16
Bhagavad-gitā  As It ls.
life. The Lord is very kind to the living entities because they are His sons. Lord Kṛṣṇa declares in  Bhagavad-gītā , “ sarva-yoniṣu. . .ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā. ” “I am the father of all.” Of course there are all types of living entities according to their various  karmas , but here the Lord claims that He is the father of all of them. Therefore the Lord descends to reclaim all of these fallen, conditioned souls to call them back to the  sanātana  eternal sky so that the  sanātana  living entities may regain their eternal  sanātana  positions in eternal association with the Lord. The Lord comes Himself in different incarnations, or He sends His confidential servants as sons or His associates or  ācāryas  to reclaim the conditioned souls.
Therefore,  sanātana-dharma  does not refer to any sectarian process of religion. It is the eternal function of the eternal living entities in relationship with the eternal Supreme Lord.  Sanātana-dharma  refers, as stated previously, to the eternal occupation of the living entity. Rāmānujācārya has explained the word  sanātana  as “that which has neither beginning nor end,” so when we speak of  sanātana-dharma , we must take it for granted on the authority of Śrī Rāmānujācārya that it has neither beginning nor end.
The English word “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 Śrī 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. Yet 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. Insofar as the living entities are concerned, the authoritative  śāstras  state that the living entity has neither birth nor death. In the  Gītā  it is stated that the living entity is never born, and he never dies. He is eternal and indestructible, and he