We Cannot Manufacture Dharma
In the modern age, a dangerous fashion has emerged where people believe they can invent their own religious paths or declare that all manufactured faiths lead to the same goal. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda strictly refutes this idea, explaining that true religion is not a product of human sentiment or mental speculation. According to Vedic authority, dharma is the absolute, unchangeable law given directly by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and any attempt to concoct an independent system is nothing more than cheating.
The True Definition of Dharma
The word dharma is frequently misunderstood and incorrectly translated as a temporary faith. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that dharma refers exclusively to the direct orders and laws established by God. Just as state laws are enacted by the government, the cosmic laws of dharma are established by Kṛṣṇa and cannot be altered or improvised by any living entity.
- Dharma means the law given by God. That is dharma. You cannot manufacture. Who cares for your manufactured system.
- Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam (SB 6.3.19). You cannot manufacture dharma, just like you cannot manufacture law at your home. That will be not feasible. That will be not useful for anyone.
- Dharma. This is real dharma. To execute the order of Krsna, that is real dharma. We cannot manufacture dharma, I have several times explained. Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam (SB 6.3.19). Dharma means the order of Krsna.
- Dharma means the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is sum and substance, what we mean by dharma. That means dharma cannot be manufactured by any conditioned soul.
The Impossibility of Manufacturing Religion
Because conditioned souls possess imperfect senses and are prone to illusion, they have absolutely no qualification to create spiritual laws. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that even great sages and elevated demigods like Yamarāja acknowledge that dharma can only be enacted by the Supreme Lord. Any man-made religion is therefore invalid and unauthorized.
- A human being or a demigod or very exalted person cannot manufacture dharma. That is not possible. Real dharma is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, and that real dharma is stated in the Bhagavad-gita.
- The authority, Dharmaraja, says that dharma cannot be manufactured by anybody, even great sages or demigods. But nowadays everyone is manufacturing a dharma, and the so-called rascals, they are supporting that.
- Without being guided by the Supreme Lord, human beings sometimes manufacture a process of dharma by concoction. Actually dharma cannot be made by man.
The Cheating of Concocted Faiths
The proliferation of countless religious sects—each claiming their own manufactured dogmas and rituals—is a symptom of a degraded society. Śrīla Prabhupāda categorizes these concocted systems as kaitava-dharma (cheating religion) because they distract people from the actual goal of life: understanding and surrendering to the Supreme Lord.
- Man-made dharma is no dharma. That is called kaitava-dharma, cheating dharma. You cannot manufacture religion. But nowadays it has become fashion. Everyone is manufacturing his own religion. Therefore there is dharma-viparya.
- We have manufactured so many dharmas: Hindu dharma, Muslim dharma, Christian dharma, Parsi dharma, Buddha dharma, this dharma, that dharma. They are not dharma; they are mental concoction. Mental concoction.
- Dharma means what is given to you by the Supreme Lord, that is dharma. Otherwise, if you manufacture some ritualistic ceremonies, some formulas, some dogma, that is cheating. That is not religion.
- People have manufactured so many dharmas, dharma without the principle of God consciousness. So, according to Vedic principle, that is not dharma.
The Ultimate Conclusion of Dharma
If all manufactured religions are to be rejected, what is the true path? Śrīla Prabhupāda directs us to the ultimate conclusion of the Bhagavad-gītā. True dharma is realized only when a person abandons all mental concoctions, gives up all varieties of man-made faiths, and surrenders entirely to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.
- At last He says, sarva-dharman parityajya. That means the so-called dharmas that we have manufactured, man-made dharmas, they are not dharmas. Dharma means what is given by God. But we have no understanding what is God.
- You cannot manufacture dharma, "This is this religion, this is that religion." These are all bogus. Real dharma is sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja (BG 18.66). This is dharma.
- Sarva-dharman parityajya (BG 18.66). "You have manufactured so many dharmas: deva-dharma, samaja-dharma, desa-dharma, this dharma, that dharma, Hindu dharma, Muslim dharma, this . . . no! Simply surrender unto Me (Krsna)." That is dharma.
- You can manufacture so many other dharmas - that is not dharma; that is your concocted dharma. But real dharma this is: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji . . . this is most confidential dharma.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda unequivocally destroys the modern fallacy that anyone can invent a valid spiritual path. Because dharma is the direct law of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (dharmam tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam), it cannot be manufactured by ordinary humans, society, or even exalted demigods. The countless "ism's" and faiths created by mental concoction are entirely bogus, serving only to cheat the public and divert them from actual God consciousness. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam completely rejects such kaitava-dharma. Real religion, the true sanātana-dharma, is not a matter of claiming a sectarian title, but is defined by Kṛṣṇa's ultimate instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā: to abandon all varieties of manufactured, man-made duties and surrender fully unto Him.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category We Cannot Manufacture Dharma. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.