Dharma, if we study these two words . . . Sanātana means eternal. That is called sanātana. And dharma, dharma means occupation, characteristic. Dharma does not mean some superficial ritualistic ceremonies. Dharma means the characteristic. That is real meaning. Dharma is not a kind of faith; dharma is characteristic. Sanātana-dharma means sanātana characteristic, eternal characteristic. The changing . . . now, I have got now this body, Indian body, and then, next body may be cat's and dog's or demigod's, according to my karma.
So the body changes. So sanātana-dharma cannot be applied to this body. Sanātana-dharma means the characteristic of the soul. That is sanātana-dharma, to understand the characteristic of the soul. Kṛṣṇa is describing here the characteristic of the soul: sanātana. And at the conclusion, He gives you information of the sanātana-dharma. What is that? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is sanātana-dharma. Kṛṣṇa is sanātana, I am sanātana, you are sanātana.
Now, under the influence of nature I am thinking, "I am the servant of my wife," "I am servant of the society," "I am servant of my nation," "I am servant of my cat," "I am servant of my dog." And we are doing that, actually. Everyone is working under this impression. Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). This is illusion. You have to come to the platform of sanātana. What is that eternal? "I am eternally servant of Kṛṣṇa." That is sanātana-dharma. I am not servant of this or that or that. No. I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.
Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (CC Madhya 20.108-109). Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that every living entity is, in his original position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness . . . at the present moment we have got different consciousness. That is māyā. This is mental concoction. I am thinking that "I'll be happy in this way." That is a mental concoction. You cannot be happy unless you surrender to Kṛṣṇa. That is sanātana-dharma.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19). A person, after many, many births, he becomes really wise.
- kāmādīnāṁ kati na katidhā pālitā durnideśās
- teṣāṁ . . . mayi na karuṇā na trapā nopaśāntiḥ
- (CC Madhya 22.16)
A brāhmin, he prays to Kṛṣṇa, "My dear Lord, I have become the servant of my senses." Here everyone is servant of his senses. They want to enjoy the senses. Not enjoy—they want to serve the senses. My tongue says: "Please take me to such-and-such restaurant and give me such-and-such chicken juice," I immediately go—not to enjoy, but to abide by the orders of my tongue. Therefore in the name of so-called enjoyment, we are all serving the senses. In Sanskrit it is called go-dāsa. Go means senses.
So unless you become gosvāmī, your life is spoiled. Gosvāmī. You cannot be dictated by the senses. You have to dictate to the senses. As soon as the tongue says: "Now you will take me to that restaurant, or give me a cigarette," if you say, "No. No cigarette, no restaurant; simply kṛṣṇa-prasāda," then you are gosvāmī. Then you are gosvāmī. This is the characteristic, sanātana.