Editing Guru (section)

===Scriptures===
The word Guru is mentioned in the earliest layer of [[Vedas|Vedic]] texts. The hymn 4.5.6 of Rigveda describes the guru as, "the source and inspirer of the knowledge of the Self, the essence of reality," for one who seeks.<ref>Sanskrit original: {{lang|sa|इदं मे अग्ने कियते पावकामिनते '''गुरुं''' भारं न मन्म । बृहद्दधाथ धृषता गभीरं यह्वं पृष्ठं प्रयसा सप्तधातु ॥६॥}} – [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_४.५ Rigveda 4.5.6] Wikisource<br />English Translation: Joel Mlecko (1982), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3269931 The Guru in Hindu Tradition] Numen, Volume 29, Fasc. 1, page 35</ref>

In chapter 4.4 within the [[Chandogya Upanishad]], a guru is described as one whom one attains knowledge that matters, the insights that lead to Self-knowledge.<ref name=mleckopage35/> Verse 1.2.8 of the [[Katha Upanisad]] declares the guru "as indispensable to the acquisition of knowledge."<ref name=mleckopage35>English Translation: Joel Mlecko (1982), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3269931 The Guru in Hindu Tradition] Numen, Volume 29, Fasc. 1, pages 35-36</ref> In chapter 3 of [[Taittiriya Upanishad]], human knowledge is described as that which connects the teacher and the student through the medium of exposition, just like a child is the connecting link between the father and the mother through the medium of procreation.<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, pages 222-223</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/AitareyataittiriyaUpanishadsWithShankaraBhashya-English/05AitareyataittiriyaUpanishadsWithShankaraBhashya-English#page/n61/mode/2up Taittiriya Upanishad] SS Sastri (Translator), The Aitereya and Taittiriya Upanishad, pages 65-67</ref> In the Taittiriya Upanishad, the ''guru'' then urges a student to "struggle, discover and experience the Truth, which is the source, stay and end of the universe."<ref name=mleckopage35/>

The ancient tradition of reverence for the ''guru'' in Hindu scriptures is apparent in 6.23 of the [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]], which equates the need of reverence and devotion for ''guru'' to be the same as for god,<ref>Robert Hume (1921), [https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n431/mode/2up Shvetashvatara Upanishad 6.23], The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, page 411</ref><ref name=mlecko37>Joel Mlecko (1982), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3269931 The Guru in Hindu Tradition] Numen, Volume 29, Fasc. 1, page 37</ref>

{{Blockquote|
<poem>
{{lang|sa|यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा '''गुरौ'''}} <nowiki>।</nowiki>
{{lang|sa|तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः <nowiki>॥ २३ ॥</nowiki>}}<ref>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/श्वेताश्वतरोपनिषद् Shvetashvatara Upanishad 6.23] Wikisource</ref>
He who has highest ''[[Bhakti]]'' (love, devotion)<ref name=paulcarus>Paul Carus, {{Google books|96sLAAAAIAAJ|The Monist|PA514}}, pages 514-515</ref> of ''[[Deva (Hinduism)|Deva]]'' (god),
just like his ''Deva'', so for his '''Guru''',
To him who is high-minded,
these teachings will be illuminating.
</poem>
|Shvetashvatara Upanishad 6.23<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, page 326</ref><ref>Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/266/mode/2up Shvetashvatara Upanishad], The Upanishads, Part II, Oxford University Press, page 267</ref>}}

The [[Bhagavad Gita]] also exemplifies the importance of a guru within [[Hinduism]]. [[Arjuna]] when faced with the realization of having to wage war with his kin is paralyzed with grief and remorse. Overwhelmed he lays down his weapons and refuses to fight. Despite his intellectual prowess and skill in warfare he finds himself lacking in [[Dharma|Dharmic]] (moral) clarity. At this moment he turns to Krishna for guidance and in essence seeks Krishna as his guru. This interaction exemplifies the importance within the Hindu tradition for a disciple to seek guidance from an experienced spiritual guru.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Bhagavad Gita |date=2007 |publisher=Nilgiri Press |isbn=978-1-58638-019-9 |editor-last=Eknath |editor-first=Easwaran |edition=2nd |series=The classics of Indian spirituality |location=Tomales, CA |pages=Chapter 2}}</ref> Additionally, other references to the role of a guru in the [[Bhagavad Gita]] include verse 4.34 - those who know their subject well are eager for good students, and the student can learn from such a ''guru'' through reverence, service, effort and the process of inquiry.<ref name="chapple">Christopher Key Chapple (Editor) and Winthrop Sargeant (Translator), ''The Bhagavad Gita: Twenty-fifth–Anniversary Edition'', State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-1438428420}}, page 234</ref><ref>Jeaneane D. Fowler (2012), The Bhagavad Gita, Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1845193461}}, page 87</ref>