According to Vedic civilization, evidence is śruti, Vedas. If you say something and if you give evidence, proof from the Vedic literature, then it is perfect. No such nonsense things: "I believe," "We believe," "Perhaps," "Maybe." No. Such foolish things are not accepted. Then everyone will say something. There are thousands and millions of people, everyone will imagine something and say something. Then where is the correct thing? This is not good. Veda-pramāṇam. That will be described in the next verse: veda-praṇihito dharmo (SB 6.1.40). Veda-praṇihito. What is explained in the Veda, that is dharma. Not . . . You cannot manufacture dharma. If it is mentioned in the Vedas what is dharma, what is adharma, then it is acceptable. I have several times explained that you cannot make law in your comfortable home. No. Law is made by the government. And you have to accept it. You cannot say that "I believe this will be law." Who will care for your law? You may believe. You believe at your home. That will not be accepted. The law given by the government, "Keep to the right," that you must have. You cannot say, "I believe left thing" or . . . No. That is not. Similarly, dharmaś ca, it will be explained further.
So what is dharma, religion? In the dictionary, English dictionary, it is explained: "a kind of faith." But we do not take in that way. Faith, you have got different faith, I have got different faith, how it will be dharma? The same example: if you have different faith that you do not accept this government law, that will not do. You may have faith or no faith, but you have to accept. That is dharma. That is dharma. So they very particularly analyzed dharma. Dharma means, I have given translation in many places, "occupational duty." Everyone is fit for a certain occupation. And the duty ascertained for such occupation, that is dharma. Natural. Or, in one word, it can be explained as characteristic. So just like a chemical, it has got some characteristic in the chemical analytical book, that . . . Take soda bicarb. The characteristic—it tastes like this, the color is like this, the . . . like this, so many things. Hmm. (aside:) That child is coughing. So dharma means characteristic. So what is the dharma of the living entity? We are all living entities. What is the dharma? What is the characteristic? Common. Not that because I am Hindu, my characteristic is different from your characteristic. As living being, our characteristic is the same. Either you are Hindu or Muslim or Christian or white or black, never mind. What is that characteristic? That characteristic—to serve. The inferior must serve to the superior. That's all. This is characteristic. Find out all over the universe, the service.