88 Elevation to Krsna Consciousness

changed, but dharma is a natural sequence, a natural
occupation or connection.

Krsna says that as soon as there is a discrepancy
in the discharge of the dharmas of the living entities,
when there is an upsurge of unnatural activities, He
descends. One of the principal purposes of His
descent is to reestablish religious principles. The best
system of religion is that which best trains us to
surrender unto the Supreme Lord. This is the basic
principle underlying Bhagavad-gita. We can select our
own religion and be Hindu, Moslem, Buddhist,
Christian or whatever, as long as we know the real
purpose of religion. Indeed, Srimad-Bhagavatam
does not recommend that we give up our present
religion, but it does hint at the purpose of religion.
That purpose is love of Godhead, and that religion
which teaches us best how to love the Supreme
Lord is the best religion.

In this age especially there is a general decay in
‘the consciousness of the masses of people. A few
people remember that there is a God, but for the
most part people are forgetting Him. Therefore they
cannot be happy. People are thinking that God is
dead, or that we have no obligation to God, or that
there is no God. This sort of thinking will never
make for happiness. When civilization is godless or
atheistic, as it is today, God or His representative
comes to remind people of their relationship with
the supreme consciousness.

When Sanatana Gosvami inquired from Lord
Caitanya, ““What am I? Why am I always in a miser-
able condition? What is the position of all living
