Sikh History

Question 8: Is it necessary to have a Guru?

Yes. Almost all religions agree on the necessity of a religious guide or preceptor. Like all temporal knowledge, ecclesiastical knowledge is difficult to obtain without the help of a teacher. What is quite often forgotten is the fact that it is not the teacher or the guide who is important but his word, and the philosophy he teaches through it. In Sikhism, therefore, the authority of the Guru was vested in the Holy Granth after Guru Gobind Singh, the last Guru of the Sikhs, left this world for his heavenly abode in 1708. Thus in the Holy Granth the personal Guru became the impersonal. This impersonal Guru, the vehicle of the philosophy of Sikhism, presides over all Sikh gatherings and for the Sikhs it is a necessity because the Guru says:-

"As water is contained in an earthen pitcher
Although the pitcher itself owes its existence to it,
So is human mind disciplined with knowledge
And knowledge is impossible without a Guru."