Can a book or an idol be considered Guru?

Gurus based on form or the absence of a Guru

The table below gives the types of Gurus according to form and an outline of Their missions. This will clarify points such as the necessity of a Guru, who needs a Guru, etc. In this regard, from the worldly point of view, the point to be considered is that till the thoughtless state, that is a spiritual level of 70% is attained, spiritual evolution occurs faster if one has a Guru in human form. Thereafter, for further progress, a disciple mostly receives guidance from within.

		The form of a Guru				Absence of a Guru
		Human	Book	Idol	Others	Absence of a Guru
1	Deciding study topics according to the disciple's capability	Possible	Impossible	Impossible	Impossible	-
2	Clarification of doubts possible as soon as the doubt arises	Possible	Possible to a small extent only after doing a lot of reading	Impossible	Impossible
3	Duration required for faith to develop	Less	More	Even more	A great deal	-
4	Encouraging, possible teaching and testing	Possible	Impossible	Impossible	Impossible
5	Guidance with regard to decreasing destined and willful actions, and overcoming distressing energies which obstruct spiritual practice	"	"	"	"	"
6	Benefit derived by remaining in the company of the Guru due to His Divine Consciousness (Chaitanya)	"	"	Little	"	"
7	Benefits of the Guru's grace	Possible	Impossible	Little	Impossible	-
8	Number of disciples abandoning spiritual practice mid-way	Less	More	Far more	Most	Most
9	Duration required for spiritual progress	"	"	"	"	"
10	According to psychology, the personality of a disciple which most matches the Guru's form	One who feels a great need for guidance	One with an independent attitude	One who feels the need for support	One with an independent attitude	One with an even more independent attitude
11	Generally the spiritual level % at which a disciple can derive the benefit	55	40	60	30	-
12	Efforts that a disciple/seeker has to make ( in %)	60	70	70	70	100
13	Qualities that a disciple requires	Service and sacrifice	Understanding the implied meaning	Guidance from within	Depends on the type	High ego *
14	Amount of annual spiritual progress (in %)	2-3	0.25	0.75	0.25	0.001

* Here ego refers to faith in oneself. If faith in oneself is not high then one cannot make spiritual progress without taking guidance from someone.

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Can a book or an idol be considered Guru?

Gurus based on form or the absence of a Guru