Indian mystic and spiritual master Meher Baba began his silence until his death in 1969, only communicating by means of an alphabet board or by unique hand gestures.

Guru is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential figure to the disciple or student, with the guru serving as a "counsellor, who helps mould values, shares experiential knowledge as much as literal knowledge, an exemplar in life, an inspirational source and who helps in the spiritual evolution of a student". Many spiritual texts are written in a language which is not commonly understood by masses, or sometimes the scriptures present contradictory concepts. Hence, only a qualified teacher or the guru is required to interpret scriptures in the right context and avoid misunderstandings. A guru is also one's spiritual guide, who helps one to discover the same potentialities that the guru has already realized.