This is such a delightful post on teacher’s day. My reflection starts with the surmise that we, all humans are born immature, imperfect, and ignorant in all the three attributes of knowledge, skills and attitudes. The objective of life is to move towards maturity, wisdom and perfection.
A teacher can play significant role in these endeavors. The Indian epics in Sanskrit classify the teachers with their specific tasks as described by Mukta, although this classification only refers to the acquired teachers and does not include the very first natural teachers, the parents.
A teacher is indeed a necessity to acquire knowledge and to develop skills. Gurus can certainly help with spiritual development provided that one is so fortunate to find the authentic and genuine ones and is able to develop a rapport with them. In today’s world, with ‘fake’ being a buzzword in most everything, one may stand to lose more than gain through self-proclaimed Gurus.
A teacher does not have to be an appointed one. Anyone from family, friends, or companions who can help you develop your virtues and can guide you on the path of righteousness can be considered as a teacher or a Guru. A sincere teacher should work for the outcome of, rather than the income from, his or her wards.
I believe that my life itself has been my greatest teacher. Every event, every incident and every individual I came across taught me something or the other and I gathered experiences through them. It added to my knowledge and my wisdom. My mentors, professional as well as social, had refined my skills by constructive criticism from time to time and as often as necessary.
Yes, most of us need teachers or Gurus in our lives, lucky are those who find the appropriate ones. However, blessed are the ones who become their own masters and Gurus.
In India, the place of a teacher is between the God and His children. A teacher is expected to be the via media to try to understand and even reach the God. A Sufi poet has so aptly described his dilemma as to who should he worship first, the God or the Guru. He eventually credits the Guru through whom he found the God.
[Guru Govind dono khade, kake laagu paon; balihari Guru aapki, Govind dio Dikhaya]
When it comes to spirituality, I believe that you yourself are your best teacher. If you can develop that potential, you can dispense with the dependence on the ‘middle-man’ to show you the spiritual light. If you can establish a direct line of communication with the Lord of your beliefs through prayers and unconditional surrender, you need not have to go through an intermediate communicator. Your own introspection, devotion and meditation can help you to realize that the God resides within you and in every living being, and that you can visualize God and can communicate with Him by showing compassion, love and respect for every other living being.
The role of a spiritual master is to be available when needed and make the disciples achieve self-dependence. No one could have put this concept in words better than the famous Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu when he says that, ‘When a student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is truly ready, the teacher disappears’.
With this quote, I bow to thee, the entire teacher fraternity. God bless all.
This is such a delightful post on teacher’s day. My reflection starts with the surmise that we, all humans are born immature, imperfect, and ignorant in all the three attributes of knowledge, skills and attitudes. The objective of life is to move towards maturity, wisdom and perfection.
A teacher can play significant role in these endeavors. The Indian epics in Sanskrit classify the teachers with their specific tasks as described by Mukta, although this classification only refers to the acquired teachers and does not include the very first natural teachers, the parents.
A teacher is indeed a necessity to acquire knowledge and to develop skills. Gurus can certainly help with spiritual development provided that one is so fortunate to find the authentic and genuine ones and is able to develop a rapport with them. In today’s world, with ‘fake’ being a buzzword in most everything, one may stand to lose more than gain through self-proclaimed Gurus.
A teacher does not have to be an appointed one. Anyone from family, friends, or companions who can help you develop your virtues and can guide you on the path of righteousness can be considered as a teacher or a Guru. A sincere teacher should work for the outcome of, rather than the income from, his or her wards.
I believe that my life itself has been my greatest teacher. Every event, every incident and every individual I came across taught me something or the other and I gathered experiences through them. It added to my knowledge and my wisdom. My mentors, professional as well as social, had refined my skills by constructive criticism from time to time and as often as necessary.
Yes, most of us need teachers or Gurus in our lives, lucky are those who find the appropriate ones. However, blessed are the ones who become their own masters and Gurus.
In India, the place of a teacher is between the God and His children. A teacher is expected to be the via media to try to understand and even reach the God. A Sufi poet has so aptly described his dilemma as to who should he worship first, the God or the Guru. He eventually credits the Guru through whom he found the God.
[Guru Govind dono khade, kake laagu paon; balihari Guru aapki, Govind dio Dikhaya]
When it comes to spirituality, I believe that you yourself are your best teacher. If you can develop that potential, you can dispense with the dependence on the ‘middle-man’ to show you the spiritual light. If you can establish a direct line of communication with the Lord of your beliefs through prayers and unconditional surrender, you need not have to go through an intermediate communicator. Your own introspection, devotion and meditation can help you to realize that the God resides within you and in every living being, and that you can visualize God and can communicate with Him by showing compassion, love and respect for every other living being.
The role of a spiritual master is to be available when needed and make the disciples achieve self-dependence. No one could have put this concept in words better than the famous Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu when he says that, ‘When a student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is truly ready, the teacher disappears’.
With this quote, I bow to thee, the entire teacher fraternity. God bless all.