These are the devotional process. Hear. First of all, hearing. Hearing means the perfect knowledge, hearing from the authority. Because we are ignorant. Just like we go to school, colleges, and hear from the teachers, from the professors, similarly, hearing means hearing from the authority, not from the rascals. That is hearing. Just like in the Vedas it is said, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). To hear the right news, the perfect knowledge, you must approach the bona fide spiritual master. Gurum eva abhigacchet. Must! It is not that "I can get knowledge at home. Why shall I go to guru? I do not find any guru."
These things are current very much. "It may be there is no guru." Not at all. You cannot say that. Just like there are imitation coin. You have met with some imitation coins. That does not mean there is no real coin. You are unfortunate, you met with imitation coin. So don't make that calculation that, "There is no real coin, all imitation." That is nonsense. There is imitation coin, and there is real coin. It is up to you to find out which is the real and which is the imitation.
So Bhāgavata gives you direction that, "If you are actually serious about finding out a guru . . ." Guru . . . who requires a guru? Who requires? Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta (SB 11.3.21). One should surrender unto guru. Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam: one who is inquisitive to understand the transcendental knowledge. The ordinary man does not require to search out the guru to find out astrology: "Gurujī, kindly tell me what will be the price next . . .?" Not that guru. Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam: one who is serious to understand about the transcendental knowledge. Uttamam. Udgata-tamam: beyond this material world.
This material world is tama, darkness. So if one is very serious to inquire about the world of light, for him there is need of guru, not for ordinary person. Guru, we should not make a guru as a fashion. Everyone makes a guru, "Let me have a guru also, any kind of . . ." No. That is not required. Guru is required by somebody who is serious to know about the transcendental world, the world of light. Tamasi mā jyotir gama. The world of jyoti. Na tad bhāsayate sūryo na candra (BG 15.6). That world, where there is no need of sun, moon, electricity.