Even if, though he be of very evil conduct, of conduct utterly base, he worships Me with devotion to no other, being of undivided devotion, he is to be held, to be known, as one of good conduct, of right conduct; for he has resolved rightly, since his resolve is rightly settled. And casting off his outward evil conduct, by the inner power of his right resolve.

Even there, transgressing the conduct, to be taken up and to be shunned, of those born in this and that particular caste, if, in the manner described, he worships Me with no other share, having the worship alone for his purpose, he is a good man indeed; he is to be held the foremost of the devotees of Vishnu, to be held in high regard, equal to those spoken of before. This is the meaning. Why so? Because he is rightly resolved; because his resolve is utterly sound. He has made the resolve, hard for all to gain, 'the Blessed One, the supreme Brahman Narayana, the single cause of the whole world, the lord of the moving and the unmoving, is our master, my teacher, my friend, my supreme thing to be enjoyed', and its effect, the ceaseless worship that has no other purpose, is his; therefore he is a good man indeed, to be held in high regard. When this resolve, and its effect, the worship of the character described, have been accomplished, a transgression of his conduct, a slight defect, is not, for that, a ground for treating him with disregard; rather, he is to be held in high regard indeed. This is the meaning. But, by such revealed texts as 'not he who has not ceased from ill conduct, not the unstilled, not the uncollected, nor he whose mind is unstilled, can reach this by insight', a transgression of conduct blocks the onward flow of the arising of each later worship. To this the Lord speaks.

This is a brief sub-gloss. For a fuller reading of this verse, see Madhusūdana, Śaṅkara, or Rāmānuja above.

For the most part His devotee is not one of very evil conduct at all; yet if, by much merit, one somehow becomes such a devotee despite past evil conduct, then he is to be held to be a saint indeed.