eternal. We have an intimate relationship with the Lord, and we are qualitatively
equal to the Lord. The transcendental abode is also eternal. The association of the
Lord and the living entities in the transcendental abode is the ultimate aim of
human life.

The Lord is so kind to the living entities because the living entities all have a claim
to being sons of the Lord. The Lord says that, of every type of living being, whatever
it may be, He is the father. The Lord wishes to reclaim all these souls, to have them
back in the eternal sky. The entities can be restored to the eternal sky, once they are
free of illusion. So, He comes Himself, in different incarnations, or else He sends His
confidential servants as son or as teachers, to reclaim the conditioned souls. This
reclaiming is no sectarian religious process. It is the eternal function of the eternal
living entities in relationship with the eternal Lord.

Sanatana-dharma means the eternal religion. This word eternal is explained as
something without beginning and without any end. We must accept it like this. The
word religion is somewhat different from sanatana-dharma. It means faith, and faith
may change from one object to another. But sanatana-dharma means that which
cannot be changed. Liquidity cannot be taken from water. Heat cannot be taken
from fire. Similarly, sanatana-dharma cannot be taken from the living entities. We
must find out the eternal function of the eternal living entities, in order to know
what sanatana-dharma is. Ramanujacarya says that this has no beginning and no
end. Some may feel that this is a somewhat sectarian concept, but if we look deeper,
we will see that sanatana-dharma is the business of all the people of the world—nay,
of all the living entities in the universe.

Now a particular religious faith may have some beginning in the history of human
society, but sanatana-dharma lies outside of history, for it belongs to the living beings
who have no birth and who never die. They continue to live after the destruction of
the material body, just as they lived before its formation.

Let us try to understand this eternal religion from the Sanskrit root word for
dharma. This word root, dhr, means to sustain. Therefore, dharma is that quality
which remains always and which cannot be taken away. When we speak of fire, it is
concluded that light and heat will be there. Otherwise we cannot call it fire. In a
similar way, we must find the constant companion of the living being. That eternal
part or quality is his religion.
