The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (903 page)

) at
Amritsar
(Sept.).

 
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(Skt., ‘heavy’). A teacher, initially of worldly skills or knowledge, hence a parent or a schoolteacher; but more often a teacher of religious knowledge or conveyor of spiritual insight and liberation (
mok
a
) in Indian religions, especially among Hindus and Sikhs. The term is often synonymous with
c
rya
, though the latter is also used for the teacher of a skill. Guru should also be distinguished from
pa
ita
, a scholar or learned man.
In
Vai
avism
,
aivism
, and
Tantrism
the guru is the means whereby the tradition is conveyed through the generations and teachings are authenticated through the guru lineage (
parampar
). With the development of
bhakti
, devotion to the guru as a means of liberation became a central practice, especially in the
Sant tradition
.
Buddhism has perhaps laid less stress on the guru than Hinduism, though the idea of the teacher as the conveyor of spiritual insight is still important. The idea of the guru is now found in modern W. religious movements some of which have developed directly out of Indian traditions such as
Transcendental Meditation
, the
Hare Krishna
(
International Society
…), and
Rajneesh
movements.
Conceptions of the guru vary from that of one who is identical with God and conveys liberation (mok
a), the
sat guru
, to that of the guru as a guide, showing beings the way but not actually bestowing liberation. For example, in monistic
Kashmir
aivism
the guru is identical with God (
parame
vara
), whereas in dualistic
aiva Siddh
nta