True religion means developing unmotivated love for God; all else is merely laboring in vain.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.6 — March 26, 1972, Bombay 720326SB-BOMBAY [48:39 Minutes] C-015 SB-01.02.06_720326SB-BOMBAY Prabhupāda: …paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje ahaituky apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati... samprasīdati [SB 1.2.6] So this morning one gentleman was asking me, "Why there are so many religions in the world?" Very intelligent question. But actually there cannot be so many religions. Religion is one, but we have manufactured so many religions. Religion means dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam [SB 6.3.19]: what is made, or given, by God, bhagavat sākṣād, directly given by God.
Sākṣād means directly. There is a simple definition of religion, just like we can understand what is law. The law is the order given by the state. There is no misunderstanding. Anyone will understand what is the meaning…, what is the meaning of law.
The state says, "You should do like this," you have to abide by that order. That is good citizenship, as it is practical, with reference to the laws of the state. Similarly, religion means the law given by the Lord. Everyone, in every scripture—either Hindu scripture, Muslim scripture or Christian scripture—the God is there, center, and according to the time, circumstances, country, people, that law is obeyed.
So there is no difficulty to understand what is meant by religion. Now here Sūta Gosvāmī says that first-class religion, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo. Paro means superior. There are different types of religion, but still there is some superior and some inferior. Because religion cannot be superior or inferior, but because this world, this material world, is conducted by the material nature, there are three kinds of material modes: goodness, passion and ignorance.
So just like those who are in the modes of ignorance, they want to eat meat. Now for them there must be some religion. What is that religion? According to Vedic system the order is that you don't eat meat which is not offered to the goddess Kālī.
That means restriction: he is restricted, at least, to meat eat, ah, eat meat anywhere, by the slaughterhouse. According to the wide[?] Hinduism… Even in Muhammadanism, they also allow to eat meat by Koran, Eid; that is also one day in a year. So according to country, people, there may be differences, but here it is said that the first-class religion is that which simply teaches devotional service to the Lord. That is first class. And if you are situated on the platform of first-class religion, then automatically all the good qualities of human being, they become developed. yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ [SB 5.18.12] If anyone has developed unalloyed akiñcanā, unalloyed devotion for God, Kṛṣṇa, then all the good qualities of the demigods will develop in him, automatically.
Practical example: just see these boys, American and European boys. Before coming to my fold they were meat-eaters, illicit-sex hunters, intoxicants, gamblers—all these. These are common things in Europe and America. And since they have come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and taken to this devotional service seriously, they are freed from all this contamination.