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Guru

गुरु
GOO-roo

Spiritual teacher, mentor or master in Indian religious tradition.

Appears as an answer in MG Mini #738.

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Meaning & usage

A guru is a teacher who imparts wisdom — not merely information. In Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism the guru is the indispensable transmitter of spiritual knowledge. The Sanskrit etymology — "gu" (darkness) plus "ru" (dispeller) — frames the guru as the one who dispels ignorance. The English borrowing widened the word to mean any expert ("a marketing guru"), often loosely.

In a sentence

He found a guru in a small ashram outside Rishikesh.

Common spelling variants

  • Gooroo

Guru is the English spelling used in MG Mini #738.

As seen in crosswords

Guru is a 4-letter answer. A typical clue:

“Spiritual teacher, mentor or master in Indian religious tradition” (4)

Play the crossword that uses it — MG Mini #738

Category: Concept Origin: Sanskrit Script: Hindi

Related words

  • Mantra — Sacred sound, syllable or phrase repeated to focus the mind or invoke power.
  • Dharma — Moral and natural law — duty, righteousness, and the right way to live.
  • Ghee — Clarified butter — Indian cooking fat with a high smoke point and nutty flavour.
  • Babu — Indian English term for a clerk or low-level bureaucrat — sometimes mildly pejorative.
  • Teeka — A mark or symbol on the forehead, often used in religious or cultural contexts.
  • Bhakti — Loving devotion to a personal god — a major strand of Hindu religious practice.

Related crosswords

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