There are certain qualifications to be fulfilled before one goes to a teacher for freedom. 

The first requirement, discernment, is discrimination between what is real and what is unreal. This distinction is essential. You must desire what is real and reject what is unreal.  What is real can only be truth. Your own Self. There is nothing beyond this. All the rest is falsehood. 

The second requirement is to rid yourself of desire for pleasures of the senses.

The third qualification is to abandon physical and mental karma. 

The fourth qualification is to desire freedom intensely. 

Look at the few who have woken up, and you will see they have fulfilled these requirements and demands. 

With these qualifications, you are ready to sit with a teacher. A perfect teacher is one who has realized himself. Only being with a perfect teacher is worthwhile.

As the moneychanger tests his gold, you have every right to test your teacher. Don’t be misled. When you go to the supermarket, you choose what to buy, Why not be even more careful in choosing a teacher?