What does Baba say are the prerequisites for attaining true knowledge, and what are the main obstacles?

According to Chapter 50, the path to true knowledge involves a specific sequence and overcoming certain hindrances. The primary prerequisite is devotion. Baba states that the mind, soiled by ignorance (Avidya), cannot be cleansed without devotion to God, and without this cleansing, knowledge cannot be born. Therefore, devotion is the first step to remove ignorance, a process likened to separating stones from rice before cooking. The main obstacles that hide this knowledge are lust and anger. Chapter 50 provides the analogy that just as a clean mirror is covered by dust or fire is obscured by smoke, knowledge is hidden by ignorance when one is overcome by lust and anger. Thus, attaining knowledge requires both cultivating devotion and overcoming these internal defilements.