The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja at Śrī Indrapraṣṭha Gauḍīya Maṭha, Delhi, India, on January 30, 1964, published in The Constant Stream of Nectar, First Edition (Translated by the Rays of The Harmonist team for Issue 12, Gaura Pūrṇimā 2003)

The words nitya-dharma (eternal religion) automatically presuppose the inherent and unavoidable object of that nitya-dharma, one who performs it. This is due to the inseparable connection between dharma and dharmī (the practitioner of religion). An example of the inseparable relationship between water and liquidity or fire and warmth is given. Before considering the dharma of any entity, it is essential to reflect on its tattva. Thus, first, we consider what tattva ‘I’ actually is. The Chāndogya Upaniṣad narrates the story of Indra and Virocana, by which this tattva of the soul can easily be understood.

At the beginning of Satya-yuga, the entire universe was divided into two camps: the demigods and the demons. The head of the demon party was King Virocana, and the leader of the demigods was Devarāja Indra. They rivalled for the attainment of unparalleled happiness and enjoyment. Thus, bearing envy and spite towards each other, they approached Prajāpati Brahmā, the father of the universe, and asked him how they could fulfil their desires.

Prajāpati Brahmā said, “One can easily attain all the enjoyment available in all the worlds and satisfy one’s every desire when one knows the soul. That soul is free from sin, old age, death, lamentation, hunger and desire, and he is satyakāma and satya-saṅkalpa – that is, his every endeavour and resolve is truthful and just.”

Indra and Virocana resided with Brahmā and practised celibacy for thirty-two years to realise the soul. They then prayed to Prajāpati to tell them about the soul. Prajāpati said, “That person (self) you now see with your eyes is the soul, and he is fearless and immortal.”

They asked, “Is the soul that person (self) seen in water or a mirror?”

Prajāpati told them to look into separate clay pots filled with water. He asked them, “What do you see?”

Upon seeing their reflections in the water, they said, “O Lord, we see the whole soul just as it is, from the hair on his head down to his toenails.” Prajāpati then asked them to cut their nails and hair and decorate themselves with ornaments. He again requested them to look into the clay pots. “Now, what do you see?”

“We see that the two persons in these reflections have also been cleaned and decorated with very beautiful clothes and ornaments, just as we have, and thus they resemble us perfectly.” Prajāpati said, “This is the soul, and he is fearless and immortal.”

Hearing this, Indra and Virocana departed with satisfied hearts. Upon reaching the abode of the demons, Virocana, who now understood the body to be the soul and the object of worship and service, declared, “O demons, he who worships his body as the soul attains this world as well as the upper planets. All his desires are fulfilled, and he attains full enjoyment.”

But Indra deliberated upon this on his journey home. “This body takes birth, dies, undergoes transformations, is subject to disease and so forth. How can this be the immortal soul without birth, death, distress and fear?”

Although halfway home, Indra returned to Prajāpati and told him about his doubt. Prajāpati made Indra live in celibacy for another thirty-two years and then told him, “That person who is understood to be ‘I’ within a dream is the soul, and he is fearless and immortal.”

Hearing this, Indra left with a peaceful heart, but upon his journey home, he again began to reflect. He thought, “When someone is awake, his body may be blind, yet in a dream, his body will not be blind. Someone’s body may be diseased, yet that person may remain free from disease in a dream. But suppose that within a dream, the person identified as the self is beaten or killed. He still fears and cries; upon awakening, that ‘self’ ceases to exist. Thus, the form seen in a dream cannot be the soul.”

Thinking like this, Indra returned to Prajāpati. After practising celibacy for another thirty-two years, Prajāpati instructed him, “The soul lies in that state of deep sleep where there is no vision or even the experience of dreaming.”

But as before, Indra contemplated Prajāpati’s words on his way home. “In the condition of deep sleep,” he thought, “there is no understanding of who one is, nor is anyone else being perceived. This condition is, therefore, a type of destruction.”

