Does one need a lamp to see the light from another lamp? And yet, man who has the light of wisdom in his heart goes in search of wisdom elsewhere. This search, born of ignorance, leads him to seek gurus. To acquire knowledge of the Self (Atma-Jnana), man needs no guru (preceptor). No preceptor can give this knowledge because Mother Nature (Prakriti) has herself conferred on her children the keys to this knowledge for their protection.