Religion's true test is not ritual or sect, but causeless love developed for God through devotion.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.6 — August 26, 1971, London 710826SB-LONDON [36:13 Minutes] SB-01.02.06_710826SB-LONDON Prabhupāda: śrī-caitanya-mano-'bhīṣṭaṁ sthāpitaṁ yena bhūtale svayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ dadāti sva-padāntikam [When will Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?] vande 'haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sa-jīvam sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa-lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca [I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and of all the other preceptors on the path of devotional service. I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇavas and unto the six Gosvāmīs, including Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Jīva Gosvāmī and their associates. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and all His devotees, headed by Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. I then offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and all the gopīs, headed by Lalitā and Viśākhā.] 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.] vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ [I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.] śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda [I offer my obeisances to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, Prabhu Nityānanda, Śrī Advaita, Gadādhara, Śrīvāsa and all others in the line of devotion.] hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare [My dear Lord, and the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your service. I am now embarrassed with this material service. Please engage me in Your service.] [02:02] These prayers, although it is in Sanskrit language, simply by hearing, the effect is made by the vibration. They're symbolical representation of the Supreme Spirit. Just like you are acquainted with the oṁkāra, oṁ, that is also an alphabetical representation.
But the sound, oṁkāra, has a specific significance. So, even sometimes you do not understand the meaning, by hearing the vibration you will be benefited. There was a meeting in the Naimiṣāraṇya. Naimiṣāraṇya is a place in northern India. Still that Naimiṣāraṇya is still existing.
There is a railway station of the name Nimsar. So formerly, at least five thousand, six thousand years before, all the sages and saintly persons used to gather there and perform ritualistic rituals or discuss on the matter of spiritual progress. There are several places in India. One of them is this Naimiṣāraṇya, and another place, important place is..., that is called Prayag, generally known as Allahabad, but original name is Prayag. That is considered to be one of the most sacred place in India, and still every year there is a fair called Māgha-melā. Māgha means during the month of January, February.
A fair takes place in which all the sages, saintly persons, from all over parts of India, they gather, and they take their bath on the confluence of Gaṅgā and Yamunā. That is also very nice place. When you... If you visit India, you should see all these nice places. So there was big meeting of the sages, and Sūta Gosvāmī was on the chair.
So amongst the audience, one sage, his name was Śaunaka, he was putting questions to the speaker and he was answering chapter by chapter. So one question was there, that in this age, Kali-yuga... Kali-yuga means the age of dissension, disagreement. Nobody agrees with anybody. Everyone is independent.
That is the sign of... They don't... Unless they are forced, they don't care for any authority. Of course, we care or do not care, the authority is there.
If I do not care, then I will be forced to care. That is the law of nature. So in this age, the question was, "What is the best form of religion by which one can become elevated to spiritual emancipation?" The best form of religion. So somebody may recommend that Hindu religion is best, or others may recommend that Christian religion is very good, and others may say, "Oh, Muhammadan religion is very good," and others may say, "Buddhist religion is very good." But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says very nicely... Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam does not advocate that "Hindu religion is good" or "Christian religion is good" or "Muhammadan religion is good" or "Buddhist religion is good." Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives a general description. What is that?