Guru



Case 1: 

India is such place where you tend to get motivated or demotivate from very contrasting strange things. For example, our Gods.
Apart from the debate of theism or atheism, let us get it straight to the point where people in our country worships idols, images, photo frames, computer screens with Gods or demigods, pendants etc. and apparently get lot more energy to sail through their fates and ill fates. 
On the other hand, many of the times we see them knocking the doors of tantriks, babas or other spiritually enriched demigods to get rid of deadly diseases or to get hidden treasures or even for a baby,yes it stands true today at this point of time when I'm writing this article and your are reading this. 

This scenario is presented by many movies, books and documentaries. 

But wait ! my question was different. 
Is it really necessary to inherit this? 
Why can't we teach our children values of hard work, sacrifices, self control instead? 
Why can't just we make them brave enough to think logically and choose what they want? 

These questions haunted me during my formative years like a pimple on my face. At home there was a faint possibility that I would ever get an answer. Then , my teachers were my only hope. All of whom I met during my college years i.e. graduation and post graduation, affirmed me that even though these things are inherited it’s up to me to carry the burden or not. 
Children during their toddler and adolescent stages have a very fragile and innocent mind. Those are the only years where you can work on their mindset and make them brave enough to change their apparent fate, to stand for what they feel and to push themselves beyond their limits.

Case 2:

Similarly, in the same region called India, there exists two more religions, Doctors and Engineers. Even before the baby is born, her/his parents have already decided their fate! here it is not to be or not to be ! here it is to be a doctor or an engineer. So, based on parent's current profession this decision is taken. It doesn't stop here. Even those parents, who are not doctors or engineers, also want their unborn baby to be one. Hypocrisy at its best.
A similar kind of malignant spirit used to haunt my family too, And I being me wanted to become a forest officer, yeah! a big blow to the society where I lived.

Again, my teachers were my saviours. They played important roles in my upbringing along with my parents. Today, I have 3 post graduate degrees in life sciences, wild life and forestry along with one in management. Although I don’t practice forestry, wild life and ornithology i do a lot of bird watching on a regular basis.
I have published two research papers with well known publications on rare birds. I cannot measure this or quantify this in terms of money , But the satisfaction I get of what and when I do it is intangible. 

Conclusion: 

For every pupil in India, a teacher is a blessing. I could have never imagined today without them.
India has a tradition Gurudakshina(a type of fee for his/her service to you). a few years ago, during a school get-together, one of our students asked our teacher what did she want or would like us to give her as a Gurudakshina. 
She humbly said, "Be a teacher to someone". As far as, we have such teachers India is unstoppable and life will be full hope, positivism  and optimism. 

Today, I'm trying to follow her example. I do not get a lot of time from my corporate job to spare with students, but I make sure to spend 3 weeks of December and January with them. I usually teach them something which they do not find in their books, like some niche skills.
It's been 2.5 years, I'm following this practice and I hope to continue this for a better India, for a better future. 
It’s a virtuous circle. 

Jai Hind.

  

  
Posted on 5:17 PM by Shantanu and filed under | 0 Comments »

0 comments:

Post a Comment