“Jñāna is not gained through those. It must be made one's own experience only through great souls who have experienced it. One must take refuge in them. If a man's doubts are to be settled, they are not settled by reading śāstras or reading books; through these, doubts grow all the more. These can only tell; they cannot do it and show it. Those who do it and show it are the knowers of tattva alone, so this holy Jñāna is not to be had without taking refuge in them for some time at least. Drink sea water straight and your thirst is not quenched at all; worse, it even spoils the tongue. Likewise, doubt is not settled straight from the śāstras. Not only that: the state of the one who seeks Jñāna must also be considered. He must have, along with Bhakti and śraddhā, a simple, straightforward disposition. Only to one in such a state does Jñāna come to fulfilment. He must not, instead, weary the guru in his impatience. However long it takes, he must take refuge and achieve it with patience; impatience is of no use. Practising what the guru has said, without transgressing it, he must bring it into daily experience. One who tastes what he has heard and what he has eaten, a different thing each day, and, greedy to become a ‘jñāni’ quickly, keeps changing his sādhana however the fancy strikes him, will become an ‘ajñāni’. Even if he became only that, it would be far better; but he becomes neither, and ends up quite mad. So in this matter the utmost care must be taken.”