Actually to my knowledge one of the core teachings of the Vedas is that one has to experience higher states of understanding They can not be taught though a teacher comes in handy at many points in the process to guide one away from misunderstandings In the Hindu worldview of course it might takes many lifetimes before one is at a stage capable of experiencing the higher states but still the fact that you may spend your whole life devoted to a given teacher is not a goal in itself but merely a step towards the eventual experience It doesn t matter what domain of life you re talking about really it s the height of the human spirit to live in an effort to understand Ludwigs2