The guru is not only dearer than a mother, father, or a friend; all the shades of love and veneration are contained in this relationship. Any worldly love, however pure and sublimated it may be, ends in disillusion and sorrow. But the love of the guru purifies the mind and liberates us from worldly attachment. It is like a flawless mirror, which reflects our own higher self and leads to the eternal source of peace and happiness, which is inside ourselves.
— Marcus Allsop, Western Sadhus and Sannyasins in India