text:
Talk:Bitumen

Requested move 3 January 2023

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: Moved. The consensus seems to be to move this page to Bitumen and to move the DAB to Asphalt. >>> Extorc . talk  07:52, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

Asphalt → Bitumen – Admittedly first time doing this, so sought advice on Discord. Let me know if i should be doing something else.

However i'd like to propose a move request for this article. The article is of good quality, however the content it is discussing is not what the title actually is. This seems to be due to a merge about a decade ago, where "Asphalt" and "Bitumen" were combined. Thus the article here near exclusively refers to "Asphalt", but the content it is discussing under this name is "Bitumen".

Asphalt and Bitumen are not the same. It is even possible to get Asphalts which contain no Bitumen, but generally Bitumen is a component of Asphalt.

Asphalt exclusively applies to "a mixture of aggregates, binder and filler" [] - it already has its own article under Asphalt Concrete [] (which itself could likely be simplified to be just Asphalt once this article is moved, or at least have "Asphalt" redirect to "Asphalt concrete")

Bitumen is a binder. This article exclusively refers to a binder, which it names "Asphalt" - but Asphalt is not a binder, it is a mix as above. We can see this in numerous references on the article itself. Its also worth noting other binders exist - thus it is possible for an Asphalt to contain no Bitumen, and thus for an Asphalt to contain no "Asphalt" as referred to in this article which is naturally illogical.

Making this change would also allow the quality of the article to be improved. For example "Although asphalt typically makes up only 4 to 5 percent (by weight) of the pavement mixture, as the pavement's binder, it is also the most expensive part of the cost of the road-paving material." could be updated to a more accurate "Although Bitumen typically makes up only 4 to 5 percent (by weight) of the pavement mixture in Asphalt, as the pavement's binder, it is also the most expensive part of the cost of the road-paving material."

It seems some of the references have confused the two, or potentially is an American simplification. However in industry, especially internationally, these are distinct and should not be confused. One source here [] for example suggests it is simply an Americanism which doesnt apply to the rest of the world. Thus this article should really use "Bitumen" as the description as that is internationally recognised (even by Americans) with maybe a note in the article lead that in the US it may sometimes be called "Asphalt". That said, sources in US industry can still be found where they refer to this articles topic as Bitumen simply to avoid confusion with Asphalt Concrete as thats commonly shortened to just "Asphalt" as well. For example, here [] Shell discusses "The Right Bitumen Solution for Top-Performance Asphalt" which is naturally confusing if we adjust it as per the Wiki's description to state "The Right Asphalt Solution for Top-Performance Asphalt"

As far as i can tell, in US industry "Bitumen" is referred to as "Liquid Asphalt cement" [] and this can also be simplified to "Asphalt". However the key thing here is that this description places it as a Cement for Asphalt - which is correct, as Cement is the Binder in Concrete, much as Bitumen is the Binder in Asphalt. So it seems even in US industry, the term "Asphalt" to refer to "Bitumen" is simply a simplification, which given many sources are non technical - would make sense.

So to summarise, this article should be moved to "Bitumen". All references to "Asphalt" should be changed to "Bitumen" as per international standards, with an addition in the lead along the lines of "Sometimes referred to as Liquid Asphalt Cement in the US, though often shortened to Asphalt". New references can be added to support and explain this change, with potential discussion as to whether "Asphalt" should redirect here, to "Asphalt Concrete", or to a disambiguation page listing the US and international potential uses. Garfie489 (talk) 14:28, 28 December 2022 (UTC) — Relisting. Tol  (talk | contribs) @ 15:11, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

 * Broadly agree although ideally it would be a wider effort to sort out the mess of terminology of Asphalt, pitch ,tar etc.©Geni (talk) 04:27, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Oppose. "Asphalt" and "Bitumen" are the same thing. Usually, when people refer to "asphalt" they are just using it as a shorthand for "asphalt concrete". Just like when people say "cement" what they usually mean is "Portland cement" and when they say "concrete" what they usually mean is "portland cement concrete". Asphalt (aka bitumen) is a type of cement and when you mix aggregate with asphalt (aka bitumen) you get asphalt concrete. Rreagan007 (talk) 20:03, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
 * They are not the same thing. Itd be like arguing Coca Cola is water because it contains water. Asphalt specifically requires Aggregates and Filler. It doesnt even require Bitumen to be part of the Binder.  Thus, under your description - its possible to have an Asphalt which includes no Asphalt... which is illogical.  You are arguing "Often, when people refer to "asphalt" they are using it as a shorthand for "asphalt concrete"" - but the same is true in your statement, where you are using Asphalt as a shorthand for "Liquid Asphalt Cement". Both are simply shorthands.  Simple fact is, if you asked experts from every country in the world to bring you a sample of Bitumen - each one would be able to bring you a sample of whats described in this article. If you dont the same with "Asphalt", near every country would bring you something not described in this article, whereas the remaining countries would ask you to clarify which Asphalt you mean. Once you reach this point, the argument for calling this substance "Asphalt" is not entirely well thought out.  Given you argue Bitumen is the same thing, is universally understood, clearer, less ambiguous, and not a shorthand but rather a proper technical term - i do not see the reason to oppose. An example where American companies use Asphalt to refer to two completely different products can be seen here [] in Kentucky, and here [] in Michigan, as some brief examples -  which is an issue caused by both Asphalt Concrete and Liquid Asphalt Cement being shorthanded to just Asphalt. This problem does not exist outside America, with everything from British [] to Australian sources [] calling this substance in question Bitumen whilst calling Asphalt to be something else entirely Garfie489 (talk) 20:30, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
 * This also points out a WP:RETAIN issue. We don't change an article's title from one variety of English to another. The American term for this substance is generally "asphalt" not "bitumen". This is no different than the gasoline vs petrol debate. Rreagan007 (talk) 22:02, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Again, disagree - Bitumen is an acceptable term for the article in all varieties of English. Changing to Bitumen is not changing from one variety of English to another. This is not a UK vs US issue, as may be the case in other WP:RETAIN issues. The change here is from a non technical shorthand, into a universally recognised technical term - as opposed to a change of regional dialect.  Even if it were a regional term, it still falls under the "change reduces ambiguity" exception. Remember if you asked every country to bring an example of "Asphalt" to a conference, the vast majority would not bring what this article describes. The ones which do, would do so by chance given the same word can mean multiple different substances in their region. By changing it to "Bitumen" suddenly every single country brings exactly what this article describes to the table without issue - which certainly reduces ambiguity. Garfie489 (talk) 22:24, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
 * 'Tarmac' is often used in the UK, which seems to be historical. Sometimes 'asphalt' is used. Never heard bitumen used here to be honest. From a quick Google it looks like bitumen and asphalt are indeed different things. YorkshireExpat (talk) 16:25, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Tarmac refers exclusively to "Asphalt Concrete". Its a brand name, much like Hoover - if you work in the industry, you shouldnt refer to it as Tarmac unless working for Tarmac. Thats the problem however, this article is not about "Asphalt Concrete" - its about "Liquid Asphalt Cement", which is a common component of "Asphalt Concrete". Calling both simply "Asphalt" creates a layer of ambiguity.
 * Bitumen is simply the liquid product referred to in this article. Its not a common word in the UK, as most people would never use Bitumen. However, multiple sources can be found if needed to prove it is what is used in industry. For example, using Google street view i can find one of the tankers that transported the liquid product mentioned in this article where i used to work [] - you can read on the side what the tanker says through the green fence "Shell Bitumen". Reading what the local business is called where this truck is parked, it is the "FM Conway - Imperial Wharf, Bitumen Terminal & Technology Centre". This center's only product is the sale of whats described in this article, and the word they use is Bitumen. Similarly here [] Shell has a handbook on the product, where again it is exclusively referred to as "Bitumen" - on a similar note, the British standards exclusively refer to what we see in this article as "Bitumen" and what in the "Asphalt Concrete" article as "Asphalt". BS3690-3 for example refers to whats in this article as Bitumen, whereas a mixture of Bitumen and Aggregate to be Asphalt.
 * BS13108-3:2016 3.1.7 defines Asphalt as a "homogeneous mixture of coarse and fine aggregates, filler aggregates, and bituminous binder which is used in the construction of a pavement". Thus according to British standards "Asphalt Concrete" is simply "Asphalt", whereas what the substance in this article is called is "Bituminous binder" in the context of Asphalt. When used outside the context of Asphalt, its simply just "Bitumen" - worth noting BS standards at this time are in line with European standards, and thus European standards agree with the same definitions. BS13108-3:2016 3.1.14 later goes on to define the Binder referred to in 3.1.7 as Bitumen. Garfie489 (talk) 17:09, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
 * @Garfie489 that may be but in the UK it's the most common name. People talk about the 'road being tarmaced' or 'tarmacing the drive'. I wouldn't suggest renaming this article to 'tarmac'. This UK dictionary entry also recognises the trademark. YorkshireExpat (talk) 17:17, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Im not sure what you are suggesting to be honest. The process of having the 'road being tarmaced' or 'tarmacing the drive' are processes relating to "Asphalt Concrete" - it is completely unrelated to the article we are discussing. This article is about one of the constituent parts of "Asphalt Concrete" known internationally as "Bitumen" and how it has been ambiguously been named "Asphalt". Garfie489 (talk) 17:35, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Having actually read the article I see what you mean :), I'll get my coat. It shows the problems with common names nicely actually. YorkshireExpat (talk) 17:44, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Ill take that then as a support for this motion :P Garfie489 (talk) 17:47, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

 * Support the move, and then splitting off a separate page for asphalt. Reading through the comments and article, I think User: Garfie489 is correct that asphalt and bitumen are two separate things that should perhaps not have been merged to one page. Ortizesp (talk) 18:37, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
 * They were two pages till 2017. Now we also have "asphalt concrete" (US). In ictu oculi (talk) 19:46, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Reading through that change, it seemed controversial at the time and not well supported.
 * Really there should be a disambiguation page for "Asphalt" linking to whats actually often referred to as Asphalt (Asphalt Concrete) and Bitumen (known as Liquid Asphalt Cement, or sometimes just Asphalt in the US). Garfie489 (talk) 21:01, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

