Throughout ages, the significance of a guru or spiritual guide in a seeker's life has been questioned and disputed. This is especially true today, with the fostering of self-reliance and independence in a rational, intellectual society. It is because of our demands for a logical explanation and scientific approach to all pursuits that the following questions arise:

• In the pursuit of self-awareness, is a teacher absolutely necessary?
• When so many profess to be teachers, how do we recognize or find a true spiritual guide?
• Once found, how can you attune ourselves to the teacher in order to accelerate our progress?

In the Essential Teacher, these and other critical questions are addressed by some of the greatest masters, saints and teachers from the past and the present, extracting indispensable keys to the process of self-perfection from traditional disciplines.