I am citing Sanskrit verses from Vedic literature, because according to our concept of civilization we take Vedic hymns or Vedic versions as absolute truth, without any mistakes, without any cheating. The conditioned soul . . . conditioned soul—one who is not liberated, one who is under the stringent laws of material nature; he is called conditioned soul—he cannot give us perfect knowledge, conditioned soul. Those conditioned souls means one who is identifying with this body, he is called conditioned soul. He is under the condition of this material nature, prakṛti. So such persons cannot be perfect.
For example the four kinds of defects, that every one of us, we commit mistakes. "To error is human." That is a fact. Everyone will admit. Yes. Nobody can say that, "I never committed any mistake." Nobody can say. That is not possible. So long we have got this bodily concept of life, this is mistake. This bodily concept of life itself is mistake. I am not this body, but I am thinking I am this body. Actually I am not this body, but still I am thinking, "I am Indian," you are thinking you are American. This is mistake. The beginning is mistake.
So if you can commit mistake, how you can give perfect knowledge? Knowledge means must be perfect, without any mistake, without any illusion. Illusion . . . illusion means to accept something for something, the same mistake. And then our imperfectness of the senses: we acquire knowledge, we gather knowledge by perception of our, this material senses, but our material senses are imperfect. Just like we are very much proud of our eyes, so I can see under certain condition if there is . . . just like if it is not fully lighted, I cannot see who was standing behind, but if there is sufficient light, I can see. Therefore my seeing power is dependent on the varieties of light.
So how you can say that whatever you see, it is perfect? I am seeing now things under certain condition; next moment I will see things under certain other condition. So as the condition changes, therefore my sight also changes in different ways. We have got different senses: our touch, our smell, so many things. All our senses are working under incompetency. Incompetency. So persons who have got incompetent senses, who is liable to commit mistake, who is illusioned, whatever knowledge he is giving that is cheating, because he has no perfect knowledge. So how we can accept knowledge from a person who is liable to so many defects of māyā? Try to understand.