Who is Guru Brahmin from The Loved One and what is their importance?

Guru Brahmin is actually two men and a secretary who collaborate on an advice column for a Los Angeles newspaper. Mr. Slump, who handles private correspondence from readers with questions, is the key figure, and the only named one, of the Guru Brahmin team in this story. Mr. Slump is a gloomy, hard-drinking, chain smoker with a bad cough. He reads and responds to a series of letters from Aimée about her relationships with Dennis and Mr. Joyboy, but Mr. Slump tires of her waffling, and eventually advises her to go jump off a high place. At this point, he has been fired from his job and is drunk at a saloon. Not long after she gets this advice over the phone from Mr. Slump, Aimée commits suicide.