Bhāgavata says, na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ (SB 7.5.31). Knowledge, what is the target of knowledge? To go up to Viṣṇu, to understand. Tad viṣṇuṁ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti surayaḥ (Ṛg Veda). Those who are actually intelligent, they are simply observing the Viṣṇu form. This is Vedic mantra.
So unless you reach to that point, your knowledge has no value. It is ignorance. Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyā-samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25). So long you do not understand Kṛṣṇa, that means your knowledge is covered still.
- yeśām anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
- janānāṁ punya-karmaṇām
- te dvanda-moha-nirmuktā
- bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
- (BG 7.28)
Ignorance means pāpa. Through ignorance one commits sin. Just like a man kills somebody in ignorance, that he will be killed also he does not know. Just like so many people are killing animals. They do not know that the animal will also kill him. That is ignorance. Just like here the law is "Life for life." If you take one life, then you have to give your life. State law. Is it not?
If you kill somebody, then you'll be killed also. So why not God's law like that? But they are ignorant; they are killing animals. That is ignorance. Killing means sin. Why they are committing this sin? Ignorance. He does not know the law that he will also be killed. Karma-bandhana. Yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9). He'll be bound up by his action. And he does not know. That is ignorance.
So this whole world is . . . this material world is full of ignorance. Therefore it is called tamasi. Tamasi mā jyotir gama. That ignorance is, I mean to say, dissipated simply by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no other method. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ (CC Antya 20.12). Simply by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that ignorance can be dissipated. Otherwise not. Not possible.
Kṛṣṇa therefore says, sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ (BG 7.19). Completely eradicated from the platform of ignorance is very rarely to be found. Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. There may be so many mahātmās, but such mahātmā who has fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa is very rare. Therefore one who has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, he is perfect mahātmā, he is perfect yogī.