 The mainstream view among rishonim and non-Kabbalistic authorities is that one is permitted to become "tamei" (except on those occasions when one must visit the Temple, or touch holy objects), and thus there is no obligation to attempt to remain "tahor".As an example, it is not only permitted but a mitzvah to tend to a dead person, even though this causes impurity.However, some rabbis have advocated keeping some of the laws of purity even in the absence of the temple in Jerusalem and even in the diaspora.