 * Support no refinery outside the US produces "asphalt", in the rest of the world and in industry standard materials the refinery product is bitumen https://www.shell.com/business-customers/bitumen.html. In ictu oculi (talk) 19:38, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Here's Canada to beg to differ. —  Red-tailed hawk (nest) 01:32, 7 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Hate to break it to you, but that source supports this motion and the statement you are replying to - not you.
 * The picture in the article is of "Asphalt Concrete", not of this articles subject matter. We can see this from the aggregates in the header picture, along with how it describes the manufacturing process. "The basic purpose of a hot mix asphalt (HMA) plant is to properly proportion, blend, and heat aggregate and liquid asphalt cement to produce an HMA" - the liquid asphalt cement is what this article is about, it is not about the Asphalt in the title.
 * The article exclusively refers to what is in this article as "liquid asphalt cement" - not Asphalt. The Asphalt it refers to is "Asphalt Concrete" Garfie489 (talk) 03:09, 7 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Oppose. The term "asphalt" meets the WP:CRITERIA better than "bitumen". It is recognizable—the vast majority of speakers of North American English do not know what bitumen is. It is a natural name for the page, it is a precise name for the page, it is a concise name for the page, and I don't see any sort of consistency-based argument being relevant here. MOS:RETAIN is quite clear that we don't need to pivot between different forms of English without good reason, and no good reason for moving the page is presented here. —  Red-tailed hawk (nest) 22:14, 6 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Heavily disagree that it is precise. As i said in a previous post, if you asked someone from every country to bring "Asphalt" to a conference - then 0 countries would unambiguously bring what this article describes. Yet do the same for Bitumen, and suddenly every country brings what this article describes. This is the opposite of precise, as even the countries which do call this article "Asphalt" call other similar products not described in this article as "Asphalt" as well.
 * The fact we even have people above thinking this page refers to a completely different product shows Asphalt is not a natural name for this page. Similarly the need for distinction harms the recognisable aspect - people recognise Asphalt as being something this page is a part of, not for what this page is itself.
 * To me, this is not about moving between different forms of English. This is between moving between whats effectively a nickname, and technical language. In the US, to say "Asphalt" alone is not enough context - its not a word which singularly defines a single item (the single item being discussed here). An American would recognise Bitumen, theres already sources above of American companies on American contracts referring to it as such - for anyone that doesnt, there is a disambiguation page. However anyone non American would never, ever refer to it as Asphalt - because Asphalt has a definition that completely contradicts whats in this article. Garfie489 (talk) 23:22, 6 January 2023 (UTC)

The following definitions are from Oxford Reference: In general, they seem to support the current setup. Srnec (talk) 02:47, 7 January 2023 (UTC)
 * World Encyclopedia: "Naturally occurring black or brown semi-solid bitumen".
 * Dictionary of Chemistry: "Bitumen".
 * Dictionary of Construction, Surveying and Civil Engineering: "A material comprised mainly of bitumen, sand, clay, and limestone".
 * Dictionary of Public Health: "A tarry solid form of coal that occurs naturally and also is manufactured".
 * Dictionary of Geology and Earth Sciences: "Brown or black, solid or semi-solid, bituminous substance made almost entirely of carbon and hydrogen".
 * Dictionary of Architecture: (1) "Black or chocolate-brown limestone impregnated with bitumen or natural pitch"; (2) "Inferior *artificial asphalt is a mixture of tar with aggregates (such as sand and gravel) and pitch, unsuitable for waterproofing, but employed to finish road surfaces and walkways".
 * New Oxford American Dictionary: (1) "a mixture of dark bituminous pitch with sand or gravel, used for surfacing roads"; (2) "the bituminous pitch used in making asphalt".
 * Canadian/New Zealand/Australian Oxford Dictionary: (1) "a dark bituminous pitch occurring naturally or made from petroleum"; (2) "a mixture of this with sand, gravel, etc., for surfacing roads etc."

 * Disagree.
 * Only 3 of those sources support the current setup, 2 oppose, and 1 is wrong given its easily sourced modern asphalt comes from oil rather than coal,
 * Im not going to weight individual sources, but its notable that the construction focussed sources all favour the oppose - Construction mentions Aggregate, Architecture the same.
 * The interesting sources are the last two in that they both support AND oppose the current set up - showing there is potential for confusion there. However most of the sources with support to the current setup, are happy to refer to Asphalt as Bitumen. Someone looking for Bitumen would easily find what they are looking for, yet it is clear someone looking for "Asphalt" has half a chance of not finding the right article.
 * So this would support a disambiguation page for "Asphalt" linking to both "Bitumen" and "Asphalt Concrete" with simple descriptions of both - we already have that set up. That way anyone looking for "Asphalt" is directed to the correct page. It seems all the sources you quote are happy to call "Asphalt" as Bitumen, or describe it as Bitumen - so again, no issues there. Meanwhile for the other sources which disagree that this article is about "Asphalt" are also happy as the disambiguation page directs them to "Asphalt concrete". So in summary, if this motion was to go through - asphalt would no longer go directly to Bitumen, whilst Bitumen is correctly identified as the substance in question - which seems to me to be in line with the majority of the sources presented here (bar the coal one, im not sure what thats about). Garfie489 (talk) 03:29, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
 * Support per WP:PRECISION. The current title is highly ambiguous ill-suited for this article.  In both the UK and the US, "asphalt" in common parlance refers to asphalt concrete, the road pavement/tarmac composite material and not this, the raw material used as a binder.  —  AjaxSmack  05:11, 7 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Support only if Asphalt (disambiguation) is moved to Asphalt as well per the above statements that "asphalt" could refer to the topic of this article or Asphalt concrete. If Asphalt (disambiguation) is not moved to Asphalt, I oppose the move as proposed since "asphalt" seems to be the common name for something, and it might as well be the status quo. Steel1943  (talk) 21:03, 11 January 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree with this, though does that need a separate request? - could be done once this page is itself moved Garfie489 (talk) 23:23, 11 January 2023 (UTC)

Post-close discussion

 * I moved Asphalt to Bitumen, but there is an issue that Asphalt is currently linked from whopping 6,999 pages that shouldall be disambiguated. I've read the RM and generally agree with the sentiment that "asphalt" is ambiguous between Bitumen and Asphalt concrete, but I'm reluctant to break 7,000 links (and I foresee that many are intended for Asphalt concrete). Plus, the redirect has a history that would be buried under Asphalt (disambiguation) after a page swap. Perhaps this should be raised at WT:DISAMBIG or discussed at WP:RFD, I'm unsure how to proceed. No such user (talk) 15:22, 12 January 2023 (UTC)
 * ...And there are plenty of editors who are willing to disambiguate ambiguous links, especially in cases such as this. In other words, unless you contest the close, please complete the moves as the close states. (I'd do it myself, but I'm involved.) Steel1943  (talk) 17:05, 12 January 2023 (UTC)
 * To be honest, its surprising to me that the title of this page lasted for so long without challenge.
 * That said i am willing to help out, however this is my first page move and am aware as the person that initiated it its best im not seen to be doing mass edits - so just want to ensure any actions i take are considered the right thing to do, and appreciate any guidance on how to help this situation. Garfie489 (talk) 17:17, 12 January 2023 (UTC)
 * At this point, there's really nothing else that you can do. Fixing this issue requires someone with the page mover permission, which editors like No such user and I have. However, if this issue isn't dealt with within the next few hours, I'll probably end up doing what is called "WP:IAR" to make the pages match the close. (I really shouldn't move the page since I voted in the discussion, but simply put, the current situation doesn't match the close.) Steel1943  (talk) 17:29, 12 January 2023 (UTC)
 * It has now been resolved. ( Obviously, my previous comment was an edit conflict. 😅) Steel1943  (talk) 17:31, 12 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Just a question as im now going through the article to tidy it up.
 * There are sections where it refers to "Asphalt" but is clearly talking about "Asphalt concrete" rather than "Bitumen" - such as the section on terminology about Tarmac.
 * Whats the best course of action? - simply delete the erroneous sections, try to paste into other articles, etc? Garfie489 (talk) 23:26, 12 January 2023 (UTC)
 * The edit history currently at Asphalt could be moved to a location like Bitumen (building material) so the title matches the history. Steel1943  (talk) 17:08, 12 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Alright, I moved the history to Asphalt (material) redirect and pointed the talk page templates, and moved Asphalt (disambiguation) there. There is WP:DisamAssist script that lets you gracefully resolve the incoming links, but that still implies looking at 7,000 entries and deciding which target was intended, so it takes multiple pairs of eyes to resolve. I'll tag the dab page appropriately so that it gets the attention of kind helpers from WT:DISAMBIG. No such user (talk) 17:27, 12 January 2023 (UTC)
 * I resolved two dozen incoming links myself and, as I expected, about half were actually intended for asphalt concrete rather than bitumen, demonstrating ambiguity of the term. Thanks to Garfie489 for working to resolve this issue, and everyone else involved for improving the encyclopedia! No such user (talk) 17:39, 12 January 2023 (UTC)
 * @No such user my experience in closing the discussion for Australian, which resulted in 4,000 links to process, was that the helpers at WT:DISAMBIG cleared up the links within a day. I did clear a fair bit as well using AWB on my alt. and apologies for the earlier conflicting page move, wanted to do a three way pageswap. we were working on the same requests at the same time. – robertsky (talk) 19:14, 12 January 2023 (UTC)
 * ...I have since moved the edit history to Bitumen (material) since the edit history of that page never identifies the subject by the name "asphalt". Steel1943  (talk) 19:35, 13 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I belatedly came to the same conclusion -- should anyone ever investigate the complex history of merges and moves, that would be of help. No such user (talk) 22:31, 15 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks to everybody here who quickly fixed all of those incoming mainspace links and dealt with the edit history issues. —  AjaxSmack  16:05, 11 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks to everybody here who quickly fixed all of those incoming mainspace links and dealt with the edit history issues. —  AjaxSmack  16:05, 11 February 2023 (UTC)

Category
We still have Category:Asphalt which needs revisiting. It seems to be a sort of Frankestein, since it hosts both the petroleum-related and road-related stuff. No such user (talk) 17:49, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

 * Id suggest its fine, given the disambiguation for Asphalt currently includes both potential use cases for Asphalt. Garfie489 (talk) 13:10, 14 January 2023 (UTC)
 * On second thought, you're probably right. I'm just used to categories (and articles) which are sharply defined according to a topic, rather than a word. But I suppose it's not worth the effort to try to refine it further. No such user (talk) No such user (talk) 22:27, 15 January 2023 (UTC)

"Oil (road)" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Oil (road) and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Steel1943 (talk) 19:59, 13 January 2023 (UTC)

Removed sections
The following items are a list of content i am removing from this page, either because it does not relate to Bitumen - or relates more specifically to Asphalt concrete. Leaving them below in case it is of use to other pages. I have today worked through all sections and believe them to now be accurate - some of the changes were quite funny, as some images already had correct file names but the text describing the image needed updating.

