Alpam waa bahu waa yasya
Shrutasyo’pa-karoti yaḥ
Tam apee’ha gurum vidyaat
Shruto’pa-kriyayaa tayaa – 2:149
Anyone who assists us in acquiring [an amount of] knowledge, be it little or much, must be acknowledged in this life as our Guru in recognition of that assistance with knowledge. In other words, there is no one to acknowledge as Guru if there is no transmission of knowledge from teacher to student. Guru is not a god-father.
Braahmasya janmanaḥ kartaa
Swadharmasya cha shaasitaa
Baalo’pi vipro vṛiddhasya
Pitaa bhawati dharmataḥ – 2:150
If a scholar, even though younger in age, brings about the Vedic [second] birth of an older individual and trains him in the performance of his religious duties, he, the younger, becomes the father of the older by Dharmic law. It is the ability to transmit knowledge that determines who a Guru is. Age is not a determinant of Guru status.
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