When Kripa Vaidyanathan's 27-year-old niece died in an Alaska car crash in 2024, her family in Chennai, India, felt shell-shocked. They questioned why this tragedy would befall them when they had such "immense faith in God." Vaidyanathan, a yoga instructor, helped her grieving sister get face time with a high-profile guru who she hoped would help. "But he told her this was the work of karma and she should use this opportunity to connect with her inner nature," she said. "I understand how karma works, but saying that was cruel and extremely unhelpful to someone who was freshly grieving the loss of a child."
That's when they turned to artificial intelligence chatbots. "It was a lot easier trying to get answers and peace of mind because ChatGPT is not judging you," Vaidyanathan said. "We've found a compassionate guru now, but even he only has limited time. AI is accessible anytime."
This unfettered access — which can be challenging to find among human gurus — is what's drawing more people to AI for spiritual guidance. In Hinduism, gurus are part of culture and deemed necessary to attain moksha — liberation from the cycle of birth, death and reincarnation. The word guru in Sanskrit means "dispeller of darkness." Now, chatbots powered by large language models let users explore spiritual answers to personal problems and existential questions at any time, without the typical hurdles of connecting with an in-demand guru and paying for their services.
AI's rising popularity has encouraged some successful gurus to launch their own chatbots. In India, Jaggi Vasudev, also known as Sadhguru, has launched his Miracle of the Mind app with an interactive AI feature that answers questions using a database of his teachings. California-based self-help guru Deepak Chopra has an AI platform where "Digital Deepak" answers questions drawing from his decades of talks and writings.
Critics argue that AI cannot truly replace the lived experience, wisdom and ethical accountability of a human guru. Researchers also note that AI often validates and agrees with the user rather than posing those challenging questions needed for real spiritual and personal growth. Vikas Sahu, founder of GitaGPT — a platform he calls an "AI spiritual companion" — says he wouldn't deter anyone from finding a human guru. But his free chatbot puts the Bhagavad Gita's wisdom at the fingertips of those who might desperately need it: AI avatars of Lord Krishna, the sacred text's protagonist, offer advice on his platform. "A lot of people don't have anyone to talk to when they are in distress," Sahu said. "This app is giving them the encouragement a guru might give them."
Liz Bucar, a religion professor at Northeastern University in Boston, is skeptical of chatbots based on religious texts. "A sacred text needs a community and a context that interprets it," she said. "Without the teaching of how to interpret the text, it's just words on a page." Noreen Herzfeld, a professor at St. John's School of Theology and Seminary, added that people could easily get straightforward answers from AI, "but if they are looking for spiritual awakening, I think it takes physical presence. In Christianity and in Hindu tradition, there is the belief that the eyes are windows to the soul and you can't get that by looking at an avatar."
Intriguingly, Sadhguru himself has recognized AI's potential: David Nussbaum, founder of Proto Hologram in Los Angeles, is helping Sadhguru create a three-dimensional AI avatar that appears in a display box and can interact with devotees in several languages. During a March festival, he created a Sadhguru hologram that took selfies with people. A nonprofit initiative called Innerverse 360, run by Shivaram K R, merges AI and spirituality, featuring a portal where real monks and gurus come online for live sessions with devotees, alongside an "Ask AI" feature.
"We are humans and souls," said Brother Govindananda, a monk with the Self-Realization Fellowship. "Technology cannot replace that."