The two replies below are sections removed from the page, leaving them unsigned so they can be copied directly into wherever relevant Garfie489 (talk) 14:32, 16 January 2023 (UTC)

 * In British English, tarmac is used predominantly, which is a generic name, short for tar macadam. "Bitumen" is used instead of "asphalt". The word "asphalt" is instead used to refer to asphalt concrete, a mixture of construction aggregate and asphalt itself (also called "tarmac" in common parlance).

 * In Australian English, the word "asphalt" is used to describe a mix of construction aggregate. "Bitumen" refers to the liquid derived from the heavy-residues from crude oil distillation.

title: Talk:Bitumen


text:
Guru

Guru ( गुरु; IAST: guru; Pali: garu) is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential figure to the disciple (or shisya in Sanskrit, literally seeker [of knowledge or truth]) or 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". Whatever language it is written in, Judith Simmer-Brown says that a tantric spiritual text is often codified in an obscure twilight language so that it cannot be understood by anyone without the verbal explanation of a qualified teacher, the guru. A guru is also one's spiritual guide, who helps one to discover the same potentialities that the guru has already realized.

The oldest references to the concept of guru are found in the earliest Vedic texts of Hinduism. The guru, and gurukula – a school run by guru, were an established tradition in India by the 1st millennium BCE, and these helped compose and transmit the various Vedas, the Upanishads, texts of various schools of Hindu philosophy, and post-Vedic Shastras ranging from spiritual knowledge to various arts. By about mid 1st millennium CE, archaeological and epigraphical evidence suggest numerous larger institutions of gurus existed in India, some near Hindu temples, where guru-shishya tradition helped preserve, create and transmit various fields of knowledge. These gurus led broad ranges of studies including Hindu scriptures, Buddhist texts, grammar, philosophy, martial arts, music and painting.

The tradition of the guru is also found in Jainism, referring to a spiritual preceptor, a role typically served by a Jain ascetic. In Sikhism, the guru tradition has played a key role since its founding in the 15th century, its founder is referred to as Guru Nanak, and its scripture as Guru Granth Sahib. The guru concept has thrived in Vajrayāna Buddhism, where the tantric guru is considered a figure to worship and whose instructions should never be violated.

Definition and etymology
The word  (Sanskrit: गुरु), a noun, connotes "teacher" in Sanskrit, but in ancient Indian traditions it has contextual meanings with significance beyond what teacher means in English. The guru is more than someone who teaches a specific type of knowledge, and included in the term's scope is someone who is also a "counselor, a sort of parent of mind (Citta) and Self (Atman), who helps mold values (Yamas and Niyamas) and experiential knowledge as much as specific knowledge, an exemplar in life, an inspirational source and who reveals the meaning of life." The word has the same meaning in other languages derived from or borrowing words from Sanskrit, such as Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali, Gujarati and Nepali. The Malayalam term Acharyan or Asan is derived from the Sanskrit word Acharya.

As a noun the word means the imparter of knowledge (jñāna; also Pali: ñāna). As an adjective, it means 'heavy,' or 'weighty,' in the sense of "heavy with knowledge," heavy with spiritual wisdom, "heavy with spiritual weight," "heavy with the good qualities of scriptures and realization," or "heavy with a wealth of knowledge." The word has its roots in the Sanskrit gri (to invoke, or to praise), and may have a connection to the word gur, meaning 'to raise, lift up, or to make an effort'.

Sanskrit guru is cognate with Latin gravis 'heavy; grave, weighty, serious' and Greek βαρύς barus 'heavy'. All three derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʷerə-, specifically from the zero-grade form *gʷr̥ə-.

Female equivalents of gurus are sometimes called gurvis. The wife of the guru is the guru patni or guru ma. The guru's son is guru putra, while the guru's daughter is the guru putri.

Darkness and light
गुशब्दस्त्वन्धकारः स्यात् रुशब्दस्तन्निरोधकः । अन्धकारनिरोधित्वात् गुरुरित्यभिधीयते ॥ १६॥ The syllable gu means darkness, the syllable ru, he who dispels them, Because of the power to dispel darkness, the guru is thus named.

— Advayataraka Upanishad Verse 16

A popular etymological theory considers the term "guru" to be based on the syllables gu (गु) and ru (रु), which it claims stands for darkness and "light that dispels it", respectively. The guru is seen as the one who "dispels the darkness of ignorance."

Reender Kranenborg disagrees, stating that darkness and light have nothing to do with the word guru. He describes this as a folk etymology.

Joel Mlecko states, "Gu means ignorance, and Ru means dispeller," with guru meaning the one who "dispels ignorance, all kinds of ignorance", ranging from spiritual to skills such as dancing, music, sports and others. Karen Pechilis states that, in the popular parlance, the "dispeller of darkness, one who points the way" definition for guru is common in the Indian tradition.

In Western Esotericism and the Science of Religion, Pierre Riffard makes a distinction between "occult" and "scientific" etymologies, citing as an example of the former the etymology of 'guru' in which the derivation is presented as gu ("darkness") and ru ('to push away'); the latter he exemplifies by "guru" with the meaning of 'heavy.'

In Hinduism
The Guru is an ancient and central figure in the traditions of Hinduism. The ultimate liberation, contentment, freedom in the form of moksha and inner perfection is considered achievable in the Hindu belief by two means: with the help of guru, and with evolution through the process of karma including rebirth in some schools of Hindu philosophy. At an individual level in Hinduism, the Guru is many things, including being a teacher of skills, a counselor, one who helps in the birth of mind and realization of one's Self (Atma), who instills values and experiential knowledge, an exemplar, an inspiration and who helps guide a student's (śiṣya) spiritual development. At a social and religious level, the Guru helps continue the religion and Hindu way of life. Guru thus has a historic, reverential and an important role in the Hindu culture.

Scriptures
The word Guru is mentioned in the earliest layer of Vedic texts. The hymn 4.5.6 of Rigveda, for example, states Joel Mlecko, describes the guru as, "the source and inspirer of the knowledge of the Self, the essence of reality," for one who seeks.

The Upanishads mention the guru. Chandogya Upanishad, in chapter 4.4 for example, declares that it is only through a guru that one attains the knowledge that matters, the insights that lead to Self-knowledge. The Katha Upanisad, in verse 1.2.8 declares the guru as indispensable to the acquisition of knowledge. In chapter 3 of Taittiriya Upanishad, human knowledge is described as that which connects the teacher and the student through the medium of exposition, just like a child is the connecting link between the father and the mother through the medium of procreation. In the Taittiriya Upanishad, the guru then urges a student, states Mlecko, to "struggle, discover and experience the Truth, which is the source, stay and end of the universe."

The ancient tradition of reverence for the guru in Hindu scriptures is apparent in 6.23 of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, which equates the need of reverence and devotion for guru to be the same as for god,

"यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः ॥ २३ ॥ He who has highest Bhakti (love, devotion) of Deva (god), just like his Deva, so for his Guru, To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating."

The Bhagavad Gita is a dialogue where Krishna speaks to Arjuna of the role of a guru, and similarly emphasizes in verse 4.34 that those who know their subject well are eager for good students, and the student can learn from such a guru through reverence, service, effort and the process of inquiry.

Capabilities, role and methods for helping a student

The 8th century Hindu text Upadesasahasri of the Advaita Vedanta philosopher Adi Shankara discusses the role of the guru in assessing and guiding students. In Chapter 1, he states that teacher is the pilot as the student walks in the journey of knowledge, he is the raft as the student rows. The text describes the need, role and characteristics of a teacher, as follows, "When the teacher finds from signs that knowledge has not been grasped or has been wrongly grasped by the student, he should remove the causes of non-comprehension in the student. This includes the student's past and present knowledge, want of previous knowledge of what constitutes subjects of discrimination and rules of reasoning, behavior such as unrestrained conduct and speech, courting popularity, vanity of his parentage, ethical flaws that are means contrary to those causes. The teacher must enjoin means in the student that are enjoined by the Śruti and Smrti, such as avoidance of anger, Yamas consisting of Ahimsa and others, also the rules of conduct that are not inconsistent with knowledge. He [teacher] should also thoroughly impress upon the student qualities like humility, which are the means to knowledge."

"The teacher is one who is endowed with the power of furnishing arguments pro and con, of understanding questions [of the student], and remembers them. The teacher possesses tranquility, self-control, compassion and a desire to help others, who is versed in the Śruti texts (Vedas, Upanishads), and unattached to pleasures here and hereafter, knows the subject and is established in that knowledge. He is never a transgressor of the rules of conduct, devoid of weaknesses such as ostentation, pride, deceit, cunning, jugglery, jealousy, falsehood, egotism and attachment. The teacher's sole aim is to help others and a desire to impart the knowledge."

Adi Shankara presents a series of examples wherein he asserts that the best way to guide a student is not to give immediate answers, but posit dialogue-driven questions that enable the student to discover and understand the answer.

