This Teacher's Day, my thoughts hover around the various ideas about the guru-shishya relationship in our Sanatana Dharma.
We all know that during the stage of Brahmacharya, the student used to stay with the guru in the Gurukula, away from the student's parents, without the comforts of home, completely dedicated to the duty of learning from the guru.
Indeed, the guru is supposed to open our eyes to the light of knowledge. The guru shows us the way.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavan says,
तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया ।
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः ॥ ४-३४॥
This famous shloka, which comes in the fourth chapter after Krishna has described what is ज्ञान, what is कर्म, what is धर्म, etc., indicates that we can progress on our path only through the grace and guidance of the guru, to which we must dedicate ourselves with humility.
We have to:
- bow down to the guru
- serve the guru
- ask questions of the guru
- clarify our doubts
- take in the knowledge that the guru gives.
The key duty for a student is to take in the knowledge, so it is, actually, a process of learning. Teaching is nothing but enabling learning. There is really no teaching without learning.
Let's look at the concept of antahkarana. Antahkarana consists of manas, buddhi, ahankara, and chitta. Buddhi is the learning faculty. If the student suppresses the other elements of antahkarana and predominantly employs buddhi, he will be a good learner, and therefore the teaching will be successful.
The other three dimensions:
- Chitta represents accumulated memories and samskaras, which dilute our perception of reality. For one to have vishuddhi buddhi = the pure intellect, which Bhagavan says in the Bhagavad Gita is the key to understanding, it is important that we do not have any premeditated notions or colouring of information based on our own propensities = Chitta.
- Manas, the second element of antahkarana, is the one that takes our mind outward towards the sensory objects, sensory experiences and distractions. It's equivalent to social media surfing, doomscrolling. That should not be there.
- The last one is Ahankara, the ego. Ahankara is an insider terrorist. Ahankara brings in the ego every time I bow down to the teacher. Sometimes I may feel I'm better than the teacher. Sometimes I may feel, " This teacher is not saying the right thing. The correct thing is something else." All such thoughts usually stem from the ego. In the process of learning, this can only cause sabotage.
In order to learn perfectly from the guru, I must use my clean, clear intellect, uncontaminated by ego or propensities or distractions. Then, learning happens well. Then, a teacher is successful. Then, we can say we are really offering our tribute to the teacher. The best tribute to the teacher is to learn well and put that learning into practice.
Happy Teacher's Day!
