THE
ROLE OF A TEACHER IN IMPARTING VALUE BASED EDUCATION
Dr.
Durgaprasada Rao Chilakamarthi
Bhashapraveena,
Vedantavidyapraveena, P.O.L,
M.A.
( Sanskrit), M.A. (Telugu),
M.A.
( Philosophy) & Ph. D. ( Sanskrit).
3/106,
Premnagar, Dayalbagh,
AGRA-282005.
9897959425
Education has been playing a very
important role in human life. It is said to be of two kinds.-
“ Para”
and “Apara” . ' Para' may be defined as extra – mundane while
the opposite, that is , 'Apara' is mundane. The scriptures enjoin
that both are equally worthy of acquisition, the supreme function of
them being relief from worldly entalglements. Paravidya is said to
lead to the realization of Atman while Aparavidya can enable one to
acquire knowledge of the physical world.
The
entire edifice of education is based upon four pillars: teacher,
parent, student and institition constitute four pillars. The edifice
is expected to be strong enough provided all the pillars are strong.
Though the teacher is one among the four, he plays a truly vital role
as he is the source of
knowledge. The holy books of our tradition unanimously stress the
indespensability of a living guru or saint for imparting knowledge.
An Upanishadic saying goes like this:
तद्विज्ञानार्थं
स गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत्
समित्पाणि:
श्रॊत्रियं
ब्रह्मनिष्ठम् (मुण्डक
उपनिषद् )
(
Tadvijnanartham sa gurumevabhigacchet
samitpanih
shrotriyam brahmanishtham)
The same idea is found in the
Gita also:
तद्विद्धि
प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नॆन
सेवया
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति
ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्वदर्शिन:
(भ.गी.४/३४)
(
Tadviddhi pranipatena
pariprashnena
sevaya
upadekshyanti
te jnanam
jnaninah
tattvadarshinah)
The
substance of this command may be understood as follows:
Acquire
brahmajnana through prostration, inquiry, and service to an unusually
qualified guru.
According to swami Rama, an
internationally renowned saint, a father usually trains his children
to grow and live happily and profitably in the physical world. But a
spiritual father gives supreme jnana which can be said to his
prerogative.( Living with Himalayan Yogis -p 26)
In
the days of yore students used to study in gurukulas co-living with
the teachers. The word Antevasi(
Student) which is derived as '
ante vasati iti antevasi' (
one who sits / lives near a guru) shows that the gurukula system of
education was popular in those days.
The
teachers used to impart morals also not only by preaching but also
through practice. Yaskacharya , the foremost lexicographer of the
world who lived in 8th
century B.C and who gave etymological derivations of all the vedic
words, interpreted the word Acharya
( Teacher) as
'Acharati iti acharyah' (
one who practises good manners), 'Acharam
grahayati iti acharyah'
( one who teaches good behaviour to his students) and 'Achinoti
arthan iti acharyah' (
one who goes on collecting material pertaining to knowledge). All
these three qualities are expected to be integral in an ideal
teacher.
But
now times have changed. The aims and goals of education have also
changed. The dominant involvement of the government in the field of
education, unrealistic expectations of the parents, indifferent
attitude of the teachers and the easy-going nature of the students
have thrown the entire system into out of gear.
As
a result, both the academic and moral standards have nose-dived. It
is not out of place to mention here that the introduction of English
Education led to an all-round deterioration of the moral, ethical,
cultural and spiritual values. Here let us quote the exact statement
made by Lord Mc Cauley who was instrumental in introducing this
system in the British parliament.
“I
have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not
seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief . Such wealth I have
seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber,
that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we
break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiiritual and
cultural heritage, and, therefore, I, propose that we replace her old
and ancient education system, her culture, for it the Indians think
that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their
own, they will lose their self esteem, their native self culture and
they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation”.
(Lord Mc Cauley in his speech of
Feb. 2 1835, British Parliament.)
If
the same system goes on for some more time the society will certainly
be ruined. As a teacher is expected to be the main pillar of the
edifice of education, as already mentioned; it is his bounden duty to
set the things right. He should impart the knowledge which develops
an integrated personality of the students and makes them strong
physically, mentally, intellectually and spiritually.
