Definition of GURU

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In Hinduism, a guru is a personal spiritual teacher. In ancient India, knowledge of the Vedas (a body of liturgical literature) was transmitted orally from guru to pupil. The rise of the bhakti movement, which emphasizes the love of devotees for a personal god, further increased the importance of gurus, who were often looked on as living embodiments of spiritual truth and were identified with the deity. Gurus prescribe spiritual disciplines to their devotees, who follow their dictates in a tradition of service and obedience. Men or women may be gurus, though generally only men have established lineages.

Examples of guru in a Sentence

He has been a guru to many young writers. She's a self-proclaimed financial guru. Fitness gurus call it the hottest new exercise trend of the year.

Recent Examples on the Web

This is different though..because our @hillsongnyc creative gurus are hilarious and @therealmikeq is a quiet genius... — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "What You Need to Know About Hillsong Church and the Celebs Who Attend It," 3 Aug. 2018 One returning supporting player who makes the most of her screen time: Edna Mode (Bird), eccentric fashion guru to the Super stars and quite the emergency babysitter. — Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, "Fun-loving 'Incredibles 2' is worth the 14-year wait, but falls short of the original," 11 June 2018 The pop icon and the fashion guru worked together over the course of almost 50 years, with Mackie designing looks for Cher’s appearances on tours, television, awards shows and more. — Stephen Daw, Billboard, "Fashion Icon Bob Mackie Announced as Costume Designer for Upcoming Musical 'The Cher Show'," 14 Mar. 2018 Joe Keery is a founding member of Post Animal and an all-around fashion guru. — Matt Miller, Esquire, "Stranger Things Star Finn Wolfhard's Band Shared Its Debut Single–And It's Pretty Great," 7 Mar. 2018 The rise of strength gurus has coincided with a series of incidents in recent years in which college football players have been hospitalized and in some cases died after intense workouts. — Andrew Beaton, WSJ, "Strength Coaches in College Football Have Become Strongmen," 17 Aug. 2018 In recent years, Ryan has been hailed as something of a sevens guru. — George Ramsay, CNN, "Mind game: When rugby stars are 'too nervous to take the field'," 1 June 2018 Trump is also said to be considering pardons for the ultra-corrupt former governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, and lifestyle guru Martha Stewart. — Chris Stirewalt, Fox News, "One crazy summer for Trump and Mueller," 1 June 2018 The hotels in our guide to the best new hotels in the world were nominated and vetted by this global roundtable of 34 global travel gurus—whose day job is to design the best itineraries out there. — The Editors, Town & Country, "The Travel Gurus You Should Use to Plan Your Next Trip," 15 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'guru.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.