is a refusal to write anyone off. A person who has truly turned around deserves to be treated as the person they are becoming.