GuRu

गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुर्गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः ।गुरुरेव परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥१॥

Our creation is that guru (Brahma-the force of creation); the duration of our lives is that guru (Vishnu-the force of preservation); our trials, tribulations, illnesses, calamities and the death of the body is that guru (devo Maheshwara-the force of destruction or transformation). There is a guru nearby (Guru Sakshat) and a guru that is beyond the beyond (param Brahma). I make my offering (tasmai) to the beautiful (shri) remover of my darkness, my ignorance; (Guru) it is to you I bow and lay down my life (namah).

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Guru is the remover of darkness: Gu means darkness, and Ru means remover. Darkness refers to what obscures the light of awareness. Guru is the enlightenment principal that aids one in the realization of the true Self, the whole Self, the holy Self. The guru removes avidya, or ignorance, which is a case of mistaken identity. It is when you think you are your personality, mistaking your body/mind container for who you are and ignore who you really are. It is when you feel separate from the whole.
via jivanmuktiyoga

Read more here 
http://greenmesg.org/mantras_slokas/sri_gurudeva-guru_stotram.php

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Anyone can be your Gu-Ru. It can be your friend, your school teacher, your friend, someone who makes you aware.

I tend to learn from almost everyone that come across my life, but everyone might not have been my Guru. There have been people, my friends, my colleagues, even my students that helped me be aware within myself, made me mindful and conscious. 

Cheers to all the GURUs.

:)