Gurukula and the guru-shishya tradition

Traditionally, the Guru would live a simple married life, and accept shishya (student, Sanskrit: शिष्य) where he lived. A person would begin a life of study in the Gurukula (the household of the Guru). The process of acceptance included proffering firewood and sometimes a gift to the guru, signifying that the student wants to live with, work and help the guru in maintaining the gurukul, and as an expression of a desire for education in return over several years. At the Gurukul, the working student would study the basic traditional vedic sciences and various practical skills-oriented sastras along with the religious texts contained within the Vedas and Upanishads. The education stage of a youth with a guru was referred to as Brahmacharya, and in some parts of India this followed the Upanayana or Vidyarambha rites of passage.

The gurukul would be a hut in a forest, or it was, in some cases, a monastery, called a matha or ashram or sampradaya in different parts of India. These had a lineage of gurus, who would study and focus on certain schools of Hindu philosophy or trade, and these were known as guru-shishya parampara (teacher-student tradition). This guru-driven tradition included arts such as sculpture, poetry and music.

Inscriptions from 4th century CE suggest the existence of gurukuls around Hindu temples, called Ghatikas or Mathas, where the Vedas were studied. In south India, 9th century Vedic schools attached to Hindu temples were called Calai or Salai, and these provided free boarding and lodging to students and scholars. Archaeological and epigraphical evidence suggests that ancient and medieval era gurukuls near Hindu temples offered wide range of studies, ranging from Hindu scriptures to Buddhist texts, grammar, philosophy, martial arts, music and painting.

The Guru (teacher) Shishya (disciple) parampara or guru parampara, occurs where the knowledge (in any field) is passed down through the succeeding generations. It is the traditional, residential form of education, where the Shishya remains and learns with his Guru as a family member. The fields of study in traditional guru-sisya parampara were diverse, ranging from Hindu philosophy, martial arts, music, dance to various Vedangas.

Gender and caste
The Hindu texts offer a conflicting view of whether access to guru and education was limited to men and to certain varna (castes). The Vedas and the Upanishads never mention any restrictions based either on gender or on varna. The Yajurveda and Atharvaveda texts state that knowledge is for everyone, and offer examples of women and people from all segments of society who are guru and participated in vedic studies. The Upanishads assert that one's birth does not determine one's eligibility for spiritual knowledge, only one's effort and sincerity matters.

In theory, the early Dharma-sutras and Dharma-sastras, such as Paraskara Grhyasutra, Gautama Smriti and Yajnavalkya smriti, state all four varnas are eligible to all fields of knowledge; while verses of Manusmriti state that Vedic study is available only to men of three varnas, unavailable to Shudra and women. In practice, state Stella Kramrisch and others, the guru tradition and availability of education extended to all segments of ancient and medieval society. Lise McKean states the guru concept has been prevalent over the range of class and caste backgrounds, and the disciples a guru attracts come from both genders and a range of classes and castes. During the bhakti movement of Hinduism, which started in about mid 1st millennium CE, the gurus included women and members of all varna.

Attributes
The Advayataraka Upanishad states that the true teacher is a master in the field of knowledge, well-versed in the Vedas, is free from envy, knows yoga, lives a simple life that of a yogi, has realized the knowledge of the Atman (Self). Some scriptures and gurus have warned against false teachers, and have recommended that the spiritual seeker test the guru before accepting him. Swami Vivekananda said that there are many incompetent gurus, and that a true guru should understand the spirit of the scriptures, have a pure character and be free from sin, and should be selfless, without desire for money and fame.

According to the Indologist Georg Feuerstein, in some traditions of Hinduism, when one reaches the state of Self-knowledge, one's own Self becomes the guru. In Tantra, states Feuerstein, the guru is the "ferry who leads one across the ocean of existence." A true guru guides and counsels a student's spiritual development because, states Yoga-Bija, endless logic and grammar leads to confusion, and not contentment. However, various Hindu texts caution prudence and diligence in finding the right guru, and avoiding the wrong ones. For example, in Kula-Arnava text states the following guidance:

"Gurus are as numerous as lamps in every house. But, O-Goddess, difficult to find is a guru who lights up everything like a sun. Gurus who are proficient in the Vedas, textbooks and so on are numerous. But, O Goddess, difficult to find is a guru who is proficient in the supreme Truth. Gurus who rob their disciples of their wealth are numerous. But, O Goddess, difficult to find is a guru who removes the disciples' suffering. Numerous here on earth are those who are intent on social class, stage of life and family. But he who is devoid of all concerns is a guru difficult to find. An intelligent man should choose a guru by whom supreme Bliss is attained, and only such a guru and none other."

A true guru is, asserts Kula-Arnava, one who lives the simple virtuous life he preaches, is stable and firm in his knowledge, master yogi with the knowledge of Self (Atma Gyaan) and Brahman (ultimate reality). The guru is one who initiates, transmits, guides, illuminates, debates and corrects a student in the journey of knowledge and of self-realization. The attribute of the successful guru is to help make the disciple into another guru, one who transcends him, and becomes a guru unto himself, driven by inner spirituality and principles.

In modern Hinduism
In modern neo-Hinduism, Kranenborg states guru may refer to entirely different concepts, such as a spiritual advisor, or someone who performs traditional rituals outside a temple, or an enlightened master in the field of tantra or yoga or eastern arts who derives his authority from his experience, or a reference by a group of devotees of a sect to someone considered a god-like Avatar by the sect.

The tradition of reverence for guru continues in several denominations within modern Hinduism, but rather than being considered as a prophet, the guru is seen as a person who points the way to spirituality, oneness of being, and meaning in life.

In Buddhism
In some forms of Buddhism, states Rita Gross, the concept of Guru is of supreme importance. Guru is called as Garu in Pali. The Guru is the teacher, who teaches the spiritual and religious knowledge. Guru can be anyone who teach this knowledge and not generally need to be Acariya or Upajjhaya. Guru can also be a personal teacher. Buddha is called as Lokagaru, meaning "the teacher of the world".

In Vajrayana Buddhism's Tantric teachings, the rituals require the guidance of a guru. The guru is considered essential and to the Buddhist devotee, the guru is the "enlightened teacher and ritual master", states Stephen Berkwitz. The guru is known as the vajra guru (literally "diamond guru"). Initiations or ritual empowerments are necessary before the student is permitted to practice a particular tantra, in Vajrayana Buddhist sects found in Tibet and South Asia. The tantras state that the guru is equivalent to Buddha, states Berkwitz, and is a figure to worship and whose instructions should never be violated.

"The guru is the Buddha, the guru is the Dhamma, and the guru is the Sangha. The guru is the glorious Vajradhara, in this life only the guru is the means [to awakening]. Therefore, someone wishing to attain the state of Buddhahood should please the guru."

There are Four Kinds of Lama (Guru) or spiritual teacher (Tib. lama nampa shyi) in Tibetan Buddhism:

 * 1) gangzak gyüpé lama — the individual teacher who is the holder of the lineage
 * 2) gyalwa ka yi lama — the teacher which is the word of the buddhas
 * 3) nangwa da yi lama — the symbolic teacher of all appearances
 * 4) rigpa dön gyi lama — the absolute teacher, which is rigpa, the true nature of mind

In various Buddhist traditions, there are equivalent words for guru, which include Shastri (teacher), Kalyana Mitra (friendly guide, Pali: Kalyāṇa-mittatā), Acarya (master), and Vajra-Acarya (hierophant). The guru is literally understood as "weighty", states Alex Wayman, and it refers to the Buddhist tendency to increase the weight of canons and scriptures with their spiritual studies. In Mahayana Buddhism, a term for Buddha is Bhaisajya guru, which refers to "medicine guru", or "a doctor who cures suffering with the medicine of his teachings".

In Jainism
Guru is the spiritual preceptor in Jainism, and typically a role served by Jain ascetics. The guru is one of three fundamental tattva (categories), the other two being dharma (teachings) and deva (divinity). The guru-tattva is what leads a lay person to the other two tattva. In some communities of the Śvētāmbara sect of Jainism, a traditional system of guru-disciple lineage exists.

The guru is revered in Jainism ritually with Guru-vandan or Guru-upashti, where respect and offerings are made to the guru, and the guru sprinkles a small amount of vaskep (a scented powder mixture of sandalwood, saffron, and camphor) on the devotee's head with a mantra or blessings.

In Sikhism
In Sikhism, seeking a Guru (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ gurū) is of the utmost importance, Guru Nanak writes in Ang:751 of the Guru Granth: ਗਾਫਲ ਗਿਆਨ ਵਿਹੂਣਿਆ ਗੁਰ ਬਿਨੁ ਗਿਆਨੁ ਨ ਭਾਲਿ ਜੀਉ ॥

O foolish mind, without seeking a Guru, loving devotion with the almighty is not possible. Guru Amar Das the third Sikh Guru says knowledge will have no foundation without a Guru

The Guru is the source of all knowledge which is Almighty. In Chopai Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh states about who is the Guru:

The Sikh gurus were fundamental to the Sikh religion, however the concept in Sikhism differs from other usages. Sikhism is derived from the Sanskrit word shishya, or disciple and is all about the relationship between the teacher and a student. The concept of Guru in Sikhism stands on two pillars i.e. Miri-Piri. 'Piri' means spiritual authority and 'Miri' means temporal authority. Traditionally, the concept of Guru is considered central in Sikhism, and its main scripture is prefixed as a Guru, called Guru Granth Sahib, the words therein called Gurbani.

In Western culture
As an alternative to established religions in the West, some people in Europe and the US looked to spiritual guides and gurus from India and other countries. Gurus from many denominations traveled to Western Europe and the US and established followings.

In particular during the 1960s and 1970s many gurus acquired groups of young followers in Western Europe and the US. According to the American sociologist David G. Bromley this was partially due to the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1965 which permitted Asian gurus entrance to the US. According to the Dutch Indologist Albertina Nugteren, the repeal was only one of several factors and a minor one compared with the two most important causes for the surge of all things 'Eastern': the post-war cross-cultural mobility and the general dissatisfaction with established Western values.

