In these recorded teachings, the guru is presented not as a mere individual but as the living function of the Self turning the seeker back upon the source of the “I.” The outer guru appears as a guide who initiates and directs the aspirant into self-inquiry, yet this guidance is always toward the inner guru, which is the Self itself. The guru does not confer a new state or add something from outside; rather, the role is to dispel the entrenched notion that one is the body-mind and to point unwaveringly to the ever-present reality that underlies that misidentification. In this way, the guru’s function is essentially corrective and revelatory, not creative or acquisitive.

A central aspect of this function is the removal of obstacles: doubts, misconceptions, and the many subtle ways in which the mind strays from the simple inquiry into “Who am I?” Through instruction and clarification, the guru helps the seeker distinguish the Self from the ego-mind and prevents the inquiry from degenerating into mere intellectual speculation. This includes very practical guidance on tracing thoughts back to their origin in the “I”-thought and sustaining attention at that source. The guru’s presence and teaching thus serve as a stabilizing influence, encouraging persistence and protecting the aspirant from distraction and discouragement.

At a subtler level, the guru’s highest teaching is said to be silence. This silence is not mere absence of speech but a living, inward power that stills the mind and draws it back into the Heart, the source of the “I”-sense. The guru’s silent presence functions like a mirror in which the seeker’s own true nature is reflected, and this silent “transmission” can be more potent than any verbal instruction. In this way, the guru acts as a catalyst whose very being communicates what words can only point toward.

Ultimately, the culmination of the guru’s work is to reveal that there has never been any real separation between guru, God, and Self. When self-inquiry matures into direct recognition, the distinction between teacher and disciple falls away, and the guru is seen to have been none other than the seeker’s own Self all along. The guru’s function, therefore, is paradoxical: to guide the aspirant so thoroughly back to the source that the apparent need for an external guide dissolves, leaving only the Self, self-luminous and self-known.