A guru is a religious teacher who represents a particular lineage or spiritual tradition and is authorized to initiate qualified students into the tradition. Guru comes from a root that means “heavy, grave” and suggests massive spiritual substance worthy of respect. Gurus have historically been distinguished according to certain specific tasks or offices. Those who perform the various rites of passage, and are particularly important in the rite of initiating young upper-caste boys into Vedic tradition, are called teaching (shiksha) gurus. A teacher who represents a particular sect and initiates members into it is called an initiatory (diksha) or mantra guru. This guru passes along to the disciple (chela or shishya) a sacred syllable or phrase intended only for that individual. Gurus may be either male or female, and disciples often consider them direct descendants of the deity, with a claim to virtually absolute authority over their students.

Many famous Hindu teachers throughout history have earned the title acharya. Often tacked on to a proper name as a suffix, as in Shankaracharya, the term identifies an individual who instructs others in right conduct. Many of those who have received the title have been famous philosophers and theologians.

Finally, anyone who watches news coverage around election time will invariably hear commentators referred to as “political pundits.” In the history of Hinduism, a pandit is a person “learned” especially in a broad spectrum of oral tradition and practical lore. The scope of the pandit’s learning was less specialized than that of the guru, who focused on a higher wisdom aimed at liberation of the soul. Nowadays pandits are generally from families of Brahmins dedicated to transmitting knowledge of the sources from memory, much the way the ancient rabbis preserved Judaism’s oral Torah. In short, these three roles complement each other. Pandits have maintained the tradition as accurately as human memory allows. Acharyas further develop the tradition, reflecting on its deeper implications. And gurus help seekers to apply the tradition’s wisdom to their personal spiritual lives.