‘Gu’ refers to darkness assuming the form of ignorance and ‘ru ’ to the radiance in the form of spiritual knowledge, which dispels this darkness. Thus the Guru is the one who dispels the darkness of ignorance. Holy text Navachakreshvar Tantra describes Guru as -The one who knows the subtle body (pinda), the all pervading nature, the form and that which is beyond the form equally well is a real Guru. Here the subtle body refers to the embodied soul and the all pervading nature to Shiv (Brahman). Form refers to the manifest and that beyond the form to the unmanifest. Need of a Guru: 1. Only the Guru can guide us towards the Path leading to God. 2. A disciple can progress spiritually through his own efforts. But his path to self-realization or towards perfection becomes easy when he follows the teachings and is under the guidance of an able Guru. 3. If a steamer reaches its destination in 4 hours, then a tiny boat tied to it also reaches the destination in 4 hours. But, if the tiny boat is separated from the steamer, it would take 12 hours to reach the same destination. Similarly, if we make efforts towards spiritual progress without taking appropriate guidance then we would require a long time to progress due to our personality defects and the mistakes we commit. However, under the guidance of an appropriate Guru we are able to cover the distance of 12 hours within just 4 hours. Hence, according to the Sanskrit proverb 'Mahajano yena gataha sa panthaha' (one should follow the path taken by great souls/people}, one should accept and get the guidance of a Guru.
The true meaning of Guru is "one who dispels darkness of ignorance". "Gu" means "darkness of ignorance" and "Ru" means "one who removes". Guru is Brahma, who is the Creator of the universe. Guru is Vishnu who is all pervasive and is also the Doer in the universe. Guru is Maheshvara who commands and ordains everything in the universe in the right manner. There is only one Guru, that is God and there is no other Guru.
The term guru is now commonly used to mean an expert in any field, but in the deeper sense a guru is a fully realized spiritual teacher. A perfected guru or spiritual teacher has, because of their sincerity, access to the source of transcendental knowledge. The knowledge he brings is not material knowledge it is transcendental. While there are many people posing as gurus it is important to find a genuine guru 1. who is a Goswami (The master of the senses), 2. who speaks and acts according to Shastra. 3. who has received transcendental knowledge from a guru in a disciplic succession, starting from the Supreme personality of Godhead The guru is likened to an ambassador from or transparent medium of the spiritual realm. The knowledge spoken by such a person is non different from Shastra and to understand Shastra it is most beneficial to have a self-realized spiritual master to explain it. Guru is able to help one apply the transcendental knowledge according to time and circumstance.
Accepting a guru really means learning the spiritual science from him and executing his instructions. As you say, life is hectic, so don’t jump into a guru-disciple relationship blindly. If you continue chanting Hare Krishna and study Bhagavad Gita As It Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabupada, I’m sure your path will become crystal clear.