If you are in the middle of an ocean in the darkness of night, do you know which way to go? But there is a compass in the boat that tells you exactly which direction you should be going. So this material existence is compared to an ocean, ‘bhavasagar’. The human life is compared to a boat, which actually has the potential to cross over this ocean. The guru is like the captain of the boat and the teachings of the Vedas and other holy scriptures are like the breezes. If we have the right captain, he or she can teach us how to actually move forward with the help of these breezes of the great teachings.
Radhanath Swami