Anartha Nivrtti: Developing Good Habits

Q. I would just like to ask if a bad person can love himself (is it allowed to)? Can this help him to become a better person?

Each one of us is part and parcel of Krishna. Thus originally we are all pure; the soul itself is neither bad or good.

Q. It is still a challenge for me to wake up early, so it is often difficult for me to finish chanting my rounds before class, and I often need to finish them later in the day. I have found that I can finish my chanting in the morning if I do not have homework to do, but it is a challenge for me to motivate myself to wake up early enough to have time to do a lot of homework and also do all of my chanting. Do you have any advice that might help me to motivate myself to wake up earlier? Hopefully I will be able to solve this problem next semester by having more time in the afternoon and evening to do my homework.

Q. My daughter who is in 9th grade has fear of exams. As her mother, how can I help her relax?

The best and most long-lasting help you can give your daughter is to help create a God-centered loving atmosphere at home which is founded on a lifestyle in the mode-of-goodness (sattva guna). This will not only address her fear of exams, but help her form strong character that will enable her to face any situation in life.

Q. My question is how to break habits? How can one become serious and follow Srila Prabhupada's instructions more closely?

Retraction of bad habits was compared by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura as being synonymous to the jiva's returning back to the spiritual world, because in effect these bad habits are nothing but the binding effects of our long material association and past activities.

Q. 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?