||Guru Govind dou khade, kaake laagoon paye
Balihari guru aapne, Govind diyo bataay||
This Doha of the social reformer saint Kabir Das translates this way-‘I see both the God and my guru. Whom should I first offer my salutations to? I first bow to my guru because he’s the one who showed me the existence of the almighty.
As Albert Einstein precisely opines “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” A good teacher teaches us the art of education but only a best teacher gives us a heart for education. Education doesn’t promise wisdom. It just gives us the ability to understand the concepts through the tangible resources which are available as book and other available sources. It’s only a teacher who could explain the true values of life, love, compassion, sacrifice and solidarity through his/her act and conduct.
Teachers’ day is celebrated in the glory of such amazing teachers who go an extra mile in rendering remarkable results in building tomorrow’s leaders who create resounding impacts on the society. They care, they punish and they help us to tackle the most difficult problems with simple solutions. September 5th of every year, India acknowledges the spirit of such heroes who feel proud about the achievements of their students but take a back seat when taking credits for the same.
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a true visionary, a philosopher par excellence, a fine statesman who went on to become the second President of India was one of the most eminent scholars India ever saw. In spite of the modern way of education he underwent, Dr. Radhakrishnan was always grounded to his roots, which made him write an elaborate thesis about the “The Ethics of the Vedanta and its Metaphysical Presuppositions” which served as an apt answer for all the unwanted speculations about the Vedantas and its ambiguities of being ethical. He served as the Professor of Philosophy in the celebrated universities like Mysore, Calcutta, Harvard, Oxford and later came back to become the Vice Chancellor of the Andhra University. It was in his praise that after Dr. Radhakrishnan became the second president his students requested his to allow September 5th – which is his birthday to be celebrated as Teacher’s day.
A teacher is not a person who teaches anything written in a book. But it’s him who constructs a citizen, builds a persona and establishes an empire of great educational institution. A school is incomplete without its essential pillar called Teacher who not just extends his support to the students to achieve academic excellence; but also paves the way towards the knowledge horizon which connects the students with their exceptional existence. The lessons would not be on mere Math and Science. But it would be on how to bring out the good in you, how more to contribute to this society and which are the active ingredients that would turn us into a humane soul.
According to Chanakya – “The teacher could never be ordinary. Both, construction and destruction, belongs to him.” A teacher possesses extraordinary potential to either make or mar a person’s outlook. A great school is recognised by its discipline, tradition, academic quality and the legacy to run with. These are impossible to achieve without its core element called “A Great Teacher”.
Starting from our parents, we should be indebted to all our teachers who showered all their expertise and experiences on us. They all continue to inspire us during all walks of life. We imitated them, condemned by them. Got punished and then a pat for overcoming our flaws overwhelmingly. We love them and we miss them. Here’s to all the teachers who dream to accomplish our dreams and are committed to value our ambitions.
