By Prof. H. Srikanth
Every year on September 5 we celebrate Teachers’ Day, in memory of Late S. Radhakrishnan, an eminent teacher and scholar in Indian Philosophy, who taught in many reputed universities in India and abroad, before he entered politics and became the second President of India. On this symbolic day, in different schools and colleges, the students organize programs to show their respect to the teachers. The people fondly remember their favourite teachers and get in touch with them on Teachers’ Day. Teachers also look forward to this day, as it is the one day in a year, where they feel recognized and wanted by the rest of the society.
Being a student and also a teacher, I don’t negate the relevance of celebrating Teachers’ Day. However, while respecting the teachers and giving them their due, it is also necessary to interrogate the very idea of a teacher. In the English language, all those who teach in schools, colleges and universities are called teachers. Of course, at university level we now distinguish the teachers as Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors. But this distinction is based on years of experience as teachers and researchers. But in Sanskrit language, we have different names for different kinds of teachers, based on the kind of teaching and role that they perform. It does not view all teachers as ‘Gurus’. Although the ancient Indian understanding and classification of teachers may not be fully applicable to modern conditions, we can still distinguish different kinds of teachers.
At basic level, we have teachers who teach us three Rs – Reading, Writing and Arithmetic at school level, and at little higher levels the ones who familiarise us with tools and technologies essential for earning a livelihood. It is from these teachers that we get to know the basic information or data about the world we live in. At a little higher level, we come across teachers who tell us not just about ‘what’ questions, but make us think about why and how of things and phenomena. The teachers at this level impart to us a critical and analytical mind to understand why the nature, society, or human mind work in particular ways, and make us aware of the fact that what we see or experience is caused by different factors or events.
Such teachers are more likely to be professional in their approach, and able to separate their personal and professional ethics and values.
At a much higher level, we find teachers who enlighten us not only about what, why and how a thing or phenomena, but also direct us as to what one should aspire to be. They don’t just stop showing the way to others, but they mould themselves as examples to others and lead others in the path of virtue. They make us aware of what is the right thing to do in life, and what we should make to make the society a better world to live in. Only such teachers are viewed as “Guru”. It is true that all those working in the teaching profession are teachers, but all teachers are not necessarily “Gurus”. True, some teachers in educational institutions can also become “Guru”. But to become a “Guru”, one need not be in a teaching profession.
The greatest “Gurus” that history produced, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Vivekananda, J.S. Mill, Karl Marx, to mention a few, none of them taught in any reputed educational institutions or universities. They not only explained the world, but also contributed to social change by influencing, organizing and inspiring the people.
All these three categories of teachers I have mentioned are ideal type teachers. In real life situations, we may be able to see teachers having the qualities of more than one ideal type. All teachers have their importance and relevance in our lives. We need to respect them for their contributions at different stages in our personal growth as human beings.
However, the convention practice of placing the teacher on a high pedestal and looking at the student as a passive recipient of knowledge imparted by the teacher deserves a relook. There cannot be a teacher without student, and student without teacher. Just as a good teacher facilitate the students’ growth, the presence of curious, intelligent and rational students enables the teacher to perfect and enhance his / her knowledge. Dialectical relationship between teacher and students benefits both.
While appreciating the teachers’ contributions, we should also keep in mind that how-so-ever good and great they are, teachers are no Gods. They are human beings, products of their times and circumstances. They are influenced by ideas, ideologies and cultures of their times. Hence, they have their limitations as well. What they understood, believed in, taught and prescribed for others at one point of time and space may become inadequate in the changed circumstances. Sometimes at a given point of time in history, there can be teachers teaching different things differently. All their views may not be right. Hence, we need to take a critical look at teachers as well, and never believe them and follow them. We are witness to how many who claim the status as teachers or Gurus, created cults that thrived on blind obedience, which is injurious to individuals and the society.
A student looking for an ideal teacher should keep his or her eyes wide open. They can find teachers not only in educational institutions, but in every walk of life. To be a good student, one need not necessarily follow the teacher. Even the one who deviates from the teacher may also be a good student. Plato who followed Socrates was indeed a great teacher, so was Aristotle who differed with his teacher, Plato.
History is abundant with examples of how the students outshined their teachers. A good teacher should therefore never compel the students to take their words as gospel of truth, and not stop them from thinking differently. That was what even one of the greatest teachers, Buddha, taught us: “Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”
To sum up, let Teachers’ Day acknowledge the role that the teachers of different kinds have been playing in our lives. But let not our respect for teachers become a monotonous ritual, or end up as blind worship. No teacher is invincible. And every student has in himself or herself the potentiality to become a teacher, even a “Guru”.