गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः ।
गुरुः साक्षात् परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्री गुरुवे नमः ॥
(Gururbrahmā gururviṣṇuḥ gururdevo maheśvaraḥ
Guruḥ sākṣāt paraṃ-brahma tasmai śrī guruve namaḥ)
Indian philosophy teaches us that a teacher is in the place of God. This shloka from the Skanda Purana can be translated as follows: “The teacher is God; the teacher is self-revealing ever-consciousness. May that teacher be praised!” Our Lord Jesus was called ‘teacher’. His teachings weren’t mere facts and logic, but faith and liberation. But as He described, “A prophet is not without respect except in his own hometown and among his own people” (Mk 6:4), he was crucified. The teacher is that new-age prophet who enlightens minds so that they shine in the world and dispel the darkness around; the darkness of ignorance and malice. Many prophetic men and women are subject to criticism and others to persecution and condemnation.
There are plenty of images that we have heard about teachers: a fire that kindles other fires, a candle that consumes itself in order to dispel darkness, etc. However, what is the use if all this is just ‘thinking’ and not ‘acting? If there is a dichotomy in our words and deeds, then we are nothing but a noisy gong. We need to ponder whether we require teachers like Dronacharya of the Mahabharata, who refused Ekalavya as a student only because of his caste, or teachers like Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha who went against the stereotypical thinking existing in their respective times in order to cleanse society of evil.
Sch. Denver A. Pushpam, SJ
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