On July 13 this year we celebrate Guru Purnima. Nowhere is a guru respected as much as in India or in Hindu Sanatana Dharma traditions. At the same time, the word ‘guru’ has been applied to all sorts of teachers - financial gurus, economic gurus, management gurus, martial art gurus. Anybody with a certain degree of expertise is called a ‘guru’ in today's world. To really understand what or who a guru is, one has to see the meaning of the word. In Sanskrit, the word itself reveals its meaning.
Guru is made by two syllables – ‘gu’ stands for darkness or ignorance which prevents you from knowing who you really are. So, ‘gu’ stands for self-ignorance. ‘Ru’ the syllable stands for the one who negates it. So, the person who negates self-ignorance and reveals self-knowledge, the underlying reality between you, the world and God is called a guru. Therefore, the word ‘Guru’ can be used only for someone who teaches you the ultimate self-knowledge. Even someone who deals with some exercises and methods for giving you a better self-awareness cannot come under the term ‘guru’, let alone experts in other disciplines.
In ancient India, gurus ran gurukulas, where both spiritual and worldly knowledge was taught. There was no great distinction between sacred and secular because people required both types of education to live in the world. Hence, other teachers started getting that respect and slowly in modern India, all teachers get a certain respect, which is not a bad thing. It is good to respect the teachers that you gain knowledge from. In some graduation ceremonies in US based Universities, we find that some Indian students touch the feet of their professors, much to the bemusement of faculty that do not understand this gesture, which is unique to the Indian culture and other Dharmika traditions. This is a reflection of the culture the Indian has imbibed without really understanding it. That's why there are terms like Acharya, Upadhyaya, Panditah to cover other disciplines of knowledge.
As we can see, the term ‘guru’ can be truly reserved for the one who reveals self-knowledge.
(The writer is the founder of Aarsha Vidya Foundation. You can write to him at aarshavidyaf@gmail.com)