In the Western world, the term is sometimes used in a derogatory way to refer to individuals who have allegedly exploited their followers' naiveté, particularly in certain cults or groups in the fields of hippie, new religious movements, self-help, and tantra.

According to the professor in sociology Stephen A. Kent at the University of Alberta and Kranenborg (1974), one of the reasons why in the 1970s young people including hippies turned to gurus was because they found that drugs had opened for them the existence of the transcendental or because they wanted to get high without drugs. According to Kent, another reason why this happened so often in the US then, was because some anti-Vietnam War protesters and political activists became worn out or disillusioned of the possibilities to change society through political means, and as an alternative turned to religious means. One example of such group was the Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON) founded by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1966, many of whose followers voluntarily accepted the demanding lifestyle of bhakti yoga on a full-time basis, in stark contrast to much of the popular culture of the time.

Some gurus and the groups they lead attract opposition from the Anti-Cult Movement. According to Kranenborg (1984), Jesus Christ fits the Hindu definition and characteristics of a guru.

Environmental activists are sometimes called "gurus" or "prophets" for embodying a moral or spiritual authority and gathering followers. Examples of environmental gurus are John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, George Perkins Marsh, and David Attenborough. Abidin et al. wrote that environmental gurus "merge the boundaries" between spiritual and scientific authority.

Viewpoints
Gurus and the Guru-shishya tradition have been criticized and assessed by secular scholars, theologians, anti-cultists, skeptics, and religious philosophers.

Jiddu Krishnamurti, groomed to be a world spiritual teacher by the leadership of the Theosophical Society in the early part of the 20th century, publicly renounced this role in 1929 while also denouncing the concept of gurus, spiritual leaders, and teachers, advocating instead the unmediated and direct investigation of reality.

U. G. Krishnamurti, [no relation to Jiddu], sometimes characterized as a spiritual anarchist, denied both the value of gurus and the existence of any related worthwhile teaching.

Dr. David C. Lane proposes a checklist consisting of seven points to assess gurus in his book, Exposing Cults: When the Skeptical Mind Confronts the Mystical. One of his points is that spiritual teachers should have high standards of moral conduct and that followers of gurus should interpret the behavior of a spiritual teacher by following Ockham's razor and by using common sense, and, should not naively use mystical explanations unnecessarily to explain immoral behavior. Another point Lane makes is that the bigger the claim a guru makes, such as the claim to be God, the bigger the chance is that the guru is unreliable. Dr. Lane's fifth point is that self-proclaimed gurus are likely to be more unreliable than gurus with a legitimate lineage.

Highlighting what he sees as the difficulty in understanding the guru from Eastern tradition in Western society, Indologist Georg Feuerstein writes in the chapter Understanding the Guru in his book The Deeper Dimension of Yoga: Theory and practice: "The traditional role of the guru, or spiritual teacher, is not widely understood in the West, even by those professing to practice Yoga or some other Eastern tradition entailing discipleship. [...] Spiritual teachers, by their very nature, swim against the stream of conventional values and pursuits. They are not interested in acquiring and accumulating material wealth or in competing in the marketplace, or in pleasing egos. They are not even about morality. Typically, their message is of a radical nature, asking that we live consciously, inspect our motives, transcend our egoic passions, overcome our intellectual blindness, live peacefully with our fellow humans, and, finally, realize the deepest core of human nature, the Spirit. For those wishing to devote their time and energy to the pursuit of conventional life, this kind of message is revolutionary, subversive, and profoundly disturbing". In his Encyclopedic Dictionary of Yoga (1990), Dr. Feuerstein writes that the importation of yoga to the West has raised questions as to the appropriateness of spiritual discipleship and the legitimacy of spiritual authority.

A British professor of psychiatry, Anthony Storr, states in his book, Feet of Clay: A Study of Gurus, that he confines the word guru (translated by him as "revered teacher") to persons who have "special knowledge" who tell, referring to their special knowledge, how other people should lead their lives. He argues that gurus share common character traits (e.g. being loners) and that some suffer from a mild form of schizophrenia. He argues that gurus who are authoritarian, paranoid, eloquent, or who interfere in the private lives of their followers are the ones who are more likely to be unreliable and dangerous. Storr also refers to Eileen Barker's checklist to recognize false gurus. He contends that some so-called gurus claim special spiritual insights based on personal revelation, offering new ways of spiritual development and paths to salvation. Storr's criticism of gurus includes the possible risk that a guru may exploit his or her followers due to the authority that he or she may have over them, though Storr does acknowledge the existence of morally superior teachers who refrain from doing so. He holds the view that the idiosyncratic belief systems that some gurus promote were developed during a period of psychosis to make sense of their own minds and perceptions, and that these belief systems persist after the psychosis has gone. Storr notes that gurus generalize their experience to all people. Some of them believe that all humanity should accept their vision, while others teach that when the end of the world comes, only their followers will be saved, and the rest of the people will remain unredeemed. According to him, this ″apparently arrogant assumption″ is closely related and other characteristics of various gurus. Storr applies the term "guru" to figures as diverse as Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, Gurdjieff, Rudolf Steiner, Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, Jim Jones and David Koresh.

Rob Preece, a psychotherapist and a practicing Buddhist, writes in The Noble Imperfection that while the teacher/disciple relationship can be an invaluable and fruitful experience, the process of relating to spiritual teachers also has its hazards. He writes that these potential hazards are the result of naiveté amongst Westerners as to the nature of the guru/devotee relationship, as well as a consequence of a lack of understanding on the part of Eastern teachers as to the nature of Western psychology. Preece introduces the notion of transference to explain the manner in which the guru/disciple relationship develops from a more Western psychological perspective. He writes: "In its simplest sense transference occurs when unconsciously a person endows another with an attribute that actually is projected from within themselves." In developing this concept, Preece writes that, when we transfer an inner quality onto another person, we may be giving that person a power over us as a consequence of the projection, carrying the potential for great insight and inspiration, but also the potential for great danger: "In giving this power over to someone else they have a certain hold and influence over us it is hard to resist, while we become enthralled or spellbound by the power of the archetype".

The psychiatrist Alexander Deutsch performed a long-term observation of a small cult, called The Family (not to be confused with Family International), founded by an American guru called Baba or Jeff in New York in 1972, who showed increasingly schizophrenic behavior. Deutsch observed that this man's mostly Jewish followers interpreted the guru's pathological mood swings as expressions of different Hindu deities and interpreted his behavior as holy madness, and his cruel deeds as punishments that they had earned. After the guru dissolved the cult in 1976, his mental condition was confirmed by Jeff's retrospective accounts to an author.

Jan van der Lans (1933–2002), a professor of the psychology of religion at the Catholic University of Nijmegen, wrote, in a book commissioned by the Netherlands-based Catholic Study Center for Mental Health, about followers of gurus and the potential dangers that exist when personal contact between the guru and the disciple is absent, such as an increased chance of idealization of the guru by the student (myth making and deification), and an increase of the chance of false mysticism. He further argues that the deification of a guru is a traditional element of Eastern spirituality but, when detached from the Eastern cultural element and copied by Westerners, the distinction between the person who is the guru and that which he symbolizes is often lost, resulting in the relationship between the guru and disciple degenerating into a boundless, uncritical personality cult.

In their 1993 book, The Guru Papers, authors Diana Alstad and Joel Kramer reject the guru-disciple tradition because of what they see as its structural defects. These defects include the authoritarian control of the guru over the disciple, which is in their view increased by the guru's encouragement of surrender to him. Alstad and Kramer assert that gurus are likely to be hypocrites because, in order to attract and maintain followers, gurus must present themselves as purer than and superior to ordinary people and other gurus.

According to the journalist Sacha Kester, in a 2003 article in the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant, finding a guru is a precarious matter, pointing to the many holy men in India and the case of Sathya Sai Baba whom Kester considers a swindler. In this article he also quotes the book Karma Cola describing that in this book a German economist tells author Gita Mehta, "It is my opinion that quality control has to be introduced for gurus. Many of my friends have become crazy in India". She describes a comment by Suranya Chakraverti who said that some Westerners do not believe in spirituality and ridicule a true guru. Other westerners, Chakraverti said, on the other hand believe in spirituality but tend to put faith in a guru who is a swindler.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Guru


text:
Asda

Asda Stores Limited, trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters are in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded into Southern England during the 1970s and 1980s, and acquired Allied Carpets, 61 large Gateway Supermarkets and other businesses, such as MFI Group. It sold these acquisitions during the 1990s to concentrate on the supermarkets. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 1999 when it was acquired by Walmart for £6.7 billion. Asda was the second-largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom between 2003 and 2014 by market share, at which point it fell into third place.

Besides its core supermarkets, the company also acts as a white label payment card provider offering assistance for insurance and payment services under the Asda Money brand and also has a mobile virtual network operator.

In February 2021, the Issa brothers and TDR Capital acquired Asda, with Walmart retaining "an equity investment" in Asda, a seat on the board and "an ongoing commercial relationship". The deal came after an acquisition by Sainsbury's was rejected by the Competition and Markets Authority.

Early years
The Asquith family were butchers based in Knottingley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire. In the 1920s, they expanded their business to seven butchers shops in the area. Their sons, Peter and Fred, later became founding members of Asda.

Around the same time, a group of West Riding dairy farmers, including the Stockdale family and Craven Dairies, joined under the banner of J. W. Hindell Dairy Farmers Ltd. The company diversified in 1949 to become Associated Dairies and Farm Stores Ltd, with Arthur Stockdale as the managing director.

1960s and 1970s
In 1963, the Asquith brothers converted an old cinema, the Queens in Castleford, into a self-service supermarket. Another followed in the old indoor market at Edlington. Both stores traded under the name of 'Queens'. Their next store was a purpose-built supermarket in South Elmsall, a town in which Asda has a distribution centre to this day.

In 1965, the Asquith brothers approached Associated Dairies to run the butchery departments within their small store chain. A merger was proposed and the Asquiths' business was joined with Noel Stockdale's to form a new company, Asda (Asquith + Dairies) (capitalised from 1985).

