When I was teaching in school, we were teaching, as you say, jaḍa vidyā, or material education. Material education is useless, and we know it, but what to do? I was serving. I had to teach all those things; otherwise, my superior, the school inspector, would dismiss me.

So, I was teaching English. My subjects were English, Mathematics, and Geography. When I was teaching English in class, there was a short English poem titled, ‘Blind boy.’ It was about a boy who was blind from his very birth. He has never seen the sun because he was blind from birth. So, when people were speaking about the sun, “Oh, now it is morning, the sun has risen, you get up, get up, it is broad daylight.” He was hearing and thinking, “What are they speaking about their sun? That their sun makes their day and night. I don’t know about that sun. I make my own day and night, whereas the sun makes their day and night. When I awake, that is my day, and when I sleep, that is my night.” He was thinking like that. So, I was teaching this poem, and I was laughing inside, “Oh, what am I teaching?”

The boy was born blind. He has not seen the sun, so is it a fact that there is no sun and the sun never makes day and night? What is this nonsense? There is a sun, and this boy born blind has no proper vision to see the sun. Therefore, he thinks, “Oh, what is that sun? Where is their sun? I make my own day and night.” What is this? What am I teaching? I scolded myself. “Oh, this is nonsense that I am teaching. No, I shall not teach this nonsense. Let me give up this job, and I must teach real education, which is spiritual education.” These thoughts were going on in my heart.

At last, I gave up. Then I searched; I must take shelter of such a person who is a pakka, a pure devotee, who can give me cent percent Kṛṣṇa. I want cent percent Kṛṣṇa. So, from the Himalayas to Kanyākumārī, I traveled the whole of India. I met many sādhus, many māyāvādīs, many jñānīs, many yogīs, and many vaiṣṇavas. I talked with them and discussed with them, but I was not convinced. At last, I met my revered Guru Mahārāja in Vṛndāvana, who convinced me.