Thinking like this, Indra returned to Prajāpati once again. This time, after five years of celibacy, Prajāpati instructed him anew. “Indra, the physical body, which is naturally subject to death, is only the soul’s abode. The ātmā is attached to the body, just as a horse or bull remains harnessed to a cart. In reality, the person with desires – such as ‘I shall look’ – is the soul. For this task, there are senses, like the eyes. He who desires ‘I shall speak’ is the soul, and there is the tongue for the act of speaking. He who wills ‘I shall hear’ is the soul; for the act of hearing, there are ears. He who desires to think is the soul, and the mind carries out that thinking for him.

From this tale, it is clear that the soul has three abodes, just as a peanut has three elements (the shell, the skin and the nut itself). The soul’s abodes are (1) the gross body consisting of five mundane elements, (2) the subtle body, which possesses a semblance of consciousness, and beyond these, (3) the pure body of the soul. Each of these bodies has its own separate dharma. The gross and subtle bodies are both impermanent. Thus, their respective dharmas are also temporary. The soul, however, is eternal. This is the established doctrine of the Veda, Vedānta, Upaniṣads and the Purāṇas. Therefore, the dharma of this soul is indeed nitya-dharma or sanātana-dharma (eternal function). It is also called Vedic dharma or bhagavata-dharma.

That which is called dharma should be understood. The word dharma is formed from the root syllable dhṛ, which means dhāraṇa, ‘to retain.’ Therefore, dharma means ‘that which is retained.’ The permanent nature or quality a being retains is that being’s nitya-dharma. When any being is created by the Lord’s desire, that being’s eternal nature (svabhāva) also becomes evident simultaneously. This nature or quality is that being’s nitya-dharma. If a transformation later occurs within that entity, incidentally or because of any connection with another object, then that entity’s eternally present nature becomes transformed or distorted. Gradually, the distorted nature becomes steady, appearing eternal and pure like his previous nature. Yet this transformed nature is not his actual nature. This nature is temporary and is called nisarga (acquired nature).

This acquired nature takes prominence over a person’s true nature and begins to assert its own identity as the ‘real’ nature. Water is a substance whose dharma is fluidity, but when water solidifies into ice, its dharma, or nature (i.e. fluidity), transforms and becomes hard. This quality of hardness has become the nisarga (distorted nature) of the water, and it now acts in place of the water’s true nature of fluidity. Nisarga, however, is not permanent; it is temporary. Because it has come about by some cause or force, when this force is removed, the nisarga itself is removed, and the true nature manifests once more, just as ice again becomes liquid when placed near heat.

To understand this subject of the soul properly, it is essential to understand the tattva and eternal nature of the jīva. This knowledge makes it very easy to understand nitya-dharma (the living entities’ eternal function) and naimittika-dharma (the living entities’ temporary function).

Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa – the creator, maintainer and annihilator of the universe, the origin of all and the cause of all causes – is the undifferentiated Absolute Truth. He is not formless (nirākāra) or devoid of features (nirviśeṣa); these are only his partial manifestations (āṁśika-bhāva). In reality, He possesses a transcendental form. He is the inconceivable possessor of all power and endowed with six opulences. By the influence of His inconceivable aghaṭana-ghaṭana-paṭīyasī śakti (the potency that makes the impossible possible), the supreme tattva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, manifests in four aspects as svarūpa, tad-rūpa-vaibhava, the jīva and pradhāna.

To help us understand this, these four can be compared to the sun, the surface of the sun globe, the atomic particles within the sun’s rays, and a [remote] reflection of the sun, respectively. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī states:

ekam eva parama-tattvaṁ svābhāvikācintya-śaktyā
sarvadaiva svarūpa-tad-rūpa-vaibhava-jīva-pradhāna-rūpeṇa
caturdhāvatiṣṭhate sūryāntar-maṇḍala-stha-teja iva
maṇḍala tad-bahirgata-tad-raśmi-tat-praticchavi-rūpeṇa

