Guru | What Does It Really Mean?

GURU
What does it really mean

The word GURU is a combination of two words, ‘GU’ which means Darkness, and ‘RU’ which means Light; hence the combination of these two words means ‘the power to dispel the darkness.’ The objective of this article is to truly understand the meaning of the word ‘GURU’.

The Guru acts as an intermediary between the aspirant and God and generally becomes the mediator between the two energies. The disciple must surrender to God or this Universe through the Guru. The surrender is not to the person who is the Guru but to the personification of the Grace of God, through the Guru. A true Guru has no personal advantage or disadvantage in the spiritual progress of the disciple, nor should he ever think that he is contributing to the emancipation of the disciple. They never show off their skills or accuracy in judgment or expect recognition.

The three fundamental tools to surrender are:
Sravana: Listening carefully and understanding the cues of the Guru without having to be explicitly told or taught.
Manana: Give a thought and mindful analysis of the cues.
Nididhyasana: Meditating upon the thought after identifying and understanding the cue.

The great law of Manu says:
He who uses logic and reasoning to understand; he who is not a passive learner; He who does not believe the teachings and doctrines blindly; he is following the true Dharma of learning. (Manu 12;06)

A GURU does not teach. A GURU just guides, the mere presence of true GURU will pave the way towards the Light, without the GURU having to utter a single word.

The characteristics of sincere and true and worthy Sisya (student):
Is always eager to spiritually grow in the specific subject and understanding life and its journey.
Is always humble and respectful.
Is free from envy.
Is always eager to learn through observations and listening.
Is always understanding through logic rather than blind belief.
Takes no interest in accessing others’ errors or defeat.
Constantly reflect upon their imperfection and shortcomings.

As per the tradition, Sisya (student) is divided into three categories:
Samanya Sisya: These are regular students who join the path of learning and progress in life. Once the learning is complete they move ahead and implement or seek another teacher.
Putrakas: These are students who learn the subject and remain with the teacher throughout their journey.
Acharyas: There are advanced disciples who are qualified to teach.

THE ACHARYA
The term Acharya means one who teaches their student a complete phase of their life. They also teach by example and according to the Pancharatra Agama all the Acharyas must possess the following qualities:
They must have complete faith in the Ultimate God.
They must be free of egotism.
They must have in-depth knowledge of the subject and worthy to teach.
They must be open to debate and encourage the thought process of being questioned by the students.
They should impart the learnings of the subject to the worthy students and pass on the knowledge tradition.

The Sankaracharaya says, ‘A knowledgeable Guru should definitely impart learnings to the worthy pupils who have approached him in the correct manner.’

THE ADHYAPAK
ADHYAPAK means a teacher of a chapter. The adhyapaks duty is always to share learning and knowledge with every pupil to prepare them for that specific chapter. The relationship between a pupil and the Adhyapak is limited to that specific subject.

CONCLUSION
Today we address anybody and everybody as a GURU, the question is then why our tradition always used the following names:
Drona Acharya – The great teacher of the Pandavs & Kauravs in the epic Mahabharat.
Kripa Acharya – The great teacher and caretaker of the Hastinapur kingdom.
Brishapati – The Vedic name of Jupiter which we commonly now call Guru.
Shukra Acharya – The Vedic name of Venus.
Sankara Acharya – The head of the mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition.

These are just a few Acharyas, and none considered themselves as a Guru but all of them addressed only one as The GURU – MAHADEV!

The question is, then why do we use the word GURU so loosely and why do people enjoy being addressed as a GURU?