The Divine alone can be the guide, the companion and counselor on this lone journey of man. Those styled Gurus cannot help or rescue. The Sruthis advise man to approach Gurus who are 'Srotriyas' and 'Brahma-nishtas'. They warn man against resorting to others. What does Srotriya mean? It means a person who is unquestioningly loyal to the Sruthis or Vedas and who adheres to the rules prescribed and the limits imposed therein, without the slightest deviation. Brahma Nishta means a person who is establised in Brahma-Consciousness. He has no doubts to pester him, no diversion to distract him. For, he has won steady faith in the Atma. He is unconcerned with the material world. He sees all worlds as Brahma, as the manifestation of the Brahma Principle. His activities and movements are in consonance with this awareness. His vision encompasses all of Time; he knows the past, the present and the future. He is beyond all characterisation; the three (modes) do not affect him. He has his being in the One and Only - the Atma. He is unaffected by distinctions and differences, dualities and disparities. He is perpetually in Ananda.

The Vedas exhort the seeker to approach such a Guru. But, only one Person has all these attributes. He is Sarveswara, the Lord of All. Scholars who have learnt the truth or are proficient in principles are not in the category of Srotriya and Brahmanishta. They are not the Gurus you need.

The Yogavasistha says that Sri Ramachandra asked the sage Vasishtha the question, "Divine Master! Is there a way by which death can be avoided?" This same problem drove Gautama Buddha along the path of renunciation, and forced him to give up all traces of attachment; it showered on him eternal fame, as supreme among men. Prahlada, foremost among the devotees of the Lord, addressed his fellow-pupils, even as a boy, "Friends! Have you not observed some boys of our own age fall dead and get burnt or buried?" Thus, he drew their attention to the event of death and invited them to draw lessons from that inevitable fact. He taught them the higher wisdom.