Religion means you must have peace of mind, tranquillity. That is religion. It is not a formality or dogmas. It is the ultimate goal of life.
So this bhāgavata-dharma long, long ago was sometimes discussed by Prahlāda Mahārāja, a great devotee, a boy devotee, five-years-old boy, and he was a great devotee, although born in an atheistic family. His father was a great atheist, Hiraṇyakaśipu. Hiraṇya means gold, and kaśipu means soft cushion. That means complete materialist. The materialist want these two things: woman and money. So Hiraṇyakaśipu was very expert in this business. But fortunately he had a great son, Prahlāda Mahārāja.
So this Prahlāda Mahārāja, when he was in the womb of his mother, he had the chance of hearing about bhāgavata-dharma from Nāradaji. You have heard that there is always fight between the atheist and the theist, or the demigods and the demons, sura asura. So sometimes there was a fight between the asuras and the devas. The asuras became defeated, and Hiraṇyakaśipu left the battle. So as it sometimes appears . . . happens in the war, the wife of Hiraṇyakaśipu was captured by the demigods, and she was being taken away, although she was pregnant.
So Nārada Muni met on the way, and he asked the demigods, "Oh, what you are doing this? You are taking away one pregnant woman? What is this?" So Indra replied that, "We are not going to do any harm to the woman. But we are concerned with the child within his (her) womb. Because that child is born of Hiraṇyakaśipu, he must be a greater demon. So as soon as the child is born, we shall kill it. Therefore, we are taking this woman." Then Nāradajī said that, "This child is not an ordinary child. He is mahā-bhāgavata. So you do not try this attempt. Just release her. I will take her."
So Nāradajī is authority, so demigods accepted his advice, Vaiṣṇava. The demigods are also Vaiṣṇava. Demigods means there are two kinds of population all over the universe: daiva asura eva ca. One class is called daiva, devata, and the other class is called asura. So who is asura and who is a deva? Viṣṇu-bhakta bhaved daiva asuras tad viparyayaḥ (Padma-purāṇa). That is the definition who is the asura and who is a deva. Only the Vaiṣṇava, they are demigods. And who are not Vaiṣṇava or anything else, tad viparyayaḥ, he is a demon. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said, asuri bhāvam āśritāḥ.
- na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
- prapadyante narādhamāḥ
- māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
- āsuri bhāvam āśritāḥ
- (BG 7.15)
The asuri bhāva is defy the existence of God. "Who is God? I am God." Hiraṇyakaśipu was a typical example of this demon. As soon as his son, five years old, he would chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, he immediately object, "Why you are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa?"
So that is the nature of the demon, to protest always against the theist or godly Vaiṣṇavas. This is not new; it is always there. This world is so made that the predominance of demonic principle is very much aggressed. Just see, even a father, a demon father could not tolerate the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra by his five-years-old son. Therefore, Caitanya Mahāprabhu has advised:
- tṛṇād api sunīcena
- taror api sahiṣṇunā
- amāninā mānadena
- kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
- (CC Adi 17.31)
There will be disturbances. One who is going to engage himself in devotional service, he may be disturbed, because that is the way of this material world. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that tolerate. How toleration? Tṛṇād api sunīcena, humbler than the straw on the street or grass. Everyone is walking over the grass, but it does not protest. Tolerates. Tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇuna.
Prahlāda Mahārāja was typical example of this Caitanya Mahāprabhu's śikṣā. This Hiraṇyakaśipu father tortured Prahlāda Mahārāja in so many ways, but he tolerated. He tolerated. There are many other examples. Lord Jesus Christ, he was crucified. The only fault was that he was preaching God consciousness. Ṭhākura Haridāsa, he was Muhammadan, but he took to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and the Kazi . . .
At that time, there was Muhammadan government. The Kazi called him, "Oh, you are so fortunate, you have taken your birth in Muhammadan family and you are chanting Hindu God's name?" So he replied: "Sir, what is the fault there? Some of the Hindus also take to Muhammadan religion. So what is the fault there?" "Oh, you are talking before me? You are protesting?" So he was flogged with cane in twenty-two bazaar, but he tolerated. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, don't think it is going very easily. We have to tolerate. Actually we are tolerating so many things, but we cannot stop it.