What is "guru"

Gooroo \Goo*roo"\, Guru \Gu*ru"\ (g[=oo]*r[=oo]"), n. [Hind. gur[=u] a spiritual parent or teacher, Skr. guru heavy, noble, venerable, teacher. Cf. Grief.]

1. A spiritual teacher, guide, or confessor among the Hindus; a guru.
   --Malcom.

2. (g[=oo]"r[=oo]) one who has expert knowledge of a technical area and serves as an advisor to others; an expert and teacher. Usually written guru.

3. (g[=oo]"r[=oo]) an intellectual or spiritual guide or advisor; a mentor. Usually written guru.

Guru \Gu"ru\ (g[=oo]"r[=oo]), n. Same as gooroo.

1800, gooroo, from Hindi guru "teacher, priest," from Sanskrit guru-s "one to be honored, teacher," literally "heavy, weighty," from PIE root *gru- (see grave (adj.)). Generalized sense of "mentor" is from 1940; sense of "expert in something" first recorded c.1966 in Canadian English in reference to Marshall McLuhan.

n. 1 A Hindu or Sikh spiritual teacher. (from 17th c.) 2 (context sometimes humorous English) An influential advisor or mentor. (from 20th c.)

1. n. a Hindu or Buddhist religious leader and spiritual teacher

2. each of the first ten leaders of the Sikh religion

3. a recognized leader in some field or of some movement; "a guru of genomics"

Guru (. IAST: guru) is a Sanskrit term that connotes someone who is a " teacher, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan- Indian traditions, guru is someone more than a teacher, traditionally a reverential figure to the student, with the guru serving as a "counselor, who helps mold values, shares experiential knowledge as much as literal knowledge, an exemplar in life, an inspirational source and who helps in the spiritual evolution of a student." The term also refers to someone who primarily is one's spiritual guide, who helps one to discover the same potentialities that the guru has already realized.

The oldest references to the concept of guru are found in the earliest Vedic texts of Hinduism. The guru, and gurukul – a school run by guru, were an established tradition in India by the 1st millennium BCE, and these helped compose and transmit the various Vedas, the Upanishads, texts of various schools of Hindu philosophy, and post-Vedic Shastras ranging from spiritual knowledge to various arts. By about mid 1st millennium CE, archaeological and epigraphical evidence suggest numerous larger institutions of gurus existed in India, some near Hindu temples, where guru-shishya tradition helped preserve, create and transmit various fields of knowledge. These gurus led broad ranges of studies including Hindu scriptures, Buddhist texts, grammar, philosophy, martial arts, music and painting.

The tradition of guru is also found in Jainism, referring to a spiritual preceptor, a role typically served by a Jain ascetic. In Sikhism, the guru tradition has played a key role since its founding in the 15th century, its founder is referred to as Guru Nanak, and its scripture as Guru Granth Sahib. The guru concept has thrived in Vajrayāna Buddhism, where the tantric guru is considered a figure to worship and whose instructions should never be violated.

In the West, the term is sometimes derogatory, referring to individuals who have allegedly exploited their followers' naiveté, particularly in certain tantra schools, self help, hippie and other new religious movements.

Keith Edward Elam (July 17, 1961 – April 19, 2010), better known by his stage name '''Guru '''(a bacronym for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal), was an American rapper, producer, and actor best known as a member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

About.com placed him on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time, while The Source ranked him #30 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time, saying "Guru dropped some of the most thoughtful rhymes on wax."

A guru is a spiritual teacher.

Guru may also refer to:

Guru is the soundtrack to the 2007 film directed by Mani Ratnam. The soundtrack was released on 18 November 2006. Guru's music is composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics provided by Gulzar.

Guru is a 1989 Hindi-language Indian feature film directed by Umesh Mehra, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Sridevi and Shakti Kapoor.

The film is the official remake of Kamal Haasan starrer Kaakki Sattai, a 1985 Tamil hit.

Guru is a 2007 Indian biographical drama film loosely based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani, a business magnate who founded Reliance Industries. The film was co-written and directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, R. Madhavan, Vidya Balan, Arya Babbar, and Mithun Chakraborty in the leading roles. The film also has Mallika Sherawat in a guest appearance. The score and soundtrack for the film was composed by A. R. Rahman. The film was dubbed and released simultaneously in Tamil as Guru and in Telugu as Gurukanth. In the Tamil version of the film, the lead role (Abhishek Bachchan) was dubbed by Suriya. The film was released on 12 January 2007 with its première at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Canada, on Thursday 11 January 2007, making it the first Indian film to have a mainstream international première in Canada. The film was premiered in the Tous Les Cinemas du Monde (World Cinema) section of 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

Guru (literally: The Teacher / Spiritual Guide) is a 1997 Indian Malayalam-language fantasy film directed by Rajiv Anchal and written by C. G. Rajendra Babu. Mohanlal played the lead role in the film, while Nedumudi Venu, Srinivasan, Suresh Gopi, Sithara, Kaveri Muralidharan and Sreelakshmi appeared in supporting roles. Guru is a fantasy film which is highly symbolic and makes a statement on terrorism by religions and the evils of the world.

The original musical score and songs were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. His symphonic score was conducted and performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Hungary. This was the first time in Indian cinema, the background score of a film was recorded completely outside the country. The film was selected as India's official entry to the Oscars to the Best Foreign Film category.

Guru is a 2003 Bengali-language Indian feature film directed by Swapan Saha, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Tapas Paul, Subhendu Chattopadhyay and Jisshu Sengupta. The film is the remake of Tamil blockbuster Baashha starring Rajinikanth, which was inspired from Hum. This film also remade in Bangladesh, as Sultan starring Manna (actor), Purnima directed by FI Manik

Guru is a 1980 Tamil-language drama film directed by I. V. Sasi. The film features Kamal Haasan and Sridevi in the lead roles while M. N. Nambiar, Muthuraman and Mohan Babu play supporting roles. The film opened in July 1980 to positive reviews. It was a blockbuster and completed a 365-day run at the box office. The film, a bi-lingual was made in Telugu language as well with the same title. This film is remake of Dharmendra starrer superhit Hindi film Jugnu.

Guru is a 2012 Indian Kannada film directed by Jaggesh. The film starred his sons Gururaj and Yathiraj as male leads and Rashmi Gautham as the female lead. The film was Jaggesh's first film as a director. The film, as Jaggesh said, is a remake of a Korean film that deals with drug trafficking. It is a remake of the Tamil hit film Mouna Guru.

Guru (Marathi: गुरू) is a 2016 Marathi language action film directed by Sanjay Jadhav and produced by Sunil Lulla, Deepak Pandurang Rane and Bagpiper Soda. The film stars Ankush Choudhary and Urmila Kanitkar in lead roles. Film marks the fourth collaboration of actor-director duo Ankush Choudhary and Sanjay Jadhav and first after their blockbuster outing Duniyadari. Film has a planned release of 22 January 2016.

Film is a one of a kind content partnership between United Spirits’ Bagpiper Soda and Eros International. Through a unique association, Bagpiper Soda will be an integrated partner across the film’s content, promotions and performance.

Official teaser of the film is released on 18 November 2015. First official poster of the film designed by Sachin Gurav was unveiled in an event while official trailer went online on 30 December.