.. he then brings a mashal (parable) of a Rabbi who needed tapes of his speeches..
Don’t know which area you’re from, I highly doubt the Chovas Halevavos had access to tapes his days.
Someone here’s terribly mixed up. Refusing the blessings of a Rebbi, Rosh Yeshiva, Gadol etc. has nothing to do with the need of one to have a living guidance… Don’t think one should offer the “key to success in Judaism” before one truly knows what Judaism is all about. And some things are not DIY try-me-out kits. Some things in YiddishKite, most importantly Hashkafa, have to be taught from a mentor.