The Guru identifies four specific barriers that can prevent both the wood and humans from reaching their destination:

For the wood, a whirlpool keeps it spinning in one place. In human life, "whirlpools" are vices like gambling, drinking, and theft, which trap a person and prevent them from moving forward.

The chapter concludes that if we live within our family and society while avoiding these four obstacles, we will undoubtedly attain the "ocean of world" (Sansaar-Rupa Samudra) filled with knowledge and joy.

For the wood, this is getting stuck on the riverbank. For humans, it is excessive attachment to worldly interests like food, sleep, and fear that prevents progress.