Who is a Guru?

— By Swami Brahmavidananda Saraswati

In today’s world, the word ‘guru’ is used indiscriminately – financial gurus and management gurus. In the mean streets of Mumbai, the guru is a slang word for the local dada who has got a few hangers-on. That is not the meaning of a guru. In fact, in the Indian tradition the word ‘guru’ is used only for a spiritual teacher.

All of us long for joy, happiness and fulfilment in life. Irrespective of our other priorities we have this longing for fulfilment. In the vision of the scriptures of Vedanta, you are already a fulfilled being, free from all limitations of a human being. That means you are already free from your existential issues of isolation, loneliness, lack of fulfilment, purposelessness although the body will end up six feet under the ground or on the funeral pyre. The one who helps you discover yourself as a fulfilled being is called a guru.

The word is made of two syllables – gu and ru. Without going into the technical details gu stands for darkness, ignorance of the self, reality and God. Ru stands for one who removes ignorance. So the guru is the one who removes the ignorance about you, the world and God by revealing the underlying reality. Such a teacher enjoys the name ‘Guru’.

Basically a guru is someone who introduces you to the real you. You, who is struggling to find joy and fulfilment in life is introduced to the real you that is already a fulfilled being. This is a primary function of a guru.

So the guru is more of a relationship than an entity, an institution by herself or himself. On Guru Purnima, we pay our respects to all the spiritual teachers because the source of this knowledge is Ishvara himself. So, we salute the entire lineage of teachers, especially spiritual teachers.

As the Guru expounds what you really are, you learn to live in that knowledge, joy, fulfilment and freedom. Once you do that, if you so choose, you can master the scriptures and help others discover the same. And the tradition goes on.