Prahlāda Mahārāja said, kaumāraṁ ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha. Kaumāra, from the very beginning of childhood, one should be taught about dharma, especially bhāgavata-dharma, the relationship with God. Similarly, in other place it is said,
- sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo
- yato bhaktir adhokṣaje
- ahaituky apratihatā
- yenātmā suprasīdati
- (SB 1.2.6)
Yena ātmā suprasīdati. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo (SB 1.2.6), highest type of religious system, yato bhaktir adhokṣaje, by which one can learn how to love God—that is dharma. Anything else, that is not dharma. That is paśu-dharma. Nandajī has invented a very nice word, mānava-dharma. So mānava-dharma means what is the distinction between mānava and paśu. That distinction is that a man eats, an animal eats; a man sleeps, an animal sleeps; a man has got sexual intercourse, animal has got sexual intercourse; a man also tries to defend, an animal also tries to defend. So these four principles of dharma, bodily necessities of life, is equal to the man and the animal. If you manufacture very nice palatable dishes for eating, that does not mean you are advanced in civilization. No. It is eating. So what is the difference between mānava-dharma and paśu-dharma? Mānava-dharma means what Kṛṣṇa teaches—sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is mānava-dharma. Except this, anything, that is paśu-dharma. That is paśu-dharma. Therefore Bhāgavata says, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo atra: (SB 1.1.2) "All cheating type of dharma is kicked out from this bhāgavata-dharma."
So actually, if we are interested in mānava-dharma, we should take instruction from the authorities. Don't try to manufacture dharma. That is not possible. You cannot manufacture. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣāt bhagavat-praṇītam. Dharma means the codes given by God. That is dharma.