True knowledge is recognizing oneself as spirit, eternally belonging to Krishna's spiritual world, not the material realm.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.26.2 — December 14, 1974, Bombay 741214SB-BOMBAY [49:37 Minutes] SB-03.26.02_741214SB-BOMBAY Nitāi: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [Prabhupāda and devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse, etc.] jñānaṁ niḥśreyasārthāya puruṣasyātma-darśanam yad āhur varṇaye tat te hṛdaya-granthi-bhedanam [SB 3.26.2] [break] [02:43] "Knowledge is the ultimate perfection of self-realization.
I shall explain that knowledge unto you by which the knots of attachment to the material world are cut." Prabhupāda: jñānaṁ niḥśreyasārthāya puruṣasyātma-darśanam yad āhur varṇaye tat te hṛdaya-granthi-bhedanam [SB 3.26.2] What is jñāna, knowledge? We have got... Jñāna means consciousness, or living symptoms. That is jñāna.
Cetana. Cetana, ce..., nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām [Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13]. Nitya and cetana. Cetana means consciousness.
Two things we find, generally: conscious or unconscious. Just like this table is unconscious, but a small ant, it is conscious. The ant is coming this side, you try to stop it, it will struggle, it will resist, because it is conscious. But the table, you take it and throw it away, it will not protest, because it is unconscious.
So this consciousness is the symptom of life, and that develops one after another. Just like within the earth you have seen, you go to the beach, you'll find within the sand there are so many living entities. But they are inferior. And the plants on the sand, we have seen there are many green plants, herbs—they are better. They have improved their consciousness.
But better than these plants and herbs are the crawling insects, snakes, snail, because they can move. The herbs, they cannot move, and within the sands there are living entities, they cannot sprout. So in this way, this is called evolution—one after another. So the insects, the reptiles, they are better than the standing herbs and plants; and these insects, the worms, they grow wings at the end of their life.
In this way they are elevated to the bird's life. In this life they could not attain the bird's life, but on account of very strong willingness they grow the wings, and next life they become small birds, they fly. So they are better, the small birds, they are better than these insects. Then there are birds, big, big birds, the eagle birds, they can fly very high.