Do you need a guru?

Here's the thing about teachers and gurus- they inspire us. Guru means "one who points to the way"- they embody something you lack or desire. At first, you are like a baby, you need to be under the wing- just as a mother is the whole world to her baby- the mother is the milk and the life- the baby needs the mothers connection but also needs to grow into a self sufficient adult. At some point you should integrate the practices from your teacher enough that you have the teacher and the practice living inside you, then the teacher becomes like a conscious inside you helping you to make your own decisions. A student is not meant to remain a child forever and if the teaching has been successful the student can be weaned to leave the nest and fly on their own. Of course many students are too afraid to take the leap out of the nest to individuate and many teachers hold their students from their own needs and never let them grow into fully independent beings. These are classic dysfunctions based in human development. The long term relationship between a student and teacher should be based on love not need. The student becomes a spiritual adult and continues the relationship only from the enjoyment of love.