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Actually, to my knowledge one of the core teachings of the Vedas is that one has to experience higher states of understanding.  They can not be taught (though a teacher comes in handy at many points in the process to guide one away from misunderstandings).  In the Hindu worldview, of course, it might takes many lifetimes before one is at a stage capable of experiencing the higher states, but still...  the fact that you may spend your whole life devoted to a given teacher is not a goal in itself, but merely a step towards the eventual experience.  

It doesn't matter what domain of life you're talking about, really - it's the height of the human spirit to live in an effort to understand.  Ludwigs2 "