442
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 2, Ch. 8]
is set by Śrī Bajrāṅgajī or Hanumān, the great devotee of Lord Śrī Rāma. As we have already discussed, even the aborigines and cannibals can also be engaged in the devotional service of the Lord if they happen to be under the guidance of a genuine devotee of the Lord. In the  Skanda Purāṇa  there is a narration that a hunter in the jungle became the most enlightened devotee of the Lord by the guidance of Śrī Nārada Muni. Therefore devotional service to the Lord can be equally shared by every living being.
Religious affiliation in terms of different countries and cultural circumstances is obviously not the common religion of the human being, but the basic principle is devotional service. Even if a particular type of religious principle does not recognize the supremacy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the followers still have to obey the disciplinary principles laid down by a particular leader. Such a leader of a religious sect is never the supreme leader because such a circumstantial leader comes to the position of leadership after undergoing some penance. The Supreme Personality of Godhead does not, however, require to be under disciplinary action to become leader, as we see in the activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
The occupational duties of the castes and the orders of society, following the principles of livelihood, also depend on the principle of devotional service. In the  Bhagavad-gītā  it is stated that a person can achieve the highest perfection of life simply by awarding the results of one's occupational duty unto the devotional service of the Lord. People following the principles of devotional service of the Lord can never be put into difficulty, and thus there cannot be any question of  āpad-dharma , or religion in distress. As will be explained in this book by the greatest authority, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, there is no religion save and except the devotional service of the Lord, though this may be presented in different forms.
TEXT 19
तत्त्वानां परिमंख्यानं लक्षणं हेतुलक्षणम् । पुरुषाराधनविधियोगस्याध्यात्मिकस्य च ॥१९॥
tattvānām parisaṅkhyānam lakṣaṇam hetu-lakṣaṇam puruṣārādhana-vidhir yogasyādhyātmikasya ca