The Absolute Truth is one. His unique characteristic is that He is endowed with inconceivable potency, through which He always manifests in four ways: (1) svarūpa (as His original form), (2) tad-rūpa-vaibhava (as His personal splendour, including His abode and His eternal associates, expansions and avatāras), (3) the jīvas (as individual spirit souls), and (4) pradhāna (as the material energy). These four features are likened to the interior of the sun planet, the surface of the sun, the sun rays emanating from this surface, and a remotely situated reflection, respectively.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī further states that if we liken Kṛṣṇa, the complete conscious entity (pūrṇa-cit-tattva), to the sun, the jīvas may be compared to the localized particles of the sun’s rays. The description of the jīva’s svarūpa is found in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): “mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ – the  eternal jīvas in this material world are certainly My separated parts and parcels.” It is found in the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (2.1.20): “yathāgneḥ kṣudrā visphuliṅgā vyuccaranti – innumerable jīvas emanate from para-brahma just as tiny sparks emanate from a fire.” It is found in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (5.9): “bālāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca bhāgo jīvaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ sa cānantyāya kalpate – one should know that the jīva is the size of one ten-thousandth of the tip of a hair.” It is also found in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā (20.109): “sūryāṁśa-kiraṇa, yaiche agni-jvālā-caya – like a molecular particle of sunshine or fire.”

These quotes confirm that the jīva is the separated part of the transformation of sarva-saktimān Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s marginal potency. The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.8) states: “parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate – a single supreme potency of Śrī Kṛṣṇa manifests as numerous powers (śaktis), of which three are prominent – namely, cit, jīva and māyā.” By the  Lord’s desire, the jīva-śakti, being situated between the cit– and māyā-śaktis manifests innumerable insignificant, atomically conscious jīvas. These jīvas are spiritual entities (cid-vastu) by nature and can wander throughout the spiritual or the material worlds. For this reason, the jīva-śakti is also known as the tataṣṭhā-śakti (marginal potency), and the jīvas themselves are called tataṣṭhā-dharmī-jīvas (jīvas who are neutral by nature).

Śakti-śaktimator abhedaḥ. According to this aphorism from Vedānta-sūtra, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s śakti are non-different from each other. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa and the transformation of His śakti, the jīvas, are also non-different. But this oneness is only from the perspective of their being equally spiritually conscious beings (cid-vastu). Kṛṣṇa, however, is the complete conscious being and the master of māyā, while the jīvas are atomically conscious. Because of their marginal nature, the jīvas can become subject to māyā even in their pure state. Kṛṣṇa is the possessor of all power, and the jīvas are devoid of power. Thus, there is an eternal difference between Kṛṣṇa and the jīvas.

From the philosophical perspective, this difference and non-difference is beyond human intelligence and is called the doctrine of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva (the science of inconceivable difference and non-difference). Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Svayam Bhagavān, completely harmonised the contextual doctrines of the Vedas with those of the previous Vaiṣṇava ācāryas. He took Śrī Rāmānujācārya’s viśiṣṭādvaita doctrine, Śrī Madhvācārya’s śuddha-dvaita doctrine, Śrī Viṣṇusvāmī’s śuddhādvaita doctrine and Śrī Nimbādityācārya’s bhedābheda doctrine, and he revealed their synthesis: the acintya-bhedābheda doctrine, which is the universal, absolute understanding of the Vedas.

Thus, Kṛṣṇa is aṁśi (the source of all expansions), and the jīvas are His vibhinnāṁśa-tattva (separated parts and parcels). Kṛṣṇa is the attractor, and the jīvas are the attracted. Kṛṣṇa is the object of service, and the jīvas are the performers of service. Service to the completely conscious being, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the real nature (svabhāva) of the atomically conscious jīvas. This service is indeed called aprakṛta prema-dharma (the transcendental religion of unalloyed love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa). Thus, this service to Kṛṣṇa, this kṛṣṇa-prema, is the constitutional nature (nitya-dharma) of the jīva. “Jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’ – the constitutional nature of the jīva is to be an eternal servant of Śrī Kṛṣṇa (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā (20.108).”

If that jīva whose nature is marginal and who is atomically conscious, becomes averse to the service of Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa’s māyā-śakti covers that pure jīva’s atomic, conscious nature with the subtle and gross material bodies. Māyā thus causes these jīvas to wander through the 8,400,000 species of life habitually.

