Acharya

An acharya is a prominent guru, teacher and scholar who teaches by his own example (from Sanskrit 'achara', behavior). Often head of a sampradaya, philosophical school in the Indian tradition.

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Among the famous acharyas in theVedic tradition are Adi Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva and Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

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Among the Jain Acharyas, Sthulabhadra, Haribhadra and Hemachandra belonged to Svetambar orders, and Kundakunda, Akalanka, Jinasena, Nemichandra belonged the Digambar order. Modern Jain Acharyas include Digambar Vidyasagar, Vidyanand and Svetambar Mahaprajna.

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In Jainism, an Achayra is one of the five revered panch-paremeshtis.

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Guru: A guru (गुरू Sanskrit) is a teacher in Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. Based on a long line of philosophical understandings of the importance of knowledge, guru is seen in these religions as a sacred conduit, or a way to self-realization. In India and among people of Hindu, B...

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Sampradaya: A tradition within Sanatana dharma (Hinduism). Sampradaya is a denomination that shares a common philosophy but embraces many different schools or guru lineages (parampara). By becoming initiated (diksha) into a parampara one automatically belongs to a sampradaya. One cannot become a member by birth...