By 1967, the company had set up a store in Billingham, County Durham. By 1969, Noel Stockdale bought out the Asquith brothers' stake and became chairman of the company.

Asda took advantage of the abolition of retail price maintenance to offer large-scale, low-cost supermarkets. This was aided by the decision to acquire three struggling US-owned branches in the mid-1960s of the GEM retail group. The Government Exchange Mart stores in Preston, Lancashire, Cross Gates, Leeds and West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, had accumulated losses of £320,000 and offered to sell the stores for 20% of whatever Asda could recoup as losses from the Inland Revenue. They received the whole amount back. The rent was only 10 shillings (50p) per square foot on a 20-year lease, with no rent reviews, Asda increased GEM's £6,000 per week sales to around £60,000 per week in just six months with the new stores named as Asda.

During the 1970s, with over 30 stores in the north of England, Asda began expanding south, with the opening of new stores in the Estover area of Plymouth, Devon and Gosport, Hampshire in 1977. In 1978, Asda acquired Allied Carpets.

In 1982, the first London store opened in Park Royal, near Ealing. The Isle of Dogs and Charlton, London stores followed on rapidly thereafter.

1980s and 1990s
In 1984, managing director, John Hardman, made attempts to halt Asda's decline, which included the introduction of Asda branded products. In 1985, Asda merged with MFI (Mullard Furniture Industries) and the group was renamed Asda-MFI Group plc.

Asda established its headquarters at "Asda House". The site was officially opened in 1988 by the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

By the end of the 1990s, the 'Asdale'-named clothing range was replaced by the clothing ranges from the newly formed George Davies partnership with Asda.

Near bankruptcy and merger prospects
With stores mainly based in the North of England, the newly focused food retail group expanded further south in 1989 by purchasing the large format stores of rival Gateway Superstores for £705 million. This significantly increased Asda's total selling area, but the company had borrowed heavily in order to fund the purchase – city estimates suggested that Asda had overpaid by around £300 million for 61 of the largest Gateway stores, two undeveloped store sites and a distribution centre. That was far above the net book value of the locations, some of which were poorly sited. (Asda has subsequently relocated or rebuilt more than 30 of the original Gateway stores since the late 1990s.) The move left the company overstretched as a result, and by 1991, it found itself in serious financial trouble with over £1 billion of debt; compounding the situation further was a declining customer base, which was mainly caused by Asda's focus on moving upmarket resulting in prices rising to levels significantly higher than competitors.

Eventually, a combination of flagging profits, a tremendous debt and a loss of customers left Asda in such an egregious financial situation that they came very close to breaching their banking covenants; at one point, they almost entered administration. The company's first response was to change its management; chairman John Hardman was ousted in June 1991 and was replaced by Patrick Gillam, and Archie Norman was appointed chief executive in October. Asda then completed a rights issue in November 1991 that raised £357 million and cut the company's debts to £668 million. In May 1992, Asda reduced their prices back to their traditional level (5–7% below competitors) and announced that they would eliminate over 500 management positions. Underperforming stores were initially converted to a new discount format called "Dales" but this had been ended by 1998. In 1993, Asda completed a second rights issue that raised a further £347 million and began selling off some of its assets; some stores were sold to competitors, and the Allied Carpets chain was sold to Carpetland. By 1995, the company had returned to profitability and had virtually wiped out its debt – this is cited as one of the most successful turnarounds in British retail history.

Norman succeeded Gillam as chairman upon the latter's retirement in 1996, appointing then-deputy Allan Leighton as chief executive, and began to remodel Asda's stores along the lines of Walmart, the world's largest retailer. Leighton travelled to Bentonville, Arkansas, to assess and photograph the systems and marketing deployed by Walmart. In 1998, following the Walmart model, Asda began opening larger 'Hypermarket' (later 'Supercentre') stores as well as introducing pharmacies and cafes to its stores. At the same time, merger discussions were taking place between Asda and other retailers such as Safeway and Kingfisher plc; both collapsed without an agreement being reached, but in 1999, a second round of discussions with Kingfisher later reached an agreement for a £5.4 billion merger that would have both created the United Kingdom's largest multi-category retailer and enabled Asda to begin operating stores throughout Europe.

2000s and 2010s: Walmart years
A merger deal was abandoned when Walmart outbid Kingfisher to purchase Asda for £6.7 billion, which was completed on 26 July 1999 in a move that was initially speculated by British media outlets as a potential corporate raid. Shortly after the takeover, Norman resigned as chairman and left the company to pursue his political career; he was succeeded as chairman by Leighton. As Walmart were keen on entering the British market, Bob Martin, Walmart's president of international operations, lobbied Prime Minister Tony Blair on planning issues.

In 2005, amid reported concerns within Walmart about a slippage in market share, partially due to a resurgent Sainsbury's, Asda's chief executive, Tony De Nunzio left, and was replaced by Andy Bond. In 2005, Asda expanded into Northern Ireland by purchasing 12 former Safeway stores from Morrisons.

Asda's property development arm, Gazeley Limited, was sold to Economic Zones World (EZW), a Dubai World subsidiary, in June 2008 for in excess of £300 million.

In November 2008, there were reports that Asda was to buy Irish retailer Dunnes Stores.

In August 2009, Walmart sold Asda for £6.9 billion to its Leeds-based investment subsidiary Corinth Services Limited. The deal was described as part of a "group restructuring" and meant Asda remained under the control of Walmart, since Corinth is itself a Walmart subsidiary.

In April 2010, Asda announced plans to open over 100 new non-food stores as part of an ambitious five-year plan. These plans were mothballed shortly after because of the recession and the reining in of spending by consumers on non-food purchases.

On 11 May 2010, Andy Clarke, the chief operating officer, was appointed as CEO. In the same month Asda bought the original Netto UK supermarket chain in a £778 million deal.

In February 2011, Asda announced the purchase of six stores from Focus DIY; five of these were converted into supermarkets later that year.

On 16 April 2012, Asda launched their Android grocery shopping app and mobile website for non-grocery items with a plan to fully integrate mobile platforms into stores. The app allowed customers to create shopping lists and scan item barcodes for more information about them.

In 2015, Asda adopted Walmart's slogan: "Save Money. Live Better". Around the same time they adopted an updated logo, with Walmart's yellow spark surrounding the first letter. The spark was later removed.

In June 2016, it was announced that Andy Clarke, CEO since 2010, would be replaced by Sean Clarke, the head of parent company Walmart's operations in China.

In October 2017, Asda announced that the current CEO, Sean Clarke would be replaced by Roger Burnley, the deputy CEO, from 1 January 2018, and the sixth CEO since 2000.

In November 2017, Asda recruited Jesús Lorente, from French hypermarket retailer Carrefour. He became CMO (Chief Merchandising Officer), in January 2018, and was put in charge of the fresh food and general merchandise offer within all stores. After reportedly clashing with Roger Burnley and only six months in his post, Lorente left Asda at the end of July 2018. His role was divided up between Burnley and Anthony Hemmerdinger.

Abandoned merger with Sainsbury's
In April 2018, Sainsbury's and Walmart announced negotiations about a possible merger of Sainsbury's and Asda, creating the largest supermarket chain in the UK. Under the plans, Walmart would own 42% of the combined business, which would be led by the existing chief executive of Sainsbury's, Mike Coupe. The group would also open branches of Argos within Asda stores. The merger underwent intense scrutiny by a cross-party group of MPs, chairing select committees for the proposed merger, along with the Competition and Markets Authority, investigating the impact of how the deal could negatively affect the retail industry by a possible reduction of consumer choice for shoppers resulting in price rises, and of how suppliers, especially smaller, family-owned companies could be squeezed by the combined group. The CMA were inundated with complaints by suppliers and other major retailers of the damage they felt would be inflicted upon them if the deal was approved. On 25 April 2019 the CMA blocked the proposed merger, suggesting that it would increase prices for consumers and make competition unfair for the other UK retailers, Sainsbury's then announced that it was abandoning the merger.

Acquisition by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital
In February 2021, Mohsin Issa, Zuber Issa and TDR Capital acquired Asda, which at the time was valued at £6.8 billion. Walmart retained "an equity investment" in Asda, a seat on the board and "an ongoing commercial relationship". In the same month, Asda said that it might need to put 5,000 jobs at risk as part of reconstruction plan in the context of people shopping online.

In March 2021, Asda was involved in the "largest ever sterling bond offering" as part of the financing package to fund the acquisition purchase by TDR Capital and the Issa brothers.

In 2023 it was reported that the Issa brothers and TDR Capital had together contributed just £200 million for their purchase of Asda, worth £6.8 billion; the majority of the purchase price was funded by a loan from the parent company of heavily indebted EG Group, and by disposing of Asda assets.

In June 2024, Zubar Issa announced he will sell his 22.5% stake in Asda to TDR Capital which would make them the majority owner, controlling 67.5% of the company in the third quarter of 2024.

EG Group forecourts acquisition
In May 2023, Asda announced the acquisition of EG Group's petrol forecourts business, consisting of 350 forecourts and over 1,000 food to-go-locations, for £2.27 billion. The acquisition comes as the company aims to shift into an omnichannel retail platform. The locations will be used to allow more locations for consumers to pick up goods bought online.

Asda Supercentres
Following the takeover by Walmart, several "Asda Walmart Supercentres" opened, creating some of the largest hypermarkets in the United Kingdom. Since 2006, all new Supercentres have been solely branded as Asda Supercentre without the Walmart branding. The first Supercentre with a sales area of 93000 sqft opened in Patchway, Bristol in the summer of 2000. The first Scottish Supercentre opened in Livingston, in 2001.

The Bletchley, Milton Keynes Supercentre which opened in November 2005 is currently the largest Asda Supercentre with a net sales floor of over 120000 sqft. This was preceded in June 2002 by the Eastlands, Manchester store which was the largest store at the time with a sales area of 110000 sqft but is currently the second largest Asda Supercentre, and the third largest is located in Minworth, West Midlands, followed by Patchway. As of 31 January 2021, there are 32 Supercentres.

