| Revision as of 00:13, 15 February 2004 editMkweise (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users4,391 edits "Alternative definition" is really more of a pejorative label used by Christians for heretics← Previous edit | Revision as of 04:18, 15 February 2004 edit undoPaodedeus (talk | contribs)12 edits U.G.Krishnamurti added (not to be mixed with J. Krishnamurti) . He is somewhat of a anti-guru in that he warns people against gurus, the need to reach enlightenment -> http://www.well.com/user/jct/Next edit → | ||
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Revision as of 04:18, 15 February 2004
The word guru means teacher in Sanskrit and other Sanskrit-derived languages like Hindi, Bengali and Gujurati but literally comes from the aksharas "gu" and "ru" where "gu" means darkness and "ru" means the act of removal so it is used for a teacher, someone who dispels darkness (ignorance) of the mind (person) and is a title of reverance used to address spiritual teachers or personal mentors in Hinduism. In this sense, guru is used more or less interchangeably with satguru (literally: teacher of truth). Compare also Swami.
Occasionally, the word guru has been used by Christians to label anyone who makes philosophical or religious statements independent of an established school of Christianity or western philosophy and attracts and accepts followers because of this.
The word has acquired a negative connotation in western countries, likely due to the prominence of several self-proclaimed "gurus" in the US during the 1960s and 1970s "New Age" movement (see e.g. Osho), who used Hindu terminology without having much else in common with mainstream Hinduism. But also due to more traditional gurus who didn’t practise what they preached especially with regards to celibacy and luxury. Some gurus are charlatans, self deceived or cult leaders or a combination of this.
The British psychiatry professor Anthony Storr argues in his book 'Feet of clay - A Study of gurus' that gurus share common character traits (e.g. being a loner) and that some suffer from a mild form of schizophrenia. The scholar David Lane wrote that a charlatan who cons people is not as dangerous as a guru who really believes in his delusions.
Guru is also the Sanskrit name of the planet Jupiter, which in vedic astrology is believed to exert teaching influences.
See also Contemporary Hindu Movements.
Incomplete list of gurus
- Ram Dass or Richard Alpert
- Mata Amritanandamayi or Ammachi
- Marshall Applewhite leader of Heaven's Gate
- Shoko Asahara former guru of Aum Shinrikyo
- Aurobindo
- Chinmayananda
- Aleister Crowley
- Dayananda Saraswati
- Sri Chinmoy
- Swami Dayananda
- G. I. Gurdjieff
- Caitanya Mahaprabhu
- Ramana Maharshi
- Meher Baba
- Prabhupada A.C. Bhaktivedanta founder of the ISKCON/Hare Krishna movement
- Muktananda
- Narayana Guru
- Neem Karoli Baba
- Swami Ramatirtha
- Shirdi Sai Baba
- Sathya Sai Baba
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
- Sivananda
- Swami Vivekananda
- Paramahansa Yogananda
- Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh or Osho
- Ramakrishna_Paramhansa
- Sri Yukteswar Giri
- U.G.Krishnamurti
External Links
The term guru has since passed into wider metaphorical use. In hacker culture, Guru is an expert. Implies not only wizard but also 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.)
There is also a 1990s alternative rapper named Guru.