Why you need an AchAryA?

Couple of quotes adiyEn came across on this topic.

1. If there is an elephant sitting on the ground and sleeping and you would like to ride that elephant, do you approach the elephant directly? No. You approach the mahout and through the mahout, you approach the elephant and go for a ride. Similarly, an acharya is like a mahout, who guides us to approach God in the right manner.
2. SoorpanakA was a jIvAthmA and she got attracted to rAmA, the paramAthmA. jIvAthma getting attracted to paramAthmA - there is nothing wrong with that. However, she approached rAmA directly and the result was she got her nose cut. This is shown as a drishtAntham of what could happen if we approach God on our own and not through an AchAryA.
3. We can see the face of the person standing in front of us. But, can we see our own face? We need a mirror to see our own face. We cannot see it ourself without a mirror. If we cannot see our own face without external help (i.e. mirror in this case), how can we expect to see our self (very subtle things like our soul (jEvAthmA) and God (paramAthmA)) without external help?An AchAryA is like a mirror that helps us look into ourselves and seek God. Hence we need an AchAryA.