What is guru?

What Does guru Mean

Guru is a word that comes from the Sanskrit gurus and means "teacher . " The term began to be used in Hinduism to name the religious chief or the spiritual master . Over time, its meaning was extended to popular language to refer to one who is recognized as intellectual authority or is considered a spiritual guide.

In India , the guru was the one who taught the disciple how to recite a mantra. He was also in charge of the instruction related to the sastras (the sacred scriptures) and, in the ceremony of investiture of the student, he acted as a priest.
A guru, according to Hindu tradition, is a being who has attained enlightenment (that is, he is more than just a teacher of religion ). Thanks to his state of consciousness , the guru is in a position to bring the disciple out of the darkness and reveal the divine truth that is hidden within him, through practices such as meditation and prayer .

In addition to this, it is necessary to expose the fact that within Hinduism they speak of the different qualities that a guru must have. However, the most important of them all is undoubtedly humility. But she not only has to possess it but also his disciple because only if he is humble and controls his own ego will he get the "door of enlightenment" open for him.
Among the many existing gurus throughout history, we could highlight Nanak Dev, born in 1469, who is famous for being the founder of the Indian religion known by the name of Sikhism. This religion has among its fundamental pillars the belief in only one God and has a sacred book that is the Guru Granth Sahib.
There are other terms linked to the idea of ​​guru. A gurukula is a school in which all members consider themselves to be part of the guru's family. Guru Purnima , on the other hand, is a day of homage to the guru. It is the guru's birthday according to the Vedic calendar.
In addition to all the above, we have to state that in the cinematographic field there are several films whose titles are the term we are analyzing. This would be the case, for example, of the American production "The Guru". It is a 1999 comedy that stars famous actor Eddie Murphy, who plays a unique guru-spiritist who becomes a television star.
In the same way, there is also "The guru of good vibes." Jessica Alba and Mike Myers are the main characters in this comedy that tells how a hockey player is going through a bad sporting streak because his wife has abandoned him for another athlete. For this reason, a guru will appear in his life to help him regain his good physical and mental state.
Western societies use the term to refer to people who know a lot about a certain subject. For example: "Pep Guardiola is a modern football guru: the strategies and concepts he applied at Barcelona have revolutionized the sport . "

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