For
mental and intellectual development we study in schools, colleges and
universities and read a large number of books. But we leave the
development of the third entity, viz; the spirit, to the winds
ignoring the fact that the very ethics and moral conduct are the
backbone of spiritual development. The teacher alone can impart
value-based education and ethical conduct more effectively than
others. That is the reason why the people of ancient times believed
that education with no guru was not at all education since it did not
serve the real purpose of education.
According
to the Upanishads, knowledge, whether it is worldly or other—worldly,
should be acquired through a proper guru. An episode of
Satyakamajabala in the Chandogya Upanishad supports this view. The
episode goes like this:
Satyakama,
a student, with great difficulty got the chance of becoming a
disciple of the Sage Gautama. After initiating Satyakama the sage
gave him four hundred lean and sickly cattle, saying “Take good
care of these, my lad”. The boy promised that he would not return
until they proliferated into a thousand cattle. After some years the
bull of the herd approached Satyakama and informed him that they had
become a herd of one thousand and taught one quarter of Brahman and
informed him that a swan would teach him the rest. On the following
evening a swan
appeared before him and taught
another quarter of Brahman and informed him a loon would teach
further . Similarly on the next evening the loon appeared before him
and taught it. Finally the boy reached the hermitage of his guru ,
stood before him and proffered his obeisance. As soon as Gautama saw
him, he exclaimed “ My boy, your face shines like a knower of
Brahman, by whom were you taught? Satyakama replied that he was
taught by beings other than men and he now wanted to be taught by
Gautama as the knowledge imparted by Guru alone would lead the
Supreme goal.
More over, it is evident that
knowledge acquired without proper guidance of a good teacher may some
times lead to the destruction of the learner. An episode in the
Mahabharata supports this view. Let us dive in to the episode.
Yavakrita
was the son of sage Bharadwaja. He used to be envious of another
sage Rybhya and his sons. Though he was warned by his father
Bharadwaja he did not heed his advice. He wanted to excel them in
education with self acquired knowledge. So he performed severe
penance to please Indra. Indra appeared before him and warned him to
seek knowledge through a particular Guru as there is no other way of
getting proper knowledge. And if at all it is acquired otherwise ,
i.e., through mere self effort, it will not make him wise but lead
him to ego which ultimately leads to destruction of himself and his
fellow- beings.
But
Yavakrita ignored Indra's advice and acquired knowledge through
penance. One day he went to the hermitage of Rybhya and saw his
daughter- in -law. Being attracted by her beauty he asked her to
fulfil his evil desire. Being afraid of the powers of Yavakrita , she
reluctantly obliged him. Later she explained every thing to her
father – in- law. The sage created a demon and ordered him to turn
Yavakrita into ashes. The demon did his bidding. However, at the
request of the sons of Rybhya , the celestials brought him back to
life. Yavakrita asked them, Oh Celestials! I also studied all the
sastras as Rybhya and his sons did. How could he kill me?. They
replied “ oh Yavakrita! No doubt, you studied all the sastras like
them. But you didn't study under any teacher who could teach moral
values also. Education which is not acquired through the teacher is
not at all purposeful but may be harmful as in your case. That is why
you met with this disaster.
मैवं कृधा
यवक्रीत यया वदसि वै मुने
ऋते
गुरुमधीता हि सुखं वेदास्त्वया
पुरा|
अनेन
तु गुरून् दु:खात्
तोषयित्वा स्वकर्मणा
कालेन
महता क्लेशात् ब्रह्माधिगतमुत्तमम्|
All these instances unequivocally
stress the need of a teacher to inculcate moral values among
students. So all the teachers are expected to realize their
responsibility and contribute their might in shaping the students for
bright future.
Bibliography:
* Bhagavadgita
* Living with Himalayan masters
by
Swami Rama,
The
himalayan Institute Press, Honesdate, Pennsylvania
* Mahabharata
* Pride of India'
Published
by Samskrita Bharati
Mata
mandir gali
Jhandewala
New-Delhi.
* Upadishads
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