When the jīvas are reinstated in their service to Kṛṣṇa, they are released from their bodies imposed by māyā. As long as the jīva fails in his inclination to serve Kṛṣṇa, he will continue to be scorched by the threefold miseries. At this time, the jīva’s pure svarūpa is covered by the curtains of māyā, and his nitya-dharma, eternal nature, is also covered or perverted. This perverted nature is the jīva’s occasional function (naimittika-dharma), as water becomes solid when transformed into ice. Depending on the time, place, and recipient, this temporary dharma is of many types.

All the varieties of dharma in this world can be divided into three general categories: nitya-dharma, naimittika-dharma and anitya-dharma. Anitya-dharma is that dharma which does not accept the existence of the Lord and the eternality of the soul. Naimittika-dharma is that dharma which accepts the eternality of the Lord and the jīvas but only prescribes temporary means to attain the Lord’s mercy. And nitya-dharma is that dharma by which one endeavours through pure love to obtain the servitorship of Kṛṣṇa. This nitya-dharma is one, although different countries, castes and languages identify it by various names. This is the supreme occupation of all jīvas.

In India, this dharma is presented as vaiṣṇava-dharma. Vaiṣṇava-dharma is eternal and the highest ideal of supreme dharma. In performing occasionally prescribed duties, there is no direct execution of nitya-dharma. Rather, it indirectly aims at nitya-dharma. Thus, it is of very little use. Those processes that make up anitya-dharma are devoid of nitya-dharma and are described as the function of animals. They are fit to be rejected.

āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca
sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām
dharmo hi teṣām adhiko viśeṣo
dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ

Hitopadeśa (25)

Human beings are equal to animals in the matter of eating, sleeping, fearing and mating. Yet the quality of religion is unique to human beings. Without religion, they are no better than animals.

That dharma in which the nature of the self (the soul) is not cultivated, in which endeavours are made to increase eating, sleeping, mating and defending, and in which enjoyment of the temporary sense objects is supported as the ultimate objective of human life, is the dharma of animals. In this so-called dharma, it is, in fact, completely impossible to escape all sorrow and attain pure happiness, which is the goal of human life. Therefore, it has been stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.3.18):

śrī-prabuddha uvāca
karmāṇy ārabhamāṇānāṁ
duḥkha-hatyai sukhāya ca
paśyet pāka-viparyāsaṁ
mithunī-cāriṇāṁ nṛṇām

[Śrī Prabuddha said: Accepting the roles of male and female in human society, the conditioned souls unite in sexual relationships. Thus they constantly make material endeavours to eliminate their unhappiness and unlimitedly increase their pleasure. But one should see that they inevitably achieve exactly the opposite result. In other words, their happiness inevitably vanishes, and as they grow older their material discomfort increases.]

All men in this world are inclined to perform karma to become liberated from sorrow and to attain happiness. But the opposite results are seen. In other words, sorrow is not dispelled, and happiness is not attained.

For this reason, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives the highest instruction for all people in the world:

labdhvā su-durlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte
mānuṣyam artha-dam anityam apīha dhīraḥ
tūrṇaṁ yateta na pated anu-mṛtyu yāvan
niḥśreyasāya viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.9.29)

[After many, many births and deaths one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober human being should quickly endeavour for the ultimate perfection of life as long as his body, which is always subject to death, has not fallen down and died. After all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of life, whereas Kṛṣṇa consciousness is possible only for a human being.]

After wandering through 8,400,000 species of life, one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, allows one to attain the highest perfection. Thus, a sober human being, without wasting even a moment, should endeavour for the ultimate welfare of life as long as his body, which is always subject to death, has not fallen down and died.

Some people accept karma, while others accept jñāna or yoga as the means to attain ultimate prosperity. But this is refuted in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.12):

naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitaṁ
na śobhate jñānam alaṁ nirañjanam

Knowledge of self-realization, even though free from all material affinity, does not look well if devoid of a conception of the Supreme Lord.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.14.20) further states:

na sādhayati māṁ yogo
na sāṅkhyaṁ dharma uddhava
na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo
yathā bhaktir mamorjitā

[My dear Uddhava, the unalloyed devotional service rendered to Me by My devotees brings Me under their control. I cannot be thus controlled by those engaged in mystic yoga, Sāṅkhya philosophy, pious work, Vedic study, austerity or renunciation.]

