Gurus do convey information. But more of the training involves character building and the purification of the mind. So they throw you into awful situations, like starting a medical center to help the poor and then putting completely incompetent people in charge. Can you maintain your spiritual center and your focus on serving others when your bosses are continually making irrational decisions that irritate the heck out of you? Can you stay calm when your guru, who was always so loving to you before, suddenly starts screaming at you for something you didn't even do?
These are the kinds of tricks of the trade the Hindu guru has traditionally used to help disciples clearly see the play of their egos and to test the strength of their commitment to spiritual life.
Very few, very special people have attained self realization without the help of a guru. Recent historical examples include Ramana Maharshi, Anandamayi Ma, and Amritanandamayi Ma. Hindus believe exceptional people like these either had spectacularly good karma from the past, when they did work with the guru, or else they are incarnations of great sages of the past or even of deities, who entered our world to serve humanity.
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