In this dark age, Krishna appears as His holy name to restore devotional service as humanity's only path to eternal satisfaction.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.6 — August 3, 1968, Montreal 680803SB-MONTREAL [93:24 Minutes] Prabhupāda: [kīrtana] [prema-dvani prayers] Thank you very much. [devotees offer obeisances] [23:13] om ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ [I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master who, with the torchlight of knowledge, has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance.] dhyeyaṁ sadā paribhava-ghnam abhīṣṭa-dohaṁ tīrthāspadaṁ śiva-viriñci-nutaṁ śaraṇyam bhṛtyārti-haṁ praṇata-pāla bhavābdhi-potaṁ vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam [SB 11.5.33] [My dear Lord, You are the Mahā-puruṣa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and I worship Your lotus feet, which are the only eternal object of meditation. Those feet destroy the embarrassing conditions of material life and freely award the greatest desire of the soul, the attainment of pure love of Godhead. My dear Lord, Your lotus feet are the shelter of all holy places and of all saintly authorities in the line of devotional service and are honored by powerful demigods like Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. My Lord, You are so kind that You willingly protect all those who simply bow down to You with respect, and thus You mercifully relieve all the distress of Your servants. In conclusion, my Lord, Your lotus feet are actually the suitable boat for crossing over the ocean of birth and death, and therefore even Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva seek shelter at Your lotus feet."] tyaktvā su-dustyaja-surepsita-rājya-lakṣmīṁ dharmiṣṭha ārya-vacasā yad agād araṇyam māyā-mṛgaṁ dayitayepsitam anvadhāvad vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam [SB 11.5.34] [O Mahā-puruṣa, I worship Your lotus feet. You gave up the association of the goddess of fortune and all her opulence, which is most difficult to renounce and is hankered after by even the great demigods. Being the most faithful follower of the path of religion, You thus left for the forest in obedience to a brāhmaṇa's curse. Out of sheer mercifulness You chased after the fallen conditioned souls, who are always in pursuit of the false enjoyment of illusion, and at the same time engaged in searching out Your own desired object, Lord Śyāmasundara.] he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho dīna-bandho jagat-pate gopeśa gopikā-kānta rādhā-kānta namo 'stu te [O my dear Kṛṣṇa, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the cowherd men and the lover of the gopīs, especially Rādhārāṇī. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.] tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgī rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari vṛṣabhānu-sute devi praṇamāmi hari-priye [I offer my respects to Rādhārāṇī, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vṛndāvana. You are the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu, and You are very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa.] I am very glad that these girls, with great difficulty, you come to this class.
It is very nice. Thank you. This is ahaituky apratihatā. The devotional service cannot be checked by any material impediment. It is not conditional, that "Because I am in this condition, I cannot execute devotional service." No.
Anyone, in any position, in any circumstances, he can become the greatest devotee of the Lord—if he desires. sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje ahaituky apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati [SB 1.2.6] [The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.] The real aim of life is how to get satisfaction, full, complete satisfaction. And that satisfaction, complete satisfaction, can be achieved only by prosecution of devotional service. There is no other method.
If you want to be happy, free from all cares and anxieties, then you have to engage yourself in devotional service of the Lord. That will make you free from all material anxieties and all material miseries. We are all seeking after that position, how to become completely happy. Our whole struggle for existence... Anyone, in any place, any country, they are all struggling for existence, either human being or animal or birds or beasts, how to become happy.
This happiness of the mind, ātmā, is only possible when we are engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the only remedy. There is no other alternative. So Lord Kṛṣṇa said that, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham [Bg. 4.7] [Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself.] "My dear Arjuna, whenever there is discrepancies in the matter of execution of real purpose of life..." That is called dharma. Dharma, this word, either you take it "religion" or "duty" or "nature," as you like, but, as explained before, dharma means your actual, constitutional position.
It is nothing artificial. The example again I am repeating: just like fire is hot, warm; fire has light. You cannot separate light from fire or heat from fire. Therefore heat and light is dharma.
That is its real religion. So our dharma, living entity, that is defined very nicely by Lord Caitanya. Our dharma, or religion, is to obey the orders of the Supreme Lord, to become..., to engage ourself in the loving, transcendental service of the Lord. Whenever this principle is crippled or checked by our material activities... Just like at the present age they have no idea what is God.