As long as one is too much absorbed in the bodily conception of life, he becomes interested in many different processes of self-realization, such as the mystic yoga system or the system utilizing the speculative empiric methods. However, when one understands that the ultimate goal of life is to approach Kṛṣṇa, he realizes Kṛṣṇa within everyone’s heart and therefore helps everyone who is interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Actually the perfection of life depends on one’s inclination to hear about Kṛṣṇa. It is therefore mentioned in this verse, yāvad gadāgraja-kathāsu ratiṁ na kuryāt: unless one becomes interested in Kṛṣṇa, in His pastimes and activities, there is no question of liberation by means of yoga practice or speculative knowledge.

Having attained to the stage of devotion, Mahārāja Pṛthu became uninterested in the practices of jṣāna and yoga and abandoned them. This is the stage of pure devotional life as described by Rūpa Gosvāmī:

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jṣāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu- śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

Real jṣāna means understanding that the living entity is the eternal servant of the Lord. This knowledge is attained after many, many births, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19) : bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jṣānavān māṁ prapadyate. In the paramahaṁsa stage of life, one fully realizes Kṛṣṇa as everything: vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. When one understands fully that Kṛṣṇa is everything and that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest perfection of life, he becomes a paramahaṁsa, or mahātmā. Such a mahātmā or paramahaṁsa is very rare to find. A paramahaṁsa, or pure devotee, is never attracted by haṭha-yoga or speculative knowledge. He is simply interested in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord. Sometimes one who was formerly addicted to these processes tries to perform devotional service and the jṣāna and yoga practices at the same time, but as soon as one comes to the unalloyed stage of devotional service, he is able to give up all other methods of self-realization. In other words, when one firmly realizes Kṛṣṇa as the supreme goal, he is no longer attracted by mystic yoga practice or the speculative empirical methods of knowledge.