Questioning The Guru: A Yoga Practice

guru“If you know how to listen, everyone is a guru.”
~ Ram Das, from
Be Here Now

The word ‘Guru’ has taken quite a ride lately, breaking away from the world of yoga and traveling everywhere else. You’ve got computer gurus, marketing gurus, quilting gurus, and on and on.

Sure, there are a few traditional gurus kicking around India and the rest of the world, some more qualified than others. Occasionally there is a person who truly deserves the description ‘guru’, but often this person would be so humble as to not need the name at all.

In the yoga world the word ‘guru’ conjures up many ideas.

For some, there is the pure concept of the guru as a humble master with the highest intentions, truly enlightened and willing to share his or her knowledge. Then there are those who have called themselves gurus only to act in less than honest ways, of which there are too many examples.