“A guru is not one who has a following. A guru is one who can show me the way. Suppose I’m in the forest and somehow I’ve lost my way. Then I’ll ask a person, “Is this the way -home?” That person might say, “Yes, you go this way.” I say, “Thank you,” and I go my way. That is a guru.”
T.K.V. Desikachar, The Heart of Yoga