The "matha" host not only students but many "Guru". A "Guru", in Hindu tradition, is someone who is a "teacher, guide or master" of certain knowledge. He or she is someone more than a teacher, traditionally a reverential figure to the student, with the "guru" serving as a "counselor, who helps mold 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." The term also refers to someone who primarily is one's spiritual guide, who helps one to discover the same potentialities that the "guru" has already realized. The "guru" concept is traceable to ancient Vedic times, found in traditional schools as well as a "matha".