"And therefore sanatana-dharma does not mean any sectarian process of religion. It is the eternal function of the eternal living entities in relationship with the eternal Supreme Lord. So far sanatana-dharma is concerned, it means the eternal occupation. Sripada Ramanujacarya has explained the word sanatana as "the thing which has neither any beginning nor any end." And when we speak of sanatana-dharma we must take it for granted on the authority of Sripada Ramanujacarya that it has no beginning, nor any end. The word religion is a little different from sanatana-dharma. Religion conveys the idea of faith. Faith may change. One may have faith in a particular process, and he may change the faith afterwards and adopt another faith. But sanatana-dharma means which cannot be changed, which cannot be changed.
Just like water and liquidity. Liquidity cannot be changed from water. Heat and fire. Heat cannot be changed from fire. Similarly, the eternal function of the eternal living entity, which is known as sanatana-dharma, cannot be changed. It is not possible to change. We have to find out what is that eternal function of the eternal living entity. When we speak of sanatana-dharma therefore, we must take it for granted on the authority of Sripada Ramanujacarya that it has no beginning nor any end. The thing which has no end, no beginning, must not be any sectarian thing or limited by any boundary.
When we hold on the conference on the sanatana-dharma, people belonging to some of the noneternal religious faiths may wrongly consider it that we are dealing in some sectarian thing. But if we go deep into the matter and take everything in the light of modern science, it will be possible for us to see sanatana-dharma as the business of all the people of the world, nay, all the living entities of the universe. Non-sanatana religious faith may have some beginning in the annals of the human society, but there cannot be any history of the sanatana-dharma because it continues to remain with the history of the living entities.
So far living entities are concerned, we find it from the authority of the sastras that living entities have also no birth or death. In the Bhagavad-gita it is clearly stated that the living entity is never born, nor does it ever die. He's eternal, indestructible, and continues to live after the destruction of his temporary material body. With reference to the above concept of sanatana-dharma we may try to understand the concept of religion from the Sanskrit root meaning of the word dharma. It means that which is constantly with the particular object. As we have already mentioned, when we speak of fire it is concluded at the same time that there is heat and light along with the fire. Without heat and without light, there is no meaning of the word fire.
Similarly, we must find out the essential part of a living being which is always companion with him. That part of constant companion of the living being is his eternal quality, and the eternal part of the living being's quality is his eternal religion. When Sanatana Gosvami asked Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu about the svarupa -- we have already discussed about the svarupa of every living being -- svarupa or real constitution of the living being, the Lord replied that the constitutional position of the living being is to render service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But if we analyze this part of the statement of Lord Caitanya, we can very well see that every living being is constantly engaged in the business of rendering service to another living being.
A living being serves another living being in different capacities, and by doing so, the living entity enjoys life. A lower animal serves a human being, a servant serves his master, A serves B master, B serves C master, and C serves D master, and so on. Under the circumstances, we can see that a friend serves another friend, and the mother serves the son, or husband serves the wife."
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