Guru: Why Everyone Needs One?
The concept of ‘Guru’ dates back to the Vedic times and found mainstream importance in many ancient religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. It seems like a very universal concept, at least in the east, Indians called it ‘Guru’, Chinese called them ‘Shifu’ (师). Even in the western world, some may argue, the concept of Prophets is cognate to the ‘Guru’, discussion about Jesus being Guru is for another day! 1. The Sanskrit word ‘Guru/ɡuːruː’ literally means ‘Master-one who dispels the darkness of ignorance and guide towards the light of knowledge!’
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 2
In ancient times, the quest for enlightenment and knowledge was largely spiritual. Depending upon your religious/spiritual inclination, you would want to achieve ‘Nirvana’/ ‘Moksha’ (Not the Rockband ;) It refers to the highest transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self) or simply learn Vedic text which one day you would pass on to your disciples! Gurus would invest their lifetimes to achieve the status of Guru and they were, rightly so, revered almost as gods by their disciples! In ancient times, being a Guru was an unpaid but not thankless job! Gurus never received huge monetary remuneration and disciples never had entitlement to receive knowledge. But, Gurus were paid with something priceless- eternal gratitude and were celebrated! There is even a day dedicated to Gurus (akin to Father's day, Mother's day). Today happens to be that ‘Guru’s day’ -a day of the year marked for celebrating your Gurus. Of course, there is a fancier name in Sanskrit ‘GuruPurnima’ -if you were reading carefully, by now you would know what is ‘Guru’ and ‘Purnima’ means a full moon day. As per the Hindu calendar, Gurupurnima is celebrated on full moon day of the Hindu month of Ashadha (June–July).
This ancient way of knowledge generation and propagation worked efficiently (enough that I could personally read Vedas as a kid!) for centuries in the absence of a modern structured education system. Fast forward to modern times! We adopted a modern, structured education system not too long ago ( since a couple of Centuries!). In modern times, our yearning for knowledge has not subsided a bit, instead, now it is not guided by our religious/spiritual inclinations. Now many of us don't seek ‘Nirvana/Moksha’ but no doubt we seek knowledge! Now we do not have Gurus, we have teachers! In fact, the west largely refers to Gurus in derogatory manners, I guess, thanks to the Osho's and Sai babas of the world who exploited disciples and mocked the very essence of the word ‘Guru’! We have teachers and students structure which is a good construct that ensures our education! However, the English word teacher simply fails to express the spectrum of meanings associated with ‘Guru’. It ends up confining it to someone who can simply teach you some skill and get paid, almost transactional!
With skyrocketing tuition fees and student debt being worse pandemic than COVID, do we need to celebrate some ancient traditions like Gurupurnima in these modern times? Without sounding preachy or worst sounding like ‘Guru’, In my humble opinion imparting knowledge and wisdom was and still is a divine act and imparter, as well as receivers, might just be respectful of it. This Gurupournima, I want to take an opportunity to express my gratitude towards all my Gurus. I come from a culture where we openly (rather shamelessly) accept that not knowing is the first step of knowing! It is an apt moment for my resolution, I personally want to make the whole world my Guru. I know that I do not know everything and there is something I can learn from everyone and everything. I am not limiting myself to humankind! One can learn tenacity of ants, kindness from elephants.
On the occasion of this Gurupurnima, I want to leave you with a thought-call them Guru, teacher, sir ma’am, prof, mom, dad, bro, buddy..take some time to appreciate them. Tell them what it means to you and how your life is bettered because of them! Trust me, gratitude is magic medicine who heals giver more than the receiver! Learn something from everything and who knows one day you would be revered guru would-be disciples who want to learn from you!
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