Dharma without Krishna consciousness is mere useless labor; devotion is humanity's supreme occupational duty.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.8 — April 22, 1974, Hyderabad 740422SB-HYDERABAD [41:52 Minutes] SB-01.02.08_740422SB-HYDERABAD Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [Prabhupāda and devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse, etc.] dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ notpādayed yadi ratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalam [SB 1.2.8] [break] [02:44] Translation: "Duties, or dharma, executed by men, regardless of occupation, are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Supreme Lord." Prabhupāda: dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ notpādayed yadi ratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalam [SB 1.2.8] Dharma, generally translated into English as "religion." I have already explained several times, the dictionary meaning of religion is "a kind of faith." But actually, dharma means occupational duty, or the characteristic. Just like a snake. The snake, its religion is to bite, and fatal bite.
That is his dharma, occupational duty. Everything has got... Just like this microphone, it must work, it must expand the sound. That is its dharma.
If it does not expand the sound, it is useless. So everything you take, there are characteristic. That is the meaning of dharma. Dharma is not an artificial faith.
Faith you can change, but your occupational duty you cannot change. So what is the occupational duty of the living entity? The living entity is now encaged in two kinds of gross and subtle body. Therefore, when he is situated in the bodily concept of life, his dharma is fruitive activities, or sense gratification. When he is situated on the mental platform, then his occupational duty become speculation, imagination.
And when he is situated in his original, spiritual platform, then his occupational duty is to serve Kṛṣṇa. These are the three positions: karma, jñāna, yoga, bhakti—gradual evolution. Because spiritual knowledge also gradually evolves. Nirviśeṣa-brahman, antaryāmī paramātmā and ṣaḍ-aiśvarya-pūrṇa-bhagavān—these are the different stages of self-realization, or spiritual advancement.
Karma, jñāna, yoga and bhakti. Yoga means bhakti-yoga, or the preliminary, primary stage of bhakti-yoga. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ [Bg. 6.47] There are different types of yogīs, but the first-class yogī is he who, now, mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā, Kṛṣṇa says, "who is thinking of Me always," mad-gata, śraddhāvān, "with veneration, love and faith." Bhajate. So to think of Kṛṣṇa is also bhajana. There are different process of bhajana.
To hear of Kṛṣṇa, that is also bhajana. Just like you are hearing. And to speak about Kṛṣṇa. I am speaking; you are hearing.