नैषा तर्केण मतिरापनेया प्रोक्ताऽन्येनैव सुज्ञानाय प्रेष्ठ । (Katha Upanishad 1.2.9)
Brahma-vidya (knowledge of the self) cannot be attained by mere learning, reasoning or debating. Only way to attain this is through a teacher/guru, who is already a brahma dnyani.

But how do we find a Guru who is already attained Brahma dnyana? In this world where there are gurus in every corner claiming to be brahma dnyani, how do we know who is real and who is pretending?

One of the best way to do this is described by Parmahansa Yogananda in his biography ‘Autobiography of Yogi’.

As a teen, Yogananda, was very keen on finding a guru, and a path for himself, but whichever gurus he met, he found them superficial and that left him dissatisfied.

Finally when he met Yukteshwar Maharaj, he instantly felt the connect, and had a feeling that their relation as guru-shishya is from multiple lives. In his own words “With an antenna of irrefragable insight I sensed that my guru knew God, and would lead me to Him”.

So, in case you are looking for a Guru, don’t stop until you meet a person where you feel that type connect, and a sixth sense telling you that, he/she knows god, can lead you there.