Bhagavan addressed these issues in Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6.
Arjuna asked 'does he not, fallen from both, perish, without support?'
Bhagavan reassured Arjuna, and all of us: The 'doer of good never comes to grief ... one fallen from Yoga reincarnates in the home of the pure and the prosperous.'
Arjuna said:
37. Though possessed of Shraddhaa but unable to control himself, with the mind wandering away from Yoga, what end does one, failing to gain perfection in Yoga, meet, O Krishna?
38. Does he not, fallen from both, perish, without support, like a rent cloud, O mighty-armed, deluded in the path of Brahman?
39. This doubt of mine, O Krishna, Thou shouldst completely dispel; for it is not possible for any but Thee to dispel this doubt.
The Blessed Lord said:
40. Verily, O son of Prithaa, there is destruction for him, neither here nor hereafter: for, the doer of good, O my son, never comes to grief.
41. Having attained to the worlds of the righteous, and dwelling there for everlasting years, one fallen from Yoga reincarnates in the home of the pure and the prosperous.
42. Or else he is born into a family of wise Yogis only; verily, a birth such as that is very rare to obtain in this world.
43. There he is united with the intelligence acquired in his former body, and strives more than before, for perfection, O son of the Kurus.
And, in Chapter 4:
37. Though possessed of Shraddhaa but unable to control himself, with the mind wandering away from Yoga, what end does one, failing to gain perfection in Yoga, meet, O Krishna?
38. Does he not, fallen from both, perish, without support, like a rent cloud, O mighty-armed, deluded in the path of Brahman?
39. This doubt of mine, O Krishna, Thou shouldst completely dispel; for it is not possible for any but Thee to dispel this doubt.
The Blessed Lord said:
40. Verily, O son of Prithaa, there is destruction for him, neither here nor hereafter: for, the doer of good, O my son, never comes to grief.
41. Having attained to the worlds of the righteous, and dwelling there for everlasting years, one fallen from Yoga reincarnates in the home of the pure and the prosperous.
42. Or else he is born into a family of wise Yogis only; verily, a birth such as that is very rare to obtain in this world.
43. There he is united with the intelligence acquired in his former body, and strives more than before, for perfection, O son of the Kurus.
And, in Chapter 4:
36. Even if thou be the most sinful among all the sinful, yet by the raft of knowledge alone thou shalt go across all sin.
37. As blazing fire reduces wood into ashes, so, O Arjuna, does the fire of knowledge reduce all Karma to ashes.
Finally, in Chapter 9:
30. If even a very wicked person worships Me, with devotion to none else, he should be regarded as good, for he has rightly resolved.
31. Soon does he become righteous, and attain eternal Peace, O son of Kunti boldly canst thou proclaim, that My devotee is never destroyed.
The above does not imply you can do evil and escape the consequences, or that you can do bad things and then suddenly, in your deathbed, shout the name of Bhagavan, and presto! all is well and your slate is wiped clean. Banish such thoughts. The Eternal Law of Karma applies to all.
But Bhagavan is not there looking over our shoulders, 24/7, angry and vindicative, ready to hurl us into hell and brimstone for our failures and imperfections.
Swami Chinmayananda ji addresses this issue in his GITA commentary:
" Vedanta is not a philosophy that heartlessly keeps the sinners out of it halls of wisdom. It does not believe there is any lost soul who will ever wander among the heathens, and who can only be redeemed if he enters the portals of the Church of Vedanta.
The all-pervading Divine manifests everywhere and therefore, there is no sinner who cannot, through his endeavour, come to claim his own heritage of Absolute Perfection. The Gita is a scripture of life written for man and it assures man that "even if he be the mot sinful among the sinful," he too can cross over his painful destinies of the present and reach the shores that lie beyond finitude and imperfections. '
To summarize, the GITA tells us: Do not be troubled by setbacks and imperfections; strive for perfection and you shall succeed.
Finally, in Chapter 9:
30. If even a very wicked person worships Me, with devotion to none else, he should be regarded as good, for he has rightly resolved.
31. Soon does he become righteous, and attain eternal Peace, O son of Kunti boldly canst thou proclaim, that My devotee is never destroyed.
The above does not imply you can do evil and escape the consequences, or that you can do bad things and then suddenly, in your deathbed, shout the name of Bhagavan, and presto! all is well and your slate is wiped clean. Banish such thoughts. The Eternal Law of Karma applies to all.
But Bhagavan is not there looking over our shoulders, 24/7, angry and vindicative, ready to hurl us into hell and brimstone for our failures and imperfections.
Swami Chinmayananda ji addresses this issue in his GITA commentary:
" Vedanta is not a philosophy that heartlessly keeps the sinners out of it halls of wisdom. It does not believe there is any lost soul who will ever wander among the heathens, and who can only be redeemed if he enters the portals of the Church of Vedanta.
The all-pervading Divine manifests everywhere and therefore, there is no sinner who cannot, through his endeavour, come to claim his own heritage of Absolute Perfection. The Gita is a scripture of life written for man and it assures man that "even if he be the mot sinful among the sinful," he too can cross over his painful destinies of the present and reach the shores that lie beyond finitude and imperfections. '
To summarize, the GITA tells us: Do not be troubled by setbacks and imperfections; strive for perfection and you shall succeed.
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