O Uddhava, yoga, sāṅkhya, study of the Vedas, austerity and giving in charity cannot overpower Me, as does the intense bhakti performed solely for Me.

The meaning of this verse is that bhagavad-bhakti is the only means by which one can attain his ultimate benefit. This instruction is also given in the śrutis: “bhaktir evainaṁ nayati bhaktir evainaṁ darśayati bhakti-vaśaḥ puruṣo bhaktir eva bhūyasī –  It is bhakti that reveals Bhagavān to the jīvas. That Supreme Person is controlled by this bhakti only.” Therefore, bhakti is superior to all other practices and is the nitya-dharma of the jīva. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.14.21), Kṛṣṇa also says: “bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ – I can be attained by bhakti alone.”

What is the svarūpa of bhakti? Śāṇḍilya-sūtra states: “sā parānuraktir īśvare – bhakti is supreme attachment or love for the Lord; moreover, since it has the propensity to control the supreme controller, its nature is immortal.” Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī describes the intrinsic nature of bhakti as follows:

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.11)

 [‘When first-class devotional service develops, one must be devoid of all material desires, knowledge obtained by monistic philosophy, and fruitive action. The devotee must constantly serve Kṛṣṇa favourably, as Kṛṣṇa desires.’]

Uttamā-bhakti (pure devotional service) is the cultivation of activities that are meant exclusively for the pleasure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa – in other words, the uninterrupted flow of service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa performed through all endeavours of body, mind and speech and the expression of various spiritual sentiments (bhāvas). It is not covered by jñāna (knowledge aimed at impersonal liberation) and karma (reward-seeking activity), yoga or austerities, and it is completely free from all desires other than the aspiration to bring happiness to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Bhakti has two stages: the stage of practice and the stage of perfection. The stage of practice is called sādhana-bhakti, and the stage of perfection is called sādhya-bhakti or prema-bhakti. Eternally perfect love for Kṛṣṇa is sādhya-bhakti, and it is the jīva’s only eternal religion (nitya-dharma or svarūpa-dharma). This sādhya-bhakti, although eternally perfect, remains covered in those jīvas who have fallen into materialism. When a person in this state attempts to uncover this kṛṣṇa-prema by the practice of bhakti through his present senses, it is called sādhana-bhakti. This sādhana-bhakti is also nitya-dharma. It is the immature state of nitya-dharma, whereas sādhya-bhakti is said to be the fully matured and ripened state of nitya-dharma. Thus, although nitya-dharma is one, it has two stages.

Sādhana-bhakti is also of two types: vaidhī and rāgānugā. Until a spontaneous attachment and taste for Kṛṣṇa appears in the heart of a sādhaka, he follows the regulative activities and rules prescribed in śāstra. In this way, by observing the discipline of śāstra, he engages in kṛṣṇa-bhakti. The performance of such sādhana-bhakti is called vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti. By contrast, one is engaged in rāgānugā-sādhana when a spontaneous attachment (rāga) and taste arises in the heart; when, without regard to the rules and regulations of śāstra, one becomes intensely eager to possess the moods of the Vrajavāsīs, who are full of attachment to Kṛṣṇa; and when one performs sādhana to follow those Vrajavāsīs.

Generally, there are sixty-four limbs of this sādhana-bhakti. After taking shelter of the lotus feet of śrī guru (guru-pādāśraya), the prominent limbs are hearing (śravaṇam), chanting (kīrtanam), remembering (smaranam), offering prayers (vandanam), worshipping (arcanam), rendering service (dāsyam), friendship (sakhyam) and offering one’s very self (ātma-nivedanam). Of these nine limbs, the three limbs of hearing, chanting and remembering are superior to the others, and hari-kīrtana is supreme. All the limbs of bhakti are fully included in harināma-saṅkīrtana.

