“The Path of Religion is directly enunciated by the Supreme Lord”
“Interviewer: I think history shows that many people have misused religion. Isn’t that a fact?
Srila Prabhupada: These people have no conception of God, and they are preaching religion. What is religion?
Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam: “The path of religion is directly enunciated by the Supreme Lord.” They have no conception of God–they do not know what God is–and they are professing some religion. How long can it go on artificially? It will deteriorate.
That has become the present condition. They have no idea of God, so how will they know what is the order of God? Religion means the order of God. For example, law means the order of the state. If there is no state, then where is the order? We have a clear conception of God — Krishna. He is giving His order, and we accept it. It is clear religion. If there is no God, no conception of God, no order of God, then where is religion? If there is no government, then where is the law?
Interviewer: Well, there wouldn’t be any law. It would be an outlaw society.
Srila Prabhupada: Outlaw–everyone is an outlaw, manufacturing his own concocted system of religion. That is going on.
Just ask–in any religious system, what is their conception of God? Can anyone tell clearly? No one can tell. But we shall immediately say,
venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksam
barhavatamsam asitambuda-sundarangam
kandarpa-koti-kamaniya-visesa-sobham
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept in playing on His flute, whose blooming eyes are like lotus petals, whose head is bedecked with a peacock’s feather, whose figure of beauty is tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and whose unique loveliness charms millions of Cupids.” (Brahma-samhita 5.30)
Immediately, we can give a description of God.
If there is no idea of God, then what kind of religion is that?
Interviewer: I don’t know.
Srila Prabhupada: It is bogus. People have no conception of God, and therefore they have no understanding of religion. That is the decline, and because religion is declining, the human beings are becoming more and more like animals.
“Animal” means that one has no memory. A dog comes when there are some eatables; I say “Hut!” and he goes away. But again he comes–he has no memory. So when our memory of God is reducing, that means that our human qualities are reducing. In the Kali-yuga these human qualities will be reduced. That means that people are becoming like cats and dogs.”
Science of Self Realization, Chapter 6.
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