Does a guru need to be fully enlightened?

The question came up during my conversations with a friend. The short answer to the question is "No". It is the same as asking, does an elementary school teacher have to have a Ph.D.?

The knowers of the Truth have declared in the scriptures that the only purpose of the human birth is to know the Self or Brahman or God or in other words become self realized. They have also shown us various paths leading to the same goal. One is to choose a path according to one's tendencies or liking. A full knower of the Brahman or Self or God is one who realizes that there is nothing but Sat-Chit-Anand or the Existence-Consciousness-Bliss and always abides in that state of consciousness. Those who have fully reached the goal, they have reached the non-dual state and they have no one in that state to teach. Those who have come to get a glimpse of the non-dual state, strive to share the knowledge with others so that others may attain that state. Then there are those advanced aspirants, who have made significant spiritual advancement or progress in following a particular path and want to teach less advanced aspirants. There is nothing wrong in learning from them about the path and practice. The world is filled with such Gurus. A neophyte in the spiritual path can potentially benefit much from such Gurus and does not need to seek out a fully enlightened Himalayan Master.

Who is a sthitapranja or Self realized or God realized person?

Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita has described one who is established in the universal consciousness as one who has completely subverted all sensory desire, one who has directed one’s gaze inward, one who rejoices in the self alone, one who is undisturbed in the face of grave danger, one who is indifferent to worldly pleasures or gains, one who has abandoned attachment, fear, and anger, one who does not show interest in any worldly matters or things, one who does not care about auspiciousness or inauspiciousness, one who neither compliments nor envies other's worldly accomplishments and possessions, one who has withdrawn his sense organs from the world (sense objects) and has redirected them inward like a turtle withdraws his limbs, one who is not engaged in any fruitive activities or undertakings, one who sees himself everywhere and sees everything in himself, one who sees his equal in every being and everything, one who does not think there is anything further to be known, one who does not think there is anything more remains to be achieved, one who is established in the Self or pure awareness or pure consciousness or pure bliss or merged in the Sat-Cit-Ananda or Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.

If you are looking for a Guru in this world who would meet the above definition of a sthitaprajna, you are likely to be disappointed. Because such highly enlightened souls (such as Ramana Maharshi) are extremely rare in the world. However, a guru does not have to be a sthitaprajna just as a teacher does not have to be a noble laureate.