User:Miljoshi/Guru

This section spent 24 hours on Guru before it was reverted on 21 November 2005.

A Guru (guru - Sa: गुरू) is a teacher in Hinduism, Buddhism or Sikhism. Based on a long line of philosophical understanding as to the importance of knowledge, the guru is seen in these religions as a sacred conduit, or a way to self-realization. In India and among people of Hindu, Buddhist, or Sikh belief, the title retains a hallowed meaning.

Guru also refers in Sanskrit to Brihaspati, a Hindu figure analogous to the Roman planet/god Jupiter. In Vedic astrology, Jupiter/Guru/Brihaspati is believed to exert teaching influences. Indeed, in many Indic language, such as Hindi, the occidental Thursday is called either Brihaspativār or Guruvār (गुरुवार, vār meaning period or day).

In contemporary India and Indonesia, Guru is widely used within the general meaning of "teacher". In Western usage, the original meaning of guru has been extended to cover anyone who acquires followers, though not necessarily in an established school of philosophy or religion. In a further metaphorical extension, guru is used to refer to a person who has authority because of his or her perceived knowledge or skills in a domain of expertise.

The importance of discerning between a true guru and a false one is explored in scriptures and teachings of religions in which a guru plays a role. The assessment and criticism of gurus and the Guru-shishya tradition are espoused in the discourse about cults and new religious movements by Western secular scholars, theologians, anti-cultists and by skeptics both in the West and in India.

Guru in Hinduism

The word "guru" literally means "teacher" in Sanskrit (and in other derived languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, etc.). In the spiritual sense of Hinduism, "guru" means a "self-realized spiritual master". According to the popular etymology stated in the millennia old Indic scriptures of Upanishads, the syllable "gu" (गु) stands for Darkness, where as the syllable "ru" ((रु) indicates Light. The meaning thus derived suggests that a guru (a spiritual master) is someone who leads the disciples from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge (Advayatāraka Upanishad 14-18, verse 5).

Literature, ancient and recent, is found in abundance in Hinduism that is dedicated to guru, guru-mahima (importance of a guru), guru-bhakti (devotion to the guru), guru-pūjā (worship of the guru), guru-paramparā (the linage of the guru), guru-dakśīnā (paying respect to the guru) and other such related aspects of guru. The roots of these can be traced back all the way to the Veda/Vedāṃta and Upanīṣad – also in-between and beyond. This should not present a surprise, for the Hinduism is based on the guru-shishya parampara (master-disciple tradition), where the baton of knowledge is passed on through generations from the master to his/her disciples; thus creating the very backbone for sustenance of the Hindu belief system.

Owing to this tradition, one finds innumerable references of guru in all Indic scriptures, Hindu theology and mythology in the form of ṛiśī (divine soul), gurudev (divine master), satguru (true master), satpurush (true or divine man), swāmi (owner of divine knowledge), saṃt (saint), āchārya (teacher), and alike; all of which can be considered as synonyms of varying degrees – differing only in the nature of the role one plays in the master-disciple tradition.

The apostolic holy Hindu saint Ādi Śṃkarāchārya, inarguably revered as "Jagatguru" (Guru for the whole world), who single-handedly consolidated various denominations of Hindu sects of the time about a millennium ago, opens his "verses to the Guru" as follows:

गुरुरब्रह्मा गुरुरविष्णु गुरुरदेवो महेश्वरः।

गुरुरसाक्षात् परब्रह्म तस्मै श्री गुरवे नमः॥

Translation: The self-realized guru is the Braṃḥā (ब्रह्मा - the Generator), the Viśṇu (विष्णु - the Operator), and also the Maheswara (महेश्वर - the Destroyer). The guru is the manifested source of the Absolute (परब्रह्म - Parabraṃḥa). To such a guru, I offer my prayers.

Note here, significantly indeed, that the timeless Holy Trinity of G-O-D of Hinduism in the form of Generator (|Braṃḥā), Operator (Viśṇu) and Destroyer (Maheswara), has been instated by the Jagatguru as the supreme and absolute Guru. Also, It is a fact of the tradition that at the moment of realisation when the aspiring disciple is finally presented with God in presence of his/her guru, the disciple pays the respects first to the guru (in honour and to show gratitude). This goes to show the depth and breadth of the significance of guru in the disciple's life and Sādhnā (spiritual quest). This also makes guru the single most important step of initiation for a disciple in his/her spiritual quest. It is the guru who initiates and prescribes a specific and appropriate path for the disciple for his/her spiritual quest, and guides and guards him/her through the spiritual journey.

Further, the master-disciple tradition puts the obligation of finding a true self-realized guru on the disciple, for which there are various methods prescribed. Albeit, the privilege rests with the guru to accept one as his/her disciple. On the other hand, there are published definitions and properties of a true guru and there are methods of identification before one accepts him/her as one's guru. Also, there are discourses and cautions advised by the self-realized gurus for the common man to aid him ward off the pretentious ones.

Following five have been primarily (but not limited to) termed as the properties and duties of a true guru by the Upanishads:

• Protection and uplifting of the (divine) knowledge (Gyān Rakshā)
• Annihilation of sorrow (Dukḥa Kshaya)
• Spring of joy in abundance without apparent or tangible cause (Sukh Aavīrbhāva)
• Prosperity of the social order at large (Samrīddhī)
• Manifestation of all talents (Sarva Saṃvardhān)

In accordance with the master-disciple tradition the history of Hinduism has stood witness to many divine souls in the form of gurus walking the planks with deserving disciples of the respective era for their salvation; and have liberated countless lives by showing them the path to the higher adobe of the divine and self-realization. However, to the dismay of a historian, only a few have marked their presence in overt recorded forms or transcripts for the world at large. Some of such enlightened entities are mentioned under the list of Hindu gurus.