The Vital Force of the Universe
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mahān ). People are generally pursuing  dharma ,  artha ,  kāma ,  mokṣa —religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu disregarded these four things. “These are not what is to be achieved in life,” He said. The real goal of life is love of Kṛṣṇa.
Of course, human life does not actually begin until there is some conception of religion ( dharma ). But in the present age, Kali-yuga,  dharma  is practically nil—there is no religion or morality, and there are no pious activities—and therefore according to Vedic calculations the present human civilization does not even consist of human beings. Formerly people would care about morality and immorality, religion and irreligion, but with the progress of Kali-yuga this is all being vanquished, and people can do anything, without caring what it is.  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  says, and we can actually see, that in Kali-yuga about eighty percent of the people are sinful. Illicit sex life, intoxication, meat-eating, and gambling are the four pillars of sinful life, and therefore we request that one first break these four pillars, so that the roof of sinful life will collapse. Then by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa one can remain established in a transcendental position. It is a very simple method.
One cannot realize God if one’s life is sinful. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says:
yeṣām tv anta-gatam pāpam janānām puṇya-karmaṇām te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante mām dṛḍha-vratāḥ
“Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated, and who are freed from the duality of delusion engage themselves in My service with determination.” (Bg. 7.28)
The word  anta-gatam  means “finished.” One can engage in devotional service if one has finished with his sinful life. Who can finish with sinful life? Those who engage in pious activities. One must have activities, and if one engages in pious activities one’s sinful activities will naturally vanish. On one side, one should voluntarily try to break the pillars of sinful life, and on another side one must engage himself in pious life.
If one has no pious engagement, it is not that one can become free from sinful activities simply by theoretical understanding. For example, the American government is spending millions of dollars to stop the use of LSD and other such intoxicants, but the government has failed. How