True knowledge begins when one humbly accepts a spiritual master and learns that material success cannot fulfill the soul's eternal need.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Prabhupāda: So this evening I shall speak to you about Sanātana Gosvāmī, when he resigned from his ministership in the government of Nawab Hussain Shah in Bengal and joined Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His movement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So there is a long history how he resigned. He was the trustee of the government. Formerly, although the government was Muhammadan, the best Hindu personality was engaged to take charge of the ministership. Even in Akbar's time the same principle was done, Mahārāja Jai Singh.
Even Aurangzeb, he was a very rigid Muhammadan, still, his principal minister was Mahārāja Jai Singh. Similarly, Sanātana Gosvāmī and his brother Rūpa Gosvāmī, they accepted the government service coming from a very respectable brāhmaṇa family. But they were rejected by the brāhmaṇa community because they accepted the service of Muhammadan. Formerly, the Hindu society was very strict.
Brāhmaṇas would not accept anyone's service. So Sanātana Gosvāmī, after joining Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he left Bengal. And when Śrīla Caitanya Mahāprabhu was residing in Benares to deliver the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, at that time, his Vārāṇasī... So after he was clean-shaved...
This is one of the items of our movement. If one wants to be initiated, he must be clean-shaved. So Sanātana Gosvāmī was clean-shaved. And after becoming a regular Vaiṣṇava, then he is asking like this: tabe sanātana prabhura caraṇe dhariyā dainya vinati kare dante tṛṇa lañā [Cc Madhya 20.98] So he approached Caitanya Mahāprabhu in a very humble manner.
That is the way of approaching a guru. The Vedic instruction is, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham [Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12(1)] Samit-pāṇiḥ, taking that short grass, kuśa. It is called, in Sanskrit, it is called kuśa. So Sanātana Prabhu approached Him very humbly.
That is the way. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti tad jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ [Bg 4.34] We must approach a bona fide guru for enlightenment. And samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyam: one who has received knowledge by hearing, not by speculating. Nowadays it has become a fashion to speculate.
The Vedic injunction is, "No. By hearing." You have to approach the right person and hear. Therefore the whole Vedic literature is called śruti. One has to learn very intelligently by hearing from the authority.