Asda Superstores
Asda superstores are large supermarkets with a non-food offer slightly smaller than an Asda Supercentre. As of 31 January 2021, there are 342 superstores. Most superstores have a petrol filling station and dining and refreshment facilities for shoppers such as customer cafes, and selected stores have McDonald's franchise restaurants or "Express Diners". The Old Kent Road, Scunthorpe Colindale and Brunstane stores previously trialled a Subway franchise. There are currently no plans to roll the Subway franchise out across the chain.

Asda Supermarket
In May 2010, Asda announced the purchase of the 193 UK stores of Danish discount retailer Netto in a £778 million deal. But the Competition Commission made them sell off 47 of the stores to other retailers. The remaining stores continued to trade as Netto stores until early 2011, when Asda integrated the stores into its supermarkets division, designated for shops smaller than 25000 sqft. These former Netto stores form the core of the Asda Supermarket format. As of 31 January 2021, there are 207 supermarkets.

Asda Living
In October 2003, Asda launched a new format called Asda Living. This is the company's first "general merchandise" store, containing all its non-food ranges including clothing, home electronics, toys, homewares, health, and beauty products. With these stores they have linked up with Compass Group who operate the coffee shop Living Cafe within some of the stores. The first store with this format opened in Walsall, West Midlands. As at 31 January 2021, there are 33 stores.

George stores
In 2004, the George clothing brand was extended to a number of standalone George stores on the high street; the first George standalone store to open was in Preston. In 2008, all George standalone stores were closed due to high rental costs resulting in low profitability.

In 2011, Asda announced its intention to establish a small number of pilot George stores. In January 2012 Asda announced that it had agreed to terms with two franchise partners to open international George stores. Through the agreement with SandpiperCI, based in the Channel Islands, the company will be responsible for opening George franchises in both Jersey and Guernsey, and through the Azadea Group, headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, the George franchise stores would open in the Middle East.

Asda Essentials
In April 2006, Asda launched a new trial format called 'Asda Essentials' in Northampton, followed by another in Pontefract a month later. The stores were modelled on France's Leader Price chain, with a smaller floorplate than Asda's mainstream stores and with a primary focus on own-brand products, only stocking branded items that were perceived to be at the "core" of a family's weekly shop with the aim being to challenge the dominance of Tesco and Sainsbury's in the convenience store market while at the same time addressing competition from discount supermarkets such as Aldi, Lidl and Netto.

On 6 December 2006, The Guardian reported that further planned store openings were under review following poor sales in the existing outlets, while the range of branded products being carried was also being expanded due to customer demand. In January 2007 it was announced that the original Northampton trial store would close within a month after only 10 months of trading.

Asda Petrol
In 2012, Asda trialled a new standalone petrol filling station format (which means that they are not attached to or near an existing Asda store) at two locations in Sale, Greater Manchester and Leeds Bridge, which is located opposite head office. They include a small convenience store and click and collect facilities. The trial was a success and in 2014, a full roll out of this format was announced after a third site opened in Northolt, West London. In February 2015, 15 petrol filling stations were acquired from Rontec Ltd, and converted to the new format. Asda originally aimed to have at least 100 standalone forecourts by 2018. However, in October 2015, the company decided to slow the roll out down to address the problems associated with a major collapse of profits from its large store formats due to intense competition from its main rivals. But, the company is still continuing to add a combination of fully automated credit/debit card payment only petrol stations and petrol stations with traditional forecourt shops within the car parks of its existing store portfolio and to new store sites.

Asda was also the first supermarket chain in the United Kingdom to sell petrol at its old Halifax store in 1967, which at the time was located inside a converted mill in Battinson Road which burnt down during a major fire in 1982, and subsequently reopened as a purpose-built store in 1983, without the petrol station. The store moved to a different site in 2004. Back then its forecourt fuel was supplied by discount Russian supplier Nafta, because the major oil companies would not supply fuel to be sold at discount prices. From the early seventies, oil companies such as Mobil, Shell and Texaco supplied fuel to Asda as more supermarkets started to sell fuel from car park forecourts. Since the mid-1990s Asda has supplied, along with its main supermarket rivals, its own fuel delivered by its own tankers to its petrol station forecourts. As of June 2018, Asda operates 319 petrol stations in total, 18 of which are standalone and the others mostly within the car park area of its stores.

Asda on the Move
A petrol station convenience store format launched by EG Group in October 2020, soon after the Issa brothers' takeover of Asda. The first store opened at the Primley service station in Walsall with fifty outlets trading by September 2022. The Asda on the move format is designed to gain more market share by entering the convenience market.

Asda Express
In November 2022 Asda opened its first convenience stores in the Asda Express portfolio, with the initial stores located in Sutton Coldfield and Tottenham Hale. Due to acquiring the majority of EG Group and Co-op's forecourts, this number increased from 2 to 478, this number will increase to 778 by 2026.

Just Essentials by Asda

Just Essentials by Asda, formerly known as Asda Smartprice, is a no-frills private label trade name introduced in 2022, to lower food prices and help struggling customers since the cost of living crisis that began in the UK in 2021, which saw grocery inflation reach several record all-time highs; and retailers battle to retain hard-pressed customers to maintain sales.

Chosen By You
In 2010, Asda relaunched its mid-tier Asda own label brand. Asda announced that it would be scrapping the "Chosen By You" brand starting in 2016 and most food products are being moved to a "by Asda" brand.

George clothing
Asda has its own range of clothing known as George, which was created and trialled in selected stores in 1989, and officially launched and rolled out to the main superstore estate in 1990. It replaced the older Asdale/Asda clothing labels of the 1970s and 1980s. This is marketed as quality fashion clothing at affordable prices. Walmart also sells the George brand in Argentina, Canada, China, India, Japan, Mexico, and the US (and in South Korea until Walmart pulled out of that market). George clothing is also sold at four stand alone dedicated stores in Malta, the first of which opened in 2013. George is a participant in the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP), the ambition of which is to improve the sustainability of clothing throughout its life cycle by helping to reduce the impacts of carbon, water and waste across the fashion sector. The label is named after George Davies, founder of Next, who was its original chief designer. Davies himself parted company with Asda in 2000 and is no longer associated with the brand.

In 2005, Asda stated that the George range was a £1.75 billion business, including sales from Walmart stores in the United States and Germany. Mintel estimate that George is the fourth-largest retailer of clothing in the United Kingdom, after Marks & Spencer, the Arcadia Group and Next.

Asda was the first supermarket to stock wedding dresses. Part of the George line, they cost £60 while adult bridesmaid dresses ranged between £30 and £35, at launch.

Asda Mobile
Asda also operates a mobile phone network called Asda Mobile, which was launched in April 2007. This was previously provided in partnership with EE, but then in 2021 moved to Vodafone.

Asda Money
Asda has a financial services brand which offers products provided by other companies. Services offered include car insurance (in partnership with Vast Visibility Limited), credit cards (issued by Jaja Finance Ltd), personal loans (issued by Aro Finance) and travel money bureaux (provided by Travelex). The financial services division of the organisation does not directly sell these services in store and instead uses the supplier of that product by telephone or online/postal application. Marketing and management of financial services is co-ordinated in house and many stores have a financial services co-ordinator, responsible for promoting the products and ensuring legal compliance. The Financial Services division is also responsible for gift cards, Christmas Saver and Business Rewards.

Medicine
Many larger stores have an on-site pharmacy. In July 2020, the company started an in-store virtual general practitioner service in partnership with health tech company Medicspot. It is to be launched at the Asda Supercentre in Stevenage. Real-time diagnostics – a connected stethoscope, pulse oximeter, blood pressure monitor, contactless thermometer, and a close inspection camera – will be available in the pharmacy and patients can consult a GP remotely without the need to book an appointment in advance. It was initially free, but after 4 July; a charge of £49 was introduced. The ASDA pharmacy in Chelmsley Wood joined with local GP practices to deliver flu vaccinations from a van parked outside in October 2020.

Asda Radio
Asda Radio is the in store radio station for Asda superstores.

The radio station was originally known as Asda FM, live broadcasting began on 7 September 1991, and it was operated by KVHstudios in Leeds. According to The Guardian, it has a captive listenership of over eighteen million people each week. In 2018, Asda switched the contract for Asda FM from KVHstudios to Mood Media and relaunched as Asda Radio.

It is available in all of the stores via satellite or online on the Asda Radio website. The smaller supermarkets have their own service with the same music policy.

Distribution
Asda has 25 distribution depots across the UK. Three of Asda's distribution centres (Rochdale CDC, Doncaster GM & Larne) are outsourced to Wincanton PLC.

In September 2021, it was announced that Asda would trial autonomous delivery vans in London in collaboration with Wayve, a UK-based autonomous mobility startup. The 12-month trial was agreed to take place in early 2022. The autonomous vans will operate with the supervision of a Wayve safety driver. Asda and Wayve aim to use their capabilities to bring autonomy into the online grocery space and look for ways to improve last-mile delivery with technology.

Employee relations
The company has featured prominently in lists of "Best companies to work for", appearing in second place in The Times newspaper list for 2005. It offers staff a discount of 10% on most items (exceptions include fuel, stamps, lottery, giftcards and tobacco related items).

The company was fined £850,000 in 2006 for offering 340 staff at a Dartford depot a pay rise in return for giving up a union collective bargaining agreement. Poor relations continued as Asda management attempted to introduce new rights and working practices shortly thereafter at another centre in Washington, Tyne and Wear.

Some compromise was reached by June of that year, when a five-day strike was called off after Asda management and the GMB union reached an agreement.

Relations have improved since, with both Asda and the GMB marking the death of a worker together on Workers' Memorial Day in 2010.

In 2013, tens of thousands of Asda workers across the UK were hit with a tax complication because of an anomaly in Asda's payroll system. Asda employees receive their pay every four weeks, which meant, according to their spokesperson, that once every 20 years they are paid 14 times a year rather than 13. Whilst most companies handle this properly, Asda's payroll system did not, which meant that workers had, through no fault of their own, paid less tax for the year than they should have. This resulted in most full-time and a small number of part-time workers receiving a demand from HM Revenue & Customs for between £72 and £160.

