Bill - Yeah, lamas are a bit different from gurus. A lama is someone on the path of certain Eastern spiritual disciplines who is seeking enlightenment. A guru is someone who has attained enlightenment. "Guru" translated from Sanskrit means "the light that shines in the darkness". The light that illuminates darkness is knowledge...which illuminates the darkness of ignorance. It is also love...which illuminates the darkness of emotional ignorance/negativity. Such knowledge and love can only be attained through direct experience and application...not by reading books or following rules or attaining some official title...although following various forms of self-discipline can certainly help someone attain knowledge and love more quickly, that's for sure. ;-)

Needless to say, there are phony gurus around as well as real gurus. You can judge them by observing their behaviour toward others. Jesus, by all accounts, appears to have most likely been a real guru, although that's not the title people would have used in his culture. They would have said something like "master" instead, most likely.

Anyone who has achieved genuine mastery in any field can, in a sense, be termed a guru in regards to that field of activity. Mark Knopfler, for instance, is a guru when it comes to guitar playing (in my opinion).