Need for a Guru

Information, knowledge & wisdom.
Our ancestors insisted on wisdom. Our previous generation insisted on knowledge but the current generation is neck deep in information if not already drowned in it.

As far as my understanding goes, information is just a means to a reach a particular point. I guess it can be named as knowledge, which in turn is another means to reach the destination called wisdom. The trick is to shift from the pursuit of information to the pursuit of knowledge and eventually to become wise as quickly as possible.
If information is writing on the waters, then knowledge is like writing on the papers. But wisdom is like writings on a stone tablet, I guess.

We are in an age where information is voluminous but at the same time access to it is instantaneous. Given this reality, there is a danger of getting lost in it if we don't know what we need exactly. We allow ourselves to be overawed by it, thus by losing sight of our actual goal.

Luckily if one gets past the stage of information gathering and steps into the realm of acquiring knowledge, there is another type of danger here. Once a person starts to acquire knowledge the result as most of the people think isn't confidence, but overconfidence and inflated ego. I guess the true purpose of knowledge is to realise how little you know and until then one has to engage in the pursuit of knowledge.

Miraculously if someone crosses even this hurdle too, then he or she can be considered to be on the threshold of wisdom. It is at this time a guru is needed. Recently I had the opportunity to hear a lecture by a swami emphasising the importance of a Guru. Following are some of the points that made some sense to me.

A Guru is neither a guide nor a teacher, though we usually use them one for the other. It's literal meaning is the destroyer of darkness or in other words the vanquisher of ignorance. There isn't any need for him to teach you because you already know everything, you are that very thing that you want to know. (Tatvam asi). Then why is he given so much importance even to the extent of being hailed as Brahma, Vishnu & Maheshwara? The answer is also equally convincing. The thing is that what we consider as real is just series of thoughts playing in our minds. For example when we think of a beautiful flower it's an act of creation(srishti). When we imagine its colour, fragrance etc, it's an act of existence(sthithi) and when that thought vanishes it's an act of destruction(laya). Thus the entire process of birth, existence & death are happening within our minds and a guru makes us realise just this. That's why he is being equated to the three Gods. Actually they are not Gods but three important manifestations of divinity.This he does in different ways depending on the maturity or readiness of the student. Moses from being a prince had to become a slave, roam around the desert for years before finally facing his Guru in the form of a burning bush. Swami Vivekananda though incredibly knowledgeable had to come to a normal priest called Ramakrishna. Shankara the proponent of Advaita had to kneel down before a hunter. A saint had to listen to a butcher's words which later became "Vyadhageetha". Sadguru in his memoirs says his guru met him only once and touched him not by hand but by a stick and still he considers him as his Guru. In all the above instances the Guru actually didn't teach anything, but they made the disciples realise that they know everything, that they are everything.

A guru breaks the endless cycle of maya and that cycle is
karma begets misery.
Desire begets karma.
Discontentment begets desire.
Ignorance begets discontentment.

PS: When Alexander was asked as to why he respects his teacher Aristotle more than his parents he says that he is greatful for this parents for giving him life but it's temporary and perishable whereas he is indebted to Aristotle as he had given him life eternal. In a sense we all have embarked on our own spiritual journeys. Hopefully a Guru comes our way and GU-RUs our ignorance.