THE GURU

गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः ।
गुरुरेव परंब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥

Salutation to the noble Guru, who is Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara, the direct Parabrahma, the Supreme Reality.

The teacher is like Lord Brahma as he generates the knowledge within us,like Lord Vishnu as he Operates the ideas/knowledge in our mind unto the right path, and like Lord Mahesh (Shiva) as he destroys the ignorance in our minds and leads us towards enlightenment.

Most of us can remember at least one teacher who had a profound effect on our early life, someone who had a positive impact on us and made us the person we are today.

A teacher's role in our lives and the society at large is very significant and invaluable. The ancient Indian understood this and hence had the great Guru-Shishya parampara. "Gu" means dark and "Ru" means light. So, "Guru" may be translated as darkness to light, or possibly one who leads from darkness to light. The Guru is a teacher who guides the Shishya. He is a mentor who leads the Shishya (student) from blindness or ignorance to bliss,wisdom, and enlightenment.

Guru Shishya Parampara has been the most ancient and is also known as the best system of eduction.The student while living in a Gurukul would help to the Guru with the household work and at the same time, living under a stringent discipline,spending moderate lifestyle and perpetually practicing whatever education has been given to the student by the Guru.Knowledge, whether it be Vedic studies, maths,science, architecture, music or spiritual, was imparted through the developing relationship between the guru and the disciple. It is considered that this relationship,based on the genuineness of the guru,and the respect, commitment, devotion and obedience of the student, is the best way for subtle or advanced knowledge to be conveyed. The student eventually masters the knowledge that the guru embodies.

The Britishers took away a lot from us. But amongst the worst things they did to our society was the destruction of the Gurukul form of education which in turn, eliminated the entire Guru-Shishya Parampara.It was one of the most wonderful system of education from the ancient India. In this day and age, there is rapid deterioration of education system, quality and morality of the teachers. At the same time, there is little respect for the teachers and the teaching profession at large. It is very important for us to revive the ancient system of education. It is the

need of the hour.

From early childhood itself, young minds should be driven towards seeking knowledge and blessed are those who get the guidance to move away from the darkness of ignorance towards illuminating wisdom !