Bhakti-yoga must be cultivated from childhood with unwavering determination, transcending all material obstacles and designations.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
— November 19, 1971, Delhi 711119LE-DELHI [45:48 Minutes] Lecture_711119LE-DELHI Prabhupāda: [prema-dhvani prayers] Mr. Justice Rangarajan, Justice Misra and Lalaji, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you very much for your kindly participating in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Today, this evening, we are especially enlightened by the nice speech delivered by Justice Rangarajan, little describing about bhakti-yoga. Actually, we are discussing this bhakti-yoga for the last few days. So bhakti-yoga is the sublime religious principle of the human society.
The human society is not human society without sense of religious principle. Dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ [Hitopadeśa]. That is the distinction of human society and animal. In the animal society, there is no religion. But in the human society, may be in any part of the world, there is some concept of religion, may be Hindu religion, Muslim religion, Christian religion, Buddha's religion, Jewish religion, and so many others.
But according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is a test of religion. The test of religion is how much one has advanced in his love for God. sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje ahaituky apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati [SB 1.2.6] Religion means you must have peace of mind, tranquillity. That is religion. It is not a formality or dogmas.
It is the ultimate goal of life. So this bhāgavata-dharma long, long ago was sometimes discussed by Prahlāda Mahārāja, a great devotee, a boy devotee, five-years-old boy, and he was a great devotee, although born in an atheistic family. His father was a great atheist, Hiraṇyakaśipu. Hiraṇya means gold, and kaśipu means soft cushion. That means complete materialist.
The materialist want these two things: woman and money. So Hiraṇyakaśipu was very expert in this business. But fortunately he had a great son, Prahlāda Mahārāja. So this Prahlāda Mahārāja, when he was in the womb of his mother, he had the chance of hearing about bhāgavata-dharma from Nāradaji. You have heard that there is always fight between the atheist and the theist, or the demigods and the demons, sura asura.
So sometimes there was a fight between the asuras and the devas. The asuras became defeated, and Hiraṇyakaśipu left the battle. So as it sometimes appears..., happens in the war, the wife of Hiraṇyakaśipu was captured by the demigods, and she was being taken away, although she was pregnant. So Nārada Muni met on the way, and he asked the demigods, "Oh, what you are doing this? You are taking away one pregnant woman?
What is this?" So Indra replied that "We are not going to do any harm to the woman. But we are concerned with the child within his [her] womb. Because that child is born of Hiraṇyakaśipu, he must be a greater demon. So as soon as the child is born, we shall kill it.