Probably the first thought that comes to our mind
when we think of the Guru-Sishya Parampara is the picturesque scenes of old
Gurukuls, where the sacred art of warfare and education was taught by the sages
(Gurus) to the extremely talented young students (Sishyas). Remember, this is
the same tradition which has produced legends like Lord Ram, Arjun, Bheem, Mira
Bai, the great Emperor Akbar and Eklavya, to name a few. The word Guru is
derived from Sanskrit, where ‘Gu’, means darkness (Ignorance) and ‘Ru’ means
the one who removes darkness. So, Guru is someone who removes the darkness of
ignorance. The beginning of Guru-Sisya Parampara in India dates back to 2000
BC, starting with the oral teaching of the Upanishads.
In ancient world the Guru-Sishya Parampara was
considered the most sacred and purest form of relationship which was firmly
based on the foundation of ‘Trust’, ‘Devotion’ and ‘Respect’. The Sishya would literally
surrender himself to his Guru to let him mold his life the way he deemed fit.
If we broadly disintegrate the process of this tradition, we will notice the
first step was the careful selection of the disciples by the Guru based on
their will, potential and qualification. The second step was the rigorous
training, the selected few would undergo, away from their homes and all
materialistic comforts, in trying conditions, in the Gurukul under the watchful
eyes of their Guru. The onus of setting the goals (Lakshya Nirdesa), teaching
the basics, be it of the traditional warfare or of sacred scriptures, and of
showing the right path when the disciple is in confusion, was on the Guru. Rest
everything was the implicit responsibility of the Sishya. The amount of
knowledge and skills to be imparted to each Sishya also varied based on the
pre-assessment of the Sishya by the Guru, the deciding factor being the ability
of the Sishya to grasp that knowledge and put it to good use. For example, although
both Arjuna and Karna were the disciples of Guru Dronacharya but the art of
obtaining and using Brahmastra was taught only to Arjuna, because he was better
apt at controlling his anger and hence was less likely to misuse the power of Brahmastra.
In return for his teachings, as Guru Dakshina, the Guru would only ask for a
promise from the disciple that he will put the knowledge to good use and spread
it when required.
From then,
the Guru-Sishya Parampara has travelled ages and changed various forms. The first step of selection has now been replaced
by entrance exams/tests and interviews. The Gurukuls themselves have been substituted
by state of art humongous structures called schools and colleges where teachers
(Gurus) impart knowledge to students (Sishya) in a much more comfortable
environment, with mostly luxurious in-house facilities.
Huge monetary fees’ being charged from students in return for the
teachings has displaced the precious concept of Guru Dakshina. Although the
basics of the tradition have remained almost unchanged but the real purpose of
it seems to be lost somewhere in between. Nevertheless when the practice is
followed strictly keeping in mind the originating basics, the outcome has been scintillating
--eminent personalities like Ratan Tata, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Madhuri Dikshit
and Sachin Tendulkar, have time and again openly attributed the credit of their
success to their mentors JRD Tata, Mahatma Gandhi, Saroj Khan and Ramakant
Achrekar respectively. Modern Guru-Sishya parampara as Teacher-Student
tradition has incorporated some positives also, like in ancient times Sishyas
didn’t had the authority to question the teachings of Guru in any sense. As a
result the Gurus were devoid of the opportunity to receive feedback and refine
their teachings further. Going forward, another constructive development has
been the transition from Student-Teacher relationship towards a more enabling
Mentor-Mentee relationship. In this, as the role of the Mentor or Guru is
modeled as more of a facilitator, in turn providing the Mentees or the Sishyas
a better opportunity to evolve with much more freedom and openness, giving
ample space to toy with budding creative ideas within the mind of the Mentees
or the Sishyas. Although the presumption being that the zeal and self drive for
continuous development and knowledge should come from within the Mentee. Hence,
the learning so obtained through Mentor-Mentee relationship is much more valued
both in proportion and quality as compared to any other earlier form.
Although still today there is no dearth of
Sishya’s like Arjuna or Guru’s like Dronacharya but the delicate thread tying
both of them together, of trust, devotion and respect needs to be carefully taken
care of. At the same time the complete surrender of the Sishya needs to be
appropriately balanced with the inherent curiosity to question and evolve the
very basics which are being taught. Nevertheless the respect for Guru should
never diminish. The transition towards a Mentor-Mentee relationship in this
regard is quite promising but appears to be still in its nascent stage and
needs to develop a lot further through experimentation and practice, before
being universally accepted through out India. Till that time comes we are left
with the present but unstable stage which amalgamates some concepts of the
Guru-Sishya Parampara and some of the Teacher-Student tradition.
In the end it is important to reiterate the
central idea with which we begun, that states a strong ‘bond’ between the Guru
and the Sishya is indispensable as it enables the Guru to become a mentor who
leads the Sishya from ignorance to wisdom, and enlightenment.
"Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnuh, Guru Dev,
Maheswarah, Guru SakshatParabrahma, Tasmay Sree GuraveNamah"
Guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesha, in fact Guru
is, Prabrahma himself, the Brahman, the Absolute. Salutations to such Guru.
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