Spiritual teachers fall into several subcategories: Shayhs or Sufi  teachers, Gurus(including Hindu Gurus, Sant Mat Gurus, and Sikh Gurus), Buddhist teachers, including Tibetan Lamas(which is really simply the Tibetan word for Guru), and Mahasiddhas, who may be claimed by both Buddhist and Hindu  traditions.

There are also many Western spiritual teachers, some claim a spiritual lineage from the East and some do not.

The concept of spiritual teacher is derived from Western tradition and comes from broader term of spirituality.

In India, it took five thousand years to come to an understanding of what a spiritual teacher is and now they have lost it too. The relationship between student and Teacher is like the relationship between a chisel and hammer and stone. Do you know what happens when a Teacher and a student meet? Sparks. Don't look for a Teacher. Look for integrity. Look for one who can integrate the totality of the Infinity with the reality in the finite of the self, and still laugh. He knows; he won't tell. He understands; he won’t speak. Because his power is not his own. His power is his own inner prayer, which is calm, quiet, peaceful, and goes with him. Word is God. In the beginning there was the word, the word was with God, the word was Integrity. ~ Yogiji Bhajan

A spiritual teacher/mentor’s role is unique in that the goal is not to transmit knowledge or understanding as much as it is to somehow bring about a recognition in the student of the student’s own pre-existing nature. This is a much more subtle thing than simply teaching someone a skill or understanding. It is not that a spiritual teacher never provides spiritual teachings or knowledge or understanding, but that knowledge or understanding by itself is not the goal. A student can have a broad knowledge of spiritual principles, and yet can still not have truly recognized those principles as being inherent in his or her own being. So spiritual teachers or mentors may teach a lot or they may not teach anything, depending on what the student needs in that moment to experience this deeper recognition of their own true nature.

This may seem like a subtle distinction between the role of a spiritual teacher and a regular teacher, but it makes a huge difference. The regular teacher usually has something specific to transmit, and there is often an implied assumption that the student will have more understanding or be better off when the teaching is completed. But the spiritual teacher is pointing to something that is already present in the student. It is like teaching someone to have shoulders. You can’t really teach the having of shoulders to someone who already has shoulders! But you can make them more aware of the shoulders they already have.

There is an aspect of teaching that is profoundly important , yet is rarely talked about. It has to do with the responsibility that a teacher has to a student. Students will often put the teacher on a pedestal. They assume that the teacher knows something that they don’t, and then rely on the teacher’s guidance. Whether the teacher realizes it or not, people will make an authority figure out of him or her. By doing so, the student puts their faith, or personal power, in the words of their teacher. This is not necessarily bad. If a person is in a high degree of hell, and they need help to get out of it, they are often better off listening to someone who has moved past those demons, than to the judge and victim in their own mind.

When a student puts their trust in a teacher, the teacher then has a great responsibility to the student. The teacher is in service to the student. But, this does not mean that the teacher is responsible for the student. The student remains always responsible for their own choices, actions, and results of their actions.

Unconditional Love is at the heart of what a teacher has a responsibility to impart to those he or she is responsible to.  It may be the only thing they have a responsibility to.

If you have a teacher or coach with an agenda to change you or make you “better”, consider how this interferes with self acceptance.  They may want the best for you, but their best might come with an agenda that you could or should be different than you are.  This will not be a reflection of love and acceptance.  It is love that makes you happy and allows you to be yourself.