According to tattva, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s names are non-different from each other. The glories of hari-nāma are found in profusion throughout śāstra. Especially in Kali-yuga, hari-nāma-kīrtana is the sole dharma or refuge:

harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā

Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa

[“ ‘In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.’ ”]

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.22) also states  that harināma-saṅkīrtana is the only supreme dharma of the living beings:

etāvān eva loke ’smin
puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ
bhakti-yogo bhagavati
tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ

Devotional service, beginning with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is the ultimate religious principle for the living entity in human society.

The sequential progression of the cultivation of nitya-dharma, as revealed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, is surely unparalleled and most wonderful in this world:

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-
saṅgo ’tha bhajana-kriyā
tato ’nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt
tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ

athāsaktis tato bhāvas
tataḥ premābhyudañcati
sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ
prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ

Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (Eastern Division 4.11)

[“ ‘In the beginning there must be faith. Then one becomes interested in associating with pure devotees. Thereafter one is initiated by the spiritual master and executes the regulative principles under his orders. Thus one is freed from all unwanted habits and becomes firmly fixed in devotional service. Thereafter, one develops taste and attachment. This is the way of sādhana-bhakti, the execution of devotional service according to the regulative principles. Gradually emotions intensify, and finally there is an awakening of love. This is the gradual development of love of Godhead for the devotee interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.’ ”]

In the beginning, faith in bhakti will arise in a very fortunate person due to the accumulated result of sukṛti (previous transcendental pious activities). This faith is the seed of the bhakti creeper. Thereafter comes the association of sādhus and guru, and under their guidance, one performs bhajana. As a result of performing bhajana, anarthas are destroyed. One thus attains niṣṭhā and then ruci, āsakti and bhāva. Bhāva is said to be the sprout of prema. When the fully matured state of bhāva becomes condensed, it is called prema. This prema alone is the nitya-dharma of the jīvas. This is also the advice of the Supreme Lord Himself, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. It is the most confidential, established subject matter of the Veda, Vedānta, śāstra, Upaniṣads and the Purāṇas.

Nowadays, most dharmas are, in the words of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, kaitava-dharma, ‘cheating religion.’ Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata also states: “pṛthivīte yāhā kichu dharma-nāme cale bhagavat prahe tāhāṅ paripūrṇa chale – all worldly ideas that go by the name of religion are, according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, nothing more than a deception.”

Anitya-dharma is that dharma in which prayer for bread and butter is the highest form of worship of the Lord, in which one changes his moral conduct from that of a Hindu to that of a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Christian and a Hindu once again; and in which one attempts to rid oneself of bodily diseases, considering his body to be his soul (self) and his soul to be the Lord. Feeding the people kicharī with the misconception that they are poor; constructing hospitals and godless educational centres believing this to be the topmost service to God; thinking that nitya-dharma, anitya-dharma and all other varieties of dharma are one; neglecting nitya-dharma and propagating secularism; sacrificing harmless animals and birds in the name of love for the world; and serving man and nation, are all anitya-dharma. None of these activities ever bring permanent welfare to the world.

However, if we consider nitya-dharma to be like a temple – in other words, to be our highest objective – we may accept these other dharmas partially, but only as steps to reach this temple of nitya-dharma. Wherever these other dharmas contradict, cover or dominate nitya-dharma, they should be completely abandoned. Morality, humanity or worldly love that are devoid of nitya-dharma are meaningless and unworthy of any glorification. The real objective and only purpose of humanity and morality is to attain kṛṣṇa-prema (love for Kṛṣṇa).

If there is just one true performer of this nitya-dharma who keeps the fire of hari-saṅkīrtana ablaze, then, his nation, caste and society can never be ruined – even after that nation is oppressed and kept dependent on another country and has its treasures looted, its scriptures burned to ashes, and its culture and prosperity destroyed. This saṅkīrtana makes possible the eternal welfare of the world and one’s country, society, caste and self.

I complete my lecture by repeating the last instruction of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the founder of dharma, as found in the Gitopaniṣad (18.66):

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.]

Completely abandon all varieties of dharma relating to your body and mind, and surrender fully unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.

Source: Purebhakti.com

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Unless indicated differently, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)