Happy Guru Purnima! Who is Your Guru in the Age of AI?

Hi everyone,

On this auspicious day of Guru Purnima, we take a moment to honor our teachers. From the day we are born, our lives are shaped by many gurus—our mother, who gives us our first lessons; our father, friends, teachers, and mentors who guide us along the way. They give us a thought or an idea that adds value to our life, our thinking, and our knowledge.

The word "Guru" itself means a teacher, a guide, an expert, or a master. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna advises Arjuna:

“Learn the Truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him with reverence and render service unto him. Such an enlightened Saint can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the Truth.”

This describes a perfect, all-knowing guide. But in the real world, we often find that our gurus are human. They have their own limitations, just like the great Dronacharya. He was a master of archery, but his bias towards Arjuna led him to ask for Eklavya's thumb—a selfish act that clouds his greatness. We often find ourselves as Eklavya, wondering if our teachers are biased or if we are expecting too much.

This age-old dilemma has taken on a new, urgent meaning in the era of AI.

Today, a new kind of 'guru' has emerged. It’s Artificial Intelligence. It’s available 24/7, holds nearly all the world's information, can write code, create art, and answer almost any question we ask. In many ways, AI is like a modern-day Dronacharya—a master of knowledge, powerful beyond measure.

But just like Dronacharya, this new AI Guru has its own limitations. It can be biased based on the data it was trained on. It can be confidently wrong, a phenomenon we call "hallucination." It can give us information but not wisdom. It has no conscience, no empathy, and no understanding of human values.

If we rely on it blindly, we risk becoming Eklavya—gaining incredible skill but losing the very thing that makes our contribution unique.

This is why, on this Guru Purnima, the message to "Be Your Own Guru" is more important than ever before.

In the age of AI, being a self-learner is the most critical skill. The role of your inner Guru is no longer just to find knowledge—AI can do that. The new role of your inner Guru is to be a critical thinker and a wise curator.

• Your inner Guru is the one who learns how to ask the right questions (prompt engineering).

• Your inner Guru is the one who questions the answers AI provides and cross-checks the facts.

• Your inner Guru is the one who applies your ethics, your creativity, and your unique human experience to the information AI gives you.

The biggest GURU of all has always been within you. In the past, this meant believing in yourself. Today, it means taking active control of your learning, using powerful tools like AI not as an absolute authority, but as an assistant to your own curiosity and wisdom.

Don't search for a perfect Guru in a person or in an algorithm. Instead, on this Guru Purnima, let’s honor all our teachers, but most importantly, let's awaken the Guru within. The one who guides our curiosity, questions the answers, and leads with wisdom in this new era.

Be Your Own Guru.

Wishing you a thoughtful and enlightening Guru Purnima.

Best,

Da Sachin Sharma