If you want to know God, then you have to go to a person who knows God. You might have gone to a person who does not know. That is another thing. You went to a wrong person. But actually if you want to know God, you must have to go to a person who knows God. That you have to search out. That requires intelligence.
But you cannot give up the idea. Because you have been cheated, "I could not get information," therefore you cannot give up that business. You have to find out somebody else. But because you say: "I have been cheated. I could not get the right information. I stop this business," that is not allowed. You must. Therefore, according to Vedic order it is said, tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12).
Abhigacchet means he must (go) to a person to understand that science of God. You must go to a guru or a man who knows. Guru means who is more intelligent. Guru means weight, heavy, heavier, that heavier in knowledge. So you have to find out a person who is heavier than you, not ordinary. Must go. Not that may go or may not go. No. Must go. Tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet.
And what is the symptom of guru? Śrotriyaṁ. Means he has heard about God from his superior, his guru. Śrotriyaṁ. And how can I know that he has heard from his superior about God? He might say that "Yes, I have heard," but what symptoms I shall . . .? Brahmā-niṣṭham. Brahmā-niṣṭham means that he has become a complete devotee of God, result. Just like a man, a physician.
A physician means he has attended the medical college, passed the examination, and the result is that he's practicing as a physician. Not only passing will do, but he's actually passing and he's actually practicing and he's curing patients. Therefore you find out a physician, "Here is a physician." It is not difficult.
So guru means one who knows God. How can I know that he knows God? Because he's making others to know God. Where is the difficulty? But if you go to a person who does not know God, that is your fault. If you go to a physician who is not actually physician, a store-keeper, then that is your fault. You must have the intelligence who is a physician.
That much intelligence you have got. You see a signboard, Dr. Such-and-such M.D., medical practitioners. Now you go there and you see there are patients waiting for him, for his treatment, he's giving medicine and they are being cured. Then where is the difficulty to find out a physician? There is no difficulty.
So if one is serious to be cured of the disease, he must go to a physician. If he does not go to the physician, how he can be cured? Just like you have learned the guitar playing. Do you learn it alone or learn it from somebody?
John Fahey: Mainly by myself.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
John Fahey: Mainly alone.
Prabhupāda: Anyway, you have followed somebody at least, standard.
John Fahey: Oh, yeah, people I heard.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So that is the way of learning what is God. The main business is that one must know God. It is not that because I approach some person and he did not know, he could not give me the right knowledge of God, then I give up this idea of knowing God. No.