| The importance of finding a guru who can | | | | streams and the tantric agamic streams), that |
| impart transcendental knowledge (vidya) is | | | | a guru is one's spiritual guide on earth. In |
| one of the tenets of Hinduism. One of the | | | | some more mystical traditions, it is believed |
| main Hindu texts, the Bhagavad Gita, is a | | | | that the guru could awaken dormant spiritual |
| dialogue between God in the form of Krishna | | | | knowledge within the pupil. The act of doing |
| and Arjuna a nobleman. Not only does their | | | | this is known as shaktipat. |
| dialogue outline many of the ideals of | | | | |
| Hinduism, but the discussion and relationship | | | | In Hinduism, the guru is considered a |
| between the two considered to be an | | | | respected person with saintly qualities who |
| expression of the ideal Guru/disciple | | | | enlightens the mind of his or her disciple, |
| relationship. In the Gita itself, Krishna | | | | an educator from whom one receives the |
| speaks of the importance of finding a guru to | | | | initiatory mantra, and one who instructs in |
| Arjuna: | | | | rituals and religious ceremonies. The Vishnu |
| | | | Smriti and Manu Smriti regard the teacher, |
| Acquire the transcendental knowledge from a | | | | along with the mother and the father, as the |
| Self-realized master by humble reverence, by | | | | most venerable gurus (teachers) of an |
| sincere inquiry, and by service. The wise | | | | individual. |
| ones who have realized the Truth will impart | | | | |
| the Knowledge to you. (Bhagavad Gita, c4 s34) | | | | Some influential gurus in the Hindu tradition |
| | | | (there have been many) include Adi |
| | | | Shankaracharya, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, |
| In the sense mentioned above, guru is used | | | | and Shri Ramakrishna. Other gurus whose |
| more or less interchangeably with "satguru" | | | | legacy of continuing the Hindu yogic |
| (literally: true teacher) and satpurusha. | | | | tradition grew in the 20th century were men |
| Compare also Swami. The disciple of a guru is | | | | like Shri Ram Chandra, Shri Aurobindo Ghosh, |
| called a chela. Often, a guru lives in an | | | | Shri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Chandrashekarendra |
| ashram or in a gurukula (the guru's | | | | Saraswati (The Sage of Kanchi), Swami |
| household) together with his disciples. The | | | | Sivananda, Swami Chinmayananda and A. C. |
| lineage of a guru, spread by worthy disciples | | | | Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. See also the |
| who carry on that guru's particular message, | | | | list of Hindu gurus. |
| is known as the guru parampara or disciplic | | | | |
| succession. | | | | In Indian culture, someone not having a guru |
| | | | or a teacher (acharya) was once looked down |
| In the traditional sense, the word guru | | | | upon as being an orphan, and as under a sign |
| describes a relationship rather than an | | | | of misfortune. The word anatha in Sanskrit |
| absolute and is used as a form of address | | | | means "the one without a teacher". An acharya |
| only by a disciple addressing his master. | | | | is the giver of gyan (knowledge) in the form |
| Some Hindu denominations like BAPS | | | | of shiksha (instruction). A guru also gives |
| Swaminarayan Sanstha hold that a personal | | | | diksha initiation which is the spiritual |
| relationship with a living guru, revered as | | | | awakening of the disciple by the grace of the |
| the embodiment of God, is essential in | | | | guru. Diksha is also considered to be the |
| seeking moksha. The guru is the one who | | | | procedure of bestowing the divine powers of a |
| guides his or her disciple to become | | | | guru upon the disciple, through which the |
| jivanmukta, the liberated soul able to | | | | disciple progresses continuously along the |
| achieve salvation in his or her lifetime | | | | path to divinity. |
| through God-realization. | | | | |
| | | | The origin of concept of "guru" can be traced |
| The role of the guru continues in the | | | | as far back as the early Upanishads, where |
| original sense of the word in such Hindu | | | | the conception of the Divine Teacher on earth |
| traditions as the Vedanta, yoga, tantra and | | | | first manifested from its early Brahmin |
| bhakti schools. Indeed, it is now a standard | | | | associations. |
| part of Hinduism (as defined by the six Vedic | | | | |