Guru (.
IAST:
guru) is a
Sanskrit term that connotes someone who is a "
teacher, guide or master" of certain knowledge. 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.