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A guru (गुरू Sanskrit) is a Hindu religious teacher. It is based on a long line of Hindu philosophical understandings of the importance of knowledge and that the teacher, guru, is the sacred conduit to self-realization. Till today in India and among people of Hindu or Sikh persuasion, the title retains its significant hallowed space. Guru is also the Sanskrit reference to Brihaspati, a Hindu figure equivalent to the planet the Greeks named Jupiter; in Vedic astrology, Jupiter/Guru/Brihaspati is believed to exert teaching influences. Indeed, in Indian languages like Hindi, 'Thursday' is called either Brihaspativaar or Guruvaar (vaar meaning period or day). Guru is widely used in contemporary India with the universal meaning of the word "teacher". In a Western context, the term Guru has extended into anyone who makes religious or philosophical statements and has followers because of this, in some cases with the purpose of what their critics consider exerting domination or receiving inapropriate benefits. In further metaphorical extension it means simply expert.
Guru in HinduismOrigin and understanding of the term GuruThe word guru means teacher in Sanskrit and other Sanskrit-derived languages like Hindi, Bengali and Gujarati. It originated in a Hindu context and holds a special place in Hinduism, signifying the sacred place of knowledge (vidya) and the imparter of knowledge. The word comes from the sanskrit root "gru" literally meaning heavy, weighty. Another etymology claimed in Hindu scriptures is that of dispeller of darkness (wherein darkness is seen as avidya, lack of knowledge both spiritual and intellectual), 'gu' meaning darkness, and 'ru' meaning dispeller.
Another popular etymology claims that the syllables gu (गु) and ru (रू), stand for darkness and light, respectively, providing the esoteric meaning that the guru is somebody who leads the disciple from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge [1] (http://www.dharmayoga.org/onlinestudy/dictionary.htm) [2] (http://www.samadhi-yoga.com/jai/reflect.htm). In the sense mentioned here above, guru is used more or less interchangeably with "satguru" (literally: true teacher) and satpurusha. Compare also Swami. The disciple of a guru is called sishya or chela. Often a guru lives in an ashram. The lineage of a guru, spread by worthy disciples who carry on that guru's particular message, is known as the guru parampara or disciplic succession. In the traditional sense, the word guru describes a relationship rather than an absolute and is used as a form of address only by a disciple addressing his master. Some Hindu denominations like BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha hold that a personal relationship with a living guru, revered as the embodiment of God, is essential in seeking moksha. The role of the guru continues in the original sense of the word in such Hindu traditions as Vedanta, Yoga, Tantra and Bhakti sects. Indeed, it is now a standard part of Hinduism (as defined by the six Vedic streams and the Tantric Agamic streams) that a guru is one's spiritual guide on earth. In some more mystical Hindu circles, it is believe that the guru could awaken dormant spiritual knowledge within the pupil, known as shaktipat. Some influential gurus in the Hindu tradition (there have been many) include Adi Shankaracharya, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and Shri Ramakrishna. Other gurus whose legacy of continuing the Hindu yogic tradition grew in the 20th century were luminaries like Shri Aurobindo Ghosh, Shri Ramana Maharshi, Swami Sivananda and Swami Chinmayananda. Devotees' views on Guru and GodThe origin of guru can be traced back as far as the early Upanishads, where the conception of the Divine Teacher on earth first manifested from its early Brahmin associations. Indeed, there is an understanding in some sects that if the devotee were presented with the guru and God, first he would pay respects to the guru since the guru had been instrumental in leading him to God. To illustrate the elevated status of a guru, some saints and poets have sung the glory of the guru:
It is worth noting that in all sects with a disciplic succession or parampara, both guru and disciple affirm to be servants of the divine. List of famous gurus
Guru in Buddhism
The Dalai Lama speaking of the importance of the guru, said: "Rely on the teachings to evaluate a guru: Do not have blind faith, but also no blind criticism." According to the Dalai Lama, the term 'living Buddha' is a translation of the Chinese word 'ho fu'. In Tibetan, the operative word is 'lama' which means 'guru'. A guru is someone who is not necessarily a Buddha but is heavy with knowledge. The term vajra is also used, meaning 'master'.
