Religion, Faith and Dharma

Submitted by:- Mangal Arti dd

I was standing at a street corner and i saw this man - he was not very old but he had a huge beard that added years to his age. There was something that made him seem favorable even from far. I didnt disturb him and kept giving fliers out to others...but then he turned around and came upto me curiously asking what I had. While giving him the flier I noticed the urdu newspaper in his hand and wasnt sure whether to show him the Bhagavad Gita or Perfection of Yoga - especially since he did not practice yoga or meditation

As I handed him the Perfection of Yoga, he started to express his liking for reading about. He told me he was of Muslim origin, and  was studying Islam and Zorastrianism. I was certain - now I had to show him Bhagavad Gita. I started to show him the mantras and pictures ..he even tried to read some words. I encouraged him to take it with him for a donation and he very quickly made a generous donation. Once he was holding the Bhagavad Gita - he just started to open up even further. He gave me many good wishes and promised to write back. He recognized how sharing spiritual knowledge required special faith - I was amazed at how he was appreciating devotional service.


He was discussing what is religion - and i was remembering the introduction to BG where Srila Prabhupada explains the meaning of the word religion - I asked him to read it later. Srila Prabhupada says :

The English world religion is a little different from sanātana-dharma. Religion conveys the idea of faith, and faith may change. One may have faith in a particular process, and he may change this faith and adopt another, but sanātana-dharma refers to that activity which cannot be changed. For instance, liquidity cannot be taken from water, nor can heat be taken from fire. Similarly, the eternal function of the eternal living entity cannot be taken from the living entity. Sanātana-dharma is eternally integral with the living entity. When we speak of sanātana-dharma, therefore, we must take it for granted on the authority of Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya that it has neither beginning nor end. That which has neither end nor beginning must not be sectarian, for it cannot be limited by any boundaries. Those belonging to some sectarian faith will wrongly consider that sanātana-dharma is also sectarian, but if we go deeply into the matter and consider it in the light of modern science, it is possible for us to see that sanātana-dharma is the business of all the people of the world — nay, of all the living entities of the universe. Non-sanātana religious faith may have some beginning in the annals of human history, but there is no beginning to the history of sanātana-dharma, because it remains eternally with the living entities.