What does the term 'Guru' mean?

Contents

1. Origin
2. Definition and Meaning
3. History

1. Origin

A. गु शब्दस्तु अंधकारः स्यात् रु शब्दस्तन्निरोधकः ।
अंधकारनिरोधत्वात् गुरु इति अभिधीयते ॥

Meaning : ‘Gu (गु)’ refers to darkness assuming the form of ignorance and ‘ru (रु)’ to the radiance in the form of spiritual knowledge, which dispels this darkness. Thus the Guru is the one who dispels the darkness of ignorance.

B. The Shri Gurugita describes several origins of the word Guru.

गुकारस्त्वन्धकारश्च रुकारस्तेज उच्यते ।
अज्ञानग्रासकं ब्रह्म गुरुरेव न संशयः ॥

Meaning : The letter ‘gu (गु)’ in the word ‘Guru (गुरु)’ refers to darkness (ignorance) while the letter ‘ru (रु)’ refers to light (spiritual knowledge). Thus undoubtedly, the Guru is Brahman who alleviates this ignorance. - 23

C. In the Agamsar, a holy text the meaning of the three alphabets in the word Guru are as given below.

गकारः सिध्दिदः प्रोक्तो रेफः पापस्य हारकः ।
उकारो विष्णुरव्यक्टस्ञितयात्मा गुरुः परः ॥

Meaning : The ‘g (ग)’ in the word ‘Guru (गुरु)’ bestows supernatural powers (siddhis), the ‘r (र)’ emancipates from sins and the ‘u (उ)’ is the unmanifest Lord Vishnu. In other words, the Guru is supreme, the embodiment of these three.

2. Definition and Meaning

Some definitions and meanings of the word Guru are given below.

A. The Guru is the one who dispels a disciple’s igno­rance, advises him to undertake spiritual practice in order to make spiritual progress, gets it done from him and bestows spiritu­al experiences upon him. The Guru’s attention is fixed only on a disciple’s spiritual progress and not on his worldly happiness (as that depends on destiny).

पिंडं पदं तथा रूपं रूपातीतं चतुष्टयम् ।
यो वा सम्यग् विजानाति स गुरुः परिकीर्तितः ॥ - नवचक्रेश्वरंत्र

Meaning : The one who knows the subtle body (pinda), the all pervading nature, the form and that which is beyond the form equally well is a real Guru. Here the subtle body refers to the embodied soul and the all pervading nature to Shiv (Brahman). Form refers to the manifest and that beyond the form to the unmanifest. - Navachakreshvar Tantra

C. The Guru is the one who is not small, yet transforms the small one into a large one (a Guru).

In this context H.H. Mounibaba of Narayangaon says, “Some great saints visit places and preach to devotees and thus serve The Lord Himself. It shows their broad vision. In comparison I am rather narrow-minded. I do not visit places and guide others. There is defi­nitely a difference between those who swim in the ocean and those who dwell in a well. In short, this depicts my selfish nature”.

D. ‘God and a devotee are not distinct from each other, only God being unmanifest is unable to speak to a devotee who has awareness of his body hence He introduces the devotee to one of His representatives who is carrying out His mission. Such a representa­tive performing His mission is called a Guru. In other words, He Himself speaks using the Guru as a medium.’ - H.H. Kane Maharaj, Narayangaon

3. History

‘During the period of compilation of mantras in order to arrange the holy texts or verses systematically in the form of Sanhitas, the formation of the institution of the Guru to study, teach, practise and apply the mantras became the need of the hour. Gradually the rituals of sacrificial fires (yadnyakarma) started becoming elaborate and complicated and it became necessary to undertake a special indepth study to acquire mastery over that subject. As a result, batches of disciples began to gather around teachers well versed in it. The names of many such teachers of the Sanhita period are available even today. Angiras, Garga, Atri, Bruhaspati, Vasishtha were the main teachers of those times.

Those who developed a dislike and lost faith in the rituals according to the Vedas (Shroutkarmas) were the Aranyakas. In this class, study about Spirituality began and the subject began to be preached thus giving rise to the Guru hierarchy. The names of Janak and Yadnyavalkya figure prominently among these Gurus.

When this system of teaching by recitation lapsed the spiritual literature consisting of Vedangas and Darshans were maintained by the section of society known as the Shastris wher­eas the tradition of learning Vedas through recitation remained only with the Shroutis and Vedapathaks.’

‘In the Nath sect the Guru is accorded a higher status than The Lord Himself. Theyogis of this sect consider Shiva as the foremost Guru and Matsyendra, a form of Vishnu, as His first disciple. In this sect there is a custom of describing the Guru lineage instead of the paternal lineage (Dnyaneshvari 18.1758). Dnyaneshvar never describes Himself “as the son of Viththalpant” but “as the disciple of Nivrutti”, repeatedly.’

(Ref: Sanatan's Publication - 'Path of Guru's Grace (Gurukrupayoga)')