Surrender to Krishna alone is the eternal religion transcending all boundaries of faith and nationality.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
speeds up] Prabhupāda: Ladies and gentlemen I thank you very much for your coming here and participating in this great Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. This is the religion of the religions, there are hundreds and thousands of religious principles all over the world but this is the basic principle of religion. Religion means to understand God that is the short description of religion. Because from the śāstra’s we understand that religion is the codes and laws of the Lord or God, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam [SB 6.3.19]. You cannot manufacture religion, religion is the given codes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
I have several times explained this that the law cannot be manufactured by any private person. Law is given by the state by the King, what the King says or the state orders that is law. Just like on the road when you drive your car you have to keep left, that is the given law of the state. Similarly in America the car is kept on the right, so you cannot say that somewhere it is said keep right and somewhere it is said keep left--which one is right?
Which one was the right direction? The right direction is the word of the state, similarly religion means what is spoken by the Lord that is religion. And this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore the religion of the religions. Just like philosophy is called as the science of the sciences, similarly the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the religion of the religions. Now take for example, the Hindu religion or the Christian religion or the Muslim religion.
What is the ultimate goal? Love of Godhead, Lord Jesus Christ he also preached how to love God. The Mohammedan religion also preaches to realise the Supreme Lord, Allah-u-akbar. In Buddha religion they primarily they are atheist but Lord Buddha is incarnation of Kṛṣṇa therefore it is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that God, Kṛṣṇa, appeared as Lord Buddha to cheat the atheists. The atheist class they did not believe in God but Lord Buddha came before them He said, “yes there is no God, that’s right but whatever I say you take it.” So the atheist class took it, “yes whatever You say we shall take it.” But the atheist did not know that He is the incarnation of God.
Therefore in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said, sammohāya sura-dviṣām [SB 1.3.24], sammohāya sura-dviṣām, sura-dviṣām—means the atheist class. Sammohāya—just to bewildered them, you don’t believe in God, that’s all right but you take My words, ahimsa parama-dharma, don’t kill animals. Lord Buddha appeared, sadaya-hṛdaya-darśita-paśu-ghātam, He was... The Lord became very much compassionate when people in the name of religion in the name of Vedas were much addicted to killing of animals. nindasi yajña-vidhe rahaha śruti-jātaṁ sadaya-hṛdaya darśita-paśu-ghātam keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagad-īśa hare [Daśāvatāra-stotra] The Vaiṣṇava, the devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he knows what is Lord Buddha, he says, Vaiṣṇava kavi Jayadeva Gosvāmī that, “my dear Lord,”nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātam.
You appear for stopping killing of animals but people began to give you evidence from the Vedas that animal killing is sanctioned in the Vedas. There are, certainly, sacrificial animal killing but not the slaughterhouse animal killing or any time or anything, no. That animal killing was also to test the power of the Vedic mantra, not for eating purpose. That’s a different story. Lord Buddha appeared to stop this animal killing and when people wanted to give evidence from the Vedas that animal killing is sanctioned in the Vedas, why you are stopping?
Therefore He had to say, “I don’t care for your Vedas,” nindasi yajña-vidhe rahaha śruti-jātaṁ. Therefore Lord Buddha is accepted amongst the Vedic followers as atheist. But Vaiṣṇava, one who knows Kṛṣṇa they see Lord Buddha as the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa for the time serving purpose. At that time it was needed to stop animal killing therefore He presented a different type of philosophy. So that is also inaction, acts enacted by the Lord and it was stopping animal killing.