Text 40] The History of the Life of Ajamila 57
Me.” One who knows Krsna perfectly is liberated. As Krsna says in
Bhagavad-gita (4.9):
Janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ’rjuna
“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and ac-
tivities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this
material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” One who
understands Krsna and abides by His order is a candidate for returning
home, back to Godhead. It may be concluded that dharma, religion,
refers to that which is ordered in the Vedas, and adharma, irreligion,
refers to that which is not supported in the Vedas.

Dharma is not actually manufactured by Narayana. As stated in the
Vedas, asya mahato bhiitasya nisvasitam etad yad rg-vedah iti: the in-
junctions of dharma emanate from the breathing of Narayana, the
supreme living entity. Narayana exists eternally and breathes eternally,
and therefore dharma, the injunctions of Narayana, also exist eternally.
Srila Madhvacarya, the original dcarya for those who belong to the
Madhva-Gaudiya-sampradaya, says:

vedanam prathamo vakta
harir eva yato vibhuh
ato visnv-dtmaka veda
ity dhur veda-vadinah
The transcendental words of the Vedas emanated from the mouth of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Vedic principles should
be understood to be Vaisnava principles because Visnu is the origin of
the Vedas. The Vedas contain nothing besides the instructions of Visnu,
and one who follows the Vedic principles is a Vaisnava. The Vaisnava is
not a member of a manufactured community of this material world. A
Vaisnava is a real knower of the Vedas, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita
(vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah).