In 2016, Asda became involved in a protracted equal pay dispute with its lower-paid shop staff, who were supported by GMB. 44,000 employees argued that store workers were paid less because most were women, while most distribution depot staff, paid more, were men, violating the Equal Pay Act 1970 and Equality Act 2010. In March 2021 the employees won a Supreme Court case upholding an earlier court ruling. This did not itself give the claimants the right to equal pay, but enabled them to take the case to an employment tribunal to decide "equal value" claims. Asda stated "This ruling relates to one stage of a complex case that is likely to take several years to reach a conclusion." The claim could lead to about £500 million of compensation to lower-paid employees.

Campaigns
In the 'Asda price' campaign, customers tap their trouser pocket twice, producing a 'chinking' sound as the coins that Asda's low prices have supposedly left in their pockets knock together. The pocket tap ads were launched in 1977 and over the next 30 years, a range of celebrities have been "tappers", including from 1978, actors Richard Beckinsale, Paula Wilcox, James Bolam and later, Julie Walters, and football player Michael Owen. In the late 1970s, adverts also included actor Leonard Rossiter.

In 1980, Carry On actress Hattie Jacques appeared in the advert as a school crossing patrol officer. Between 1981 and 1985, Asda used the slogan "All Together Better" in conjunction with the 'Asda Price' pocket tap campaign in TV commercials and newspaper and magazine advertisements. When the new green capitalised ASDA logo started to appear from 1985, in early 1986 onwards and until early 1989, two slogans were used. The first, 'You'd be off your trolley to go anywhere else', was replaced in 1987 by 'One trip and you're laughing'.

In 1989, and until late 1991, before the reintroduction of the pocket tap campaign, advertising for Asda had featured the Fairground Attraction song "Perfect" with the slogan 'It 'Asda be Asda', which was based upon the lyrics of the song. When the Asda Price slogan was reintroduced in 1992, the strapline Pocket the Difference (capitalised) was added alongside it. This was replaced by 'Permanently Low Prices, Forever' in 1996.

From 1990 to 1991, Asda were the sponsors of Sheffield Wednesday F.C.

In August 2005, rival supermarket chain Tesco complained to the Advertising Standards Agency about Asda's claim that it was the cheapest supermarket in the country. The ASA upheld the complaint and ordered Asda to stop using the claim.

In 2006, Asda advertising was themed around singing children and the slogan "More for you for less".

For Christmas 2007, Asda reintroduced the "That's Asda price" slogan.

In 2008, the company refocused on price with a "Why Pay More?" campaign both on TV and in stores. Asda TV commercials in April 2009 focused on price comparisons between Asda and its rivals, using information from mySupermarket. The music being used in these adverts is the Billy Childish version of the classic Dad's Army theme tune. The old Asda jingle is not included in these, but appeared in a 2008 Christmas advert.

In the smiley face "rollback" campaign, also used by Walmart, a CGI smiley face bounced from price tag to price tag, knocking them down as customers watch.

Energy drinks
In January 2018, Asda became one of the first supermarkets to ban selling energy drinks such as Red Bull to under-16s.

Ethical trading
Asda has signed up to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) which respects workers' rights for freedom of association and a living wage. Implementing this initiative is difficult, however, because the concept of a living wage varies by country and the buying strategies of a major importer like Asda have an indirect impact on national minimum wages by obliging governments to set them low enough to stop businesses from going elsewhere. Industry pressure groups such as Labour Behind the Label and War on Want have argued that Asda and other budget retailers use unethical labour practices in the developing world to keep UK prices low.

The National Farmers' Union, representing UK farmers and growers, has argued that Asda and other major supermarkets have made large profits and kept consumer prices low "by squeezing suppliers' margins to the point where many of them have gone out of business".

In 2009, Asda's Valentine's Day roses, sold at £2 for a dozen, were said to be ethically sourced by the supermarket. This claim went against research carried out by War on Want.

Charities
As of 2020, Asda supported the following charities through its stores:
 * BBC Children in Need – appeal organised by the BBC.
 * Breast Cancer Care – women's cancer research.
 * Everyman – men's cancer research.
 * Asda Foundation – supporting local causes of Asda store workers, with projects supported across the UK.

Dairy price fixing
In December 2007, Asda, Sainsbury's and other retailers and dairy firms admitted to the price fixing of dairy products between 2002 and 2003. The price operation was calculated to have cost consumers around £270 million.

Asda commented, "Everyone at Asda regrets what happened, particularly as we are passionate about lowering prices. Our intention was to provide more money for dairy farmers, who were under severe financial pressure at the time." In total, Asda was fined £18.21 million by the Office of Fair Trading for its part in the cartel.

False and misleading advertising
In 2010, a national press ad for Asda on a double-page spread was headed "The big Asda Rollback" with headings stating "Lower prices on everything you buy, week in week out" with equal prominence to a column headed "Lower prices than any other supermarket"; that the arrows underneath the heading "Lower prices than any other supermarket" compared prices at Asda with prices at Sainsbury's, Tesco and Morrisons. The ASA ruled that in the context in which it appeared, it was ambiguous in that it could be interpreted either as referring to price reductions that had taken place within Asda or to price comparisons with the named competitors. In addition, because the ad did not explain that the price reductions had not necessarily taken place in the week that immediately preceded the ad, they concluded that the headings which stated the number of price reductions that had taken place in each product category were misleading. The ASA also concluded that the "Lower prices than any other supermarket" claim in the advert was misleading.

The ASA disagreed, and referred to the claim "Everything is at least half price!" was likely to imply to viewers that all toys were included in the sale. As all toys were not included in the sale, and in the absence of a qualifying statement, the ad was misleading.

The ASA ruled in 2011 that a television advertisement and two national press ads did not give sufficient prominence to the fact that exclusions applied.

Another advertisement from Asda, in which it featured World Cup related products and an Asda price guarantee was misleading as the World Cup related products were exclusive to Asda and not, therefore, available at Morrisons, Tesco or Sainsbury's.

In 2009, the ASA challenged whether a press ad which showed a large green arrow bearing down on a smaller yellow arrow with a crumpled tip and "Asda 2955 products cheaper" should set out how the general price claims made in the ads could be verified by consumers. Because it was not possible for consumers or competitors to check the products and prices used in the comparison using mySupermarket.co.uk, and because the ads did not set out how consumers and competitors could check that information for themselves, the ASA concluded that the ads did not satisfy the criterion of verifiability as defined in the 2006 European Court of Justice ruling, and were therefore in breach of the advertising Codes.

The ASA ruled that, due to the significant limitations and qualifications to the basis of the price comparison which were not included in the ad, or in the terms and conditions on Asda's website, the approach taken in making the comparisons was unfair and misleading.

A press ad, which appeared on 26 September 2011, was headlined "Only one supermarket is ... always 10% cheaper or we'll give you the difference guaranteed". However, at the top of the ad there was a banner that contained the claims "SALE", "Half Price", "Price Drop", "50% off", "1/2 price", "cheap" and that part of the headline claim "... always 10% cheaper" appeared in bold text in the middle of the ad. The ASA considered the banner, together with the headline was likely to be interpreted by consumers as claims that referred to the price of Asda goods. Since consumers could interpret that claim as one which guaranteed to refund the difference, should Asda not be the lowest on price, the ASA considered the presence of the claim "only one supermarket is always 10% cheaper" could create the impression that Asda were always 10% cheaper and would be interpreted as a 'lowest price' claim. The ASA therefore concluded that the advert was misleading. It also noted the footnote explaining the APG contradicted Asda's absolute claim that they were always the lowest on price, and that the disclaimer was also misleading.

In 2009, the ASA ruled that an advert for a proposed development in New Barnet was misleading, because it compared the floorspace of the development with the floorspace and additional buildings of a Sainsbury's store and with an unapproved Tesco plan.

2013 horsemeat scandal
In February 2013, DNA tests revealed that horsemeat was present in meat supplied by many UK suppliers. Asda's Chosen By You fresh beef bolognese sauce was the first instance found.

Award

 * March 2009: Voted Innovative Employer of the Year, at the Oracle Retail Week Awards.

title: Asda


text:
Talk:Royal Navy

Her to His
See Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Military history. Thanks - w o lf  15:52, 9 September 2022 (UTC)
 * "updated links"...? All you did was remove stuff, (and still didn't add any sources). Also, if "updating" instead of restoring, why revert? Lastly, I started a discussion at milhist on this, you were and are welcome to join. -  w o lf  03:15, 10 September 2022 (UTC)

Lord High Admiral
The office of LHA is not vacant, it is occupied by the monarch, until such time they deign to grant it to another holder on their behalf. 46.233.82.202 (talk) 20:37, 12 November 2022 (UTC)

Royal Naval Volunteer Supplementary Reserve
See https://www.naval-review.com/book-reviews/uncommon-courage-the-yachtsmen-volunteers-of-world-war-ii/ Buckshot06 (talk) 22:15, 10 March 2023 (UTC)

Size of navy in 1939
I had doubts about the claim on this page that in 1939 the navy had 1400 vessels. Looking at the navy lists for Sept 1939, page 249, which is on pdf page 283, at https://deriv.nls.uk/dcn23/9271/92714949.23.pdf I can count Battleships 12 Battle Cruises 3 Cruisers 61 Anti-aircraft ships 4 Aircraft carriers 7 Seaplane carriers 2 Flotilla leaders 17 Destroyers 162 Minelayers 11 Escort vessels 36 Patrol vessels 7 Minesweepers 43 Submarines 59 Surveying ships 10 River gunboats 20 Tugs 11 Trawlers 54 Drifters 21 Seagoing Depot ships 10 Netlayers 2 Yacht 1 Misc small craft 8 Motor topedo boats 25 Repair ship 1 TOTAL: 358 Destroyer or larger plus submarines Total of all: 617 I don't know about other navies since I know nothing about this topic. Does this still make it the largest? I am reluctant to mess with the page without more context but the 1400 number seems to be way off. Summerdoor (talk) 08:25, 23 June 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Royal Navy