A good friend of mine went to India to sit with a guru. He made them meditate underneath a highway overpass in the “slums” for days on end. His message was basically meditation isn’t about putting on pretty music and sitting by a waterfall. Anyone can meditate at a 5 star resort spa. It’s when life hits you in the face that you need to be able to find inner peace, no matter what is going on around you.

I agree with you, but I don't necessarily see a conflict between someone "teaching" me (what a guru basically is: a teacher, in a way) and other facets of their personality.

I've had many teachers that were superb at imparting their lessons while living with the foibles and flaws of being real people. You take what you need from the teacher and move on.

An example in popular culture: someone like Bill Cosby, who I am sure influenced countless people to be better people. Well, it turned out that he had major problems (to put it mildly!). Does that negate the "lessons" that he imparted in another aspect of his life? I would argue no.

I know you aren't negating this argument in your post, but I just wanted to say this and chose your post to glom onto! :)