Guru in SikhismThe title Guru is extremely fundamental to the religion of the Sikhs. Indeed, the Sikhs carried the meaning of the word to an even greater level of abstraction, while retaining the original usage, to apply to understanding of imparted knowledge through any medium. Guru Nanak, the first guru of Sikhism, was opposed to the caste system prevalent at his time in India. His followers referred to him as the Guru (teacher). Before his death he designated a new Guru to be his successor and to lead the Sikh community. This procedure was continued, and the tenth and last Guru, Guru Gobind (AD 1666–1708) initiated the Sikh ceremony in AD 1699. For Sikhs, the Gurus were not in the Christian sense “Sons of God”. Sikhism says we are all the children of God and by deduction, God is our mother/father. The most important is the Guru Granth Sahib, their holiest book. See also:
"Guru" in a Western culture context and secular viewsThe Dutch theologist Dr. Reender Kranenborg, member of the board of CESNUR, who specializes in Hinduism and new religious movements at the Free University in Amsterdam, distinguished three types of gurus, the spiritual advisor who also performs traditional rituals, the enlightened master who derives his authority from his experience and who should be followed (e.g. Andrew Cohen), and the avatar, a guru who claims to be an incarnation of God or to be God-like (e.g. Sathya Sai Baba). The late Dutch professor in psychology of religion Jan van der Lans at the Radboud University Nijmegen has mentioned three dangers when the personal contact between the guru and the disciple is absent.
According to van der Lans, the deification of a guru is a traditional element of of Eastern spirituality, but detached from the Eastern cultural element and copied by Westerners, the distinction between the person of the guru and that what he symbolizes is lost and it degenerates into a boundless, uncritical personality cult. Additional meanings in contemporary western usageThe original meaning has evolved to a broader one. In more recent usage of the word guru, it means anyone who propagates a philosophical or religious belief system independent of an established school of philosophy or religion and attracts and accepts followers because of this, especially when the veracity of the belief system hinges around the reliabiliy of the guru. Sometimes Christians use the word guru as a pejorative label. On the other hand, Kranenborg accepts the word guru for Jesus. Often, dependent on the teachings of the guru, the followers will see the guru as a prophet, saint or avatar. Gurus often claim that they have achieved enlighment, moksha, that their teachings were channeled or that they have received a revelation. The term guru has also passed into an even wider metaphorical use. In hacker culture, a guru is an expert of legendary proportions. Nearly synonymous with "wizard", but additionally implies a history of being a knowledge resource for others. Less often, used (with a qualifer) for other experts on other systems, as in VMS guru. (The definition is from Jargon file.) Attraction by gurusThere are several reasons why people in Western cultures are attracted by gurus. The most common is that people look for the meaning of life and are disillusioned in traditional religions. Gurus provide answers to the meaning of life, often free from the intellectualism of philosophy. Other people who have traditional beliefs seek to intensify their religious life and see a guru who can help her or him with this. Gurus offer a belief system that offers fulfillment and purpose and sometimes promises of a peaceful happy life. Many gurus claim that they can bring people closer to God, facilitate enlightenment, moksha, or nirvana, or can help people to achieve good karma and a correspondingly better next incarnation. Criticism and assessment of the guru's authenticityThe guru and guruism labels have acquired a rather negative connotation in western countries, likely due to the prominence of several self-proclaimed "gurus" in the US and during the 1960s and 1970s "New Age" movement, who used Hindu terminology without necessarily having much in common with mainstream Hinduism. Some of these gurus, were found to be abusing their status and to be charlatans, self-deceived, businessmen pretending to be saints, cult leaders or a combination of this. That label has been extended to any leader seeking to exert his domination over adepts of a secular, religious organization or school of thought, or to receive inappropriate benefits under the pretense of promoting among them a certain belief system. Some countries have enacted legislations that protect individuals with specific vulnerabilities due to physical or psychological deficiencies. Critics of these legislations interpret these measures as limitations of freedom of religion. See French legislation on cult abuses. The British psychiatry professor Anthony Storr argues in his book Feet of clay - A Study of gurus that gurus (in the non-Hindu usage of the word) share common character traits (e.g. being loners without friends) and that some suffer from a mild form of schizophrenia. He argues that the belief system that gurus hold developed in some cases from a period of psychosis. The belief system was developed during the psychosis to make sense of the guru's own mind and perceptions. This belief system persists after the psychosis has gone away. Storr also wrote in the book that the gurus who are eloquent are the ones who are more likely to be unreliable and dangerous. The scholar David C. Lane wrote that a charlatan who cons people is not as dangerous as a guru who really believes in his delusions, and that 'bigger' the claims a guru makes, the bigger the chance that he is a charlatan or deluded. The history of various gurus, religions, sects, new religious movements and cults has shown that the question how to assess the authenticity of a guru is difficult, especially when the guru is still young. According to the Bible, Jesus said that one should judge a prophet by his fruits, though it is not not clear whether this rule of the thumb also includes gurus. [3] (http://www.biblebell.org/proph/prophecy1.html) . Some believe that this rule has the drawbacks that one should know what is good and bad in the first place and that one cannot possibly know all acts and their corresponding fruits of a guru. The Indian skeptic Basava Premanand toured around in the villages of India to educate people by debunking gurus and fakirs whom he considers frauds or self deceived. Non-Hindu gurus
Other Uses of the word 'Guru'
See alsoExternal linksBudhism
Hinduism
Skihism
Other sites
Critical sites
Bibliography
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