And then they build a few huts round him, and an ashram comes into being. There are many ashrams in India, and we have now Christian ashram, where we try to live something of the same thing, where the guru is Christ, of course. An ashram becomes a centre. So the guru is one who has experienced God, and who can share his experience. Mind you, it has great dangers.
People simply surrender to the guru, and they become immature.
They don't grow as persons. There is a great danger now. A guru can be a very powerful person. Rajneesh is an example, with a very powerful personality, and a very great understanding, but he dominates people, he controls them, so a guru is dangerous. But as I say, the sacred is always dangerous.