In Hinduism, a guru is a spiritual or religious guide.
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 leader or spiritual teacher . Over time, its meaning extended to popular language to refer to someone 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 linked to the sastras (sacred writings) and, in the student's investiture ceremony, he acted as a priest.
Guru according to Hindu tradition
A guru, according to Hindu tradition, is a being who has achieved enlightenment (that is, he is more than just a professor of religion ). Thanks to his state of consciousness , the guru is in a position to take the disciple out of darkness and reveal to him the divine truth hidden within, through practices such as meditation and prayer .
In addition, we must expose the fact that within Hinduism they talk about the different qualities that a guru must have. However, the most important of all of them is, without a doubt, humility . But it must not only be possessed by him but also by his disciple because only if he is humble and controls his own ego will he get the “door of enlightenment” opened for him.
Among the many gurus throughout history, we could highlight Nanak Dev , born in the year 1469 , who is famous for being the founder of the Indian religion known as Sikhism . This religion has among its fundamental pillars the belief in one God and has a sacred book which 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 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 the Western world, an expert who has a lot of knowledge is called a guru.
The term in cinema
In addition to all of the above, we have to state that in the cinematographic field there are several films that have the term we are analyzing as their title. This would be the case, for example, of the American production “The Guru” . It is a 1999 comedy starring the famous actor Eddie Murphy , who plays a unique guru-spiritualist who becomes a television star.
In the same way, there is also “The Good Vibes Guru” . Jessica Alba and Mike Myers are the central characters in this comedy that tells how a hockey player is going through a bad streak in sports because his wife has left him for another athlete. For this reason, a guru will appear in his or her life who will help him or her recover his or her physical and mental fitness.
Guru in Western societies
Western societies use the term to refer to people who know a lot about a certain subject . For example: “Pep Guardiola is a guru of modern football: the strategies and concepts he applied at Barcelona have revolutionized the sport.”
It is common for a guru to charge money for giving lectures or teaching courses. In this way, you make a profit by transmitting your knowledge to people who want to learn and who dream of emulating you.