Having heard the conversation between the Yamadutas and the Visnudutas, Ajamila became firmly fixed in Krsna consciousness. He began to lament, How unfortunate I was to engage in so many sinful activities! This is the proper attitude for a Krsna conscious devotee. Whatever he may have done in the past, no matter how sinful, when he comes in contact with devotees and hears transcendental topics in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead (bhagavata-katha), he becomes purified and laments his previous condition. Indeed, the symptom of his purification is that he laments having behaved so sinfully. He repents and discontinues his past grievous conduct.

Ajamila was now at the stage of devotional service in which one is freed from all material impediments and is completely satisfied (ahaituky apratihata yayatma suprasidati). Having reached this platform, Ajamila began to lament for his past materialistic activities and glorify the name, fame, form, and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who takes to Krsna consciousness naturally endeavors to follow the rules of devotional service, and he regularly chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. A person should not suppose that because he has taken to Krsna consciousness he can continue his sinful activities and have their effects counteracted. We have repeatedly warned that this is the greatest offense against the holy name. Like Ajamila, one should repent, How unfortunate I was to engage in so many sinful activities! But now, by the grace of Krsna, I have come to know that I was acting improperly.

Thus Ajamila greatly repented, remembering all his sinful activities. He remembered that he had been trained by his father to be a first-class brahmana, that he had been educated in the science of the Vedas, and that he had married a beautiful and chaste wife, a girl who was innocent and highly qualified, having come from a respectable brahmana family. Ajamila now lamented, I rejected her and accepted a prostitute, an abominable drunkard!

It is a Vedic regulation that men of the higher classesbrahmanas, ksatriyas, and vaisyasdo not beget children in the wombs of lower-class women. Therefore the custom in Vedic society is to examine the horoscopes of a girl and boy being considered for marriage to see whether their combination is suitable. Vedic astrology reveals whether one has been born in the brahmana class, the ksatriya class, the vaisya class, or the sudra class, according to the three qualities of material nature. The horoscope must be examined because a marriage between a boy of the brahmana class and a girl of the sudra class is incompatible; married life would be miserable for both husband and wife. Of course, this is a material calculation according to the three modes of nature, yet it is important for the peace and prosperity of the family and society. But if the boy and girl are devotees, there need be no such considerations. A devotee is transcendental, and therefore in a marriage between devotees, the boy and girl form a very happy combination.

Ajamila thought, Because I failed to be self-controlled, I was degraded to an abominable life and all my brahminical qualifications were nullified. This is the mentality of one who is becoming a pure devotee. When one is elevated to the platform of devotional service by the grace of the Lord and the spiritual master, one first regrets his past sinful activities. This helps one advance in spiritual life. The Visnudutas had given Ajamila the chance to become a pure devotee, and the first duty of a devotee is to regret his past sinful activities in illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating, and gambling. Not only should a devotee give up his past bad habits, but he must always regret his past sinful acts. This is the standard of pure devotion.