The purpose of the Vedas is therefore to know Krishna.
The Supreme Lord, Krishna, gives us the necessary guidance for this, as well as the appropriate method.
The ultimate goal of existence is none other than Krishna, God, the Supreme Person. One can attain perfection by knowing the Vedic writings, the original sacred scriptures, and thus understand one's relationship with God, the Sovereign Person, by adhering to the various methods prescribed therein. In this way, we can approach Him, and ultimately reach Him, the supreme goal of existence, and thus emerge from oblivion.
It is under the influence of God's external energy, also called the energy of illusion, or maya, that the incarnate spiritual being forgets everything from birth.
From birth, maya influences the incarnate spiritual soul, leading it to identify with its body and forget that it is, in reality, an immortal spiritual soul.
It is extremely difficult to escape the influence of maya, but all those who develop Krishna consciousness, also called God consciousness, easily succeed.
Anyone who surrenders to Krishna, God, the Supreme Person, can escape the influence of the energy of illusion and therefore does not suffer from this concept of identifying with the body, and consciously knows that they are a spiritual soul.
It is only through the influence of maya that one forgets one's eternal relationship with Krishna, God, the Supreme Person, and identifies with the body and everything related to it, such as one's spouse, children, society, as well as material friendship and love.
One thus becomes prey to maya, and the materialistic existence where life and death continue in a continuous cycle becomes increasingly painful.
Forgetting God, our true spiritual identity, and existential truth comes from death. The change of physical body is synonymous with forgetting.
The incarnate spiritual being is conditioned by the dense matter that is their physical body. It is therefore their physical body that plunges them into oblivion of everything, leaving them with no memory whatsoever.
The conditioned being forgets everything about God, their true spiritual identity, and their previous life, but they will act according to the Lord's directives, who is the witness of all their deeds. Thanks to Lord Krishna, who grants them the necessary knowledge, both memory and forgetfulness, they can begin to act in accordance with the deeds performed during their previous life.
Krishna, who resides in the heart of every living being—human, animal, and plant—grants each of them the fruits of their self-interested actions, corresponding to karma. Krishna is the divine witness of our actions, and he gives each one what they deserve.
Forgetting comes from death. When we die, we must change bodies; it is this change of physical body that causes forgetfulness. But God never knows forgetfulness, for His completely spiritual divine body and He are One.
Forgetfulness is to no longer know anything about God, about our true identity as spiritual souls, and it is to be ignorant of the reasons why we are on Earth. It is to no longer remember the facts relating to absolute existential truth. It is to be plunged into ignorance and the darkness of knowledge.