Gurukuls

The word Guru is made of two parts: Gu (Darkness) and Ru (Remover of).

Guru *literally* means remover of darkness.

And this country was a land of Gurukuls. At a certain age, parents used to send their children to Gurukuls for their education. And this was not just education in different subjects (which was of course very strong : read the history of ancient India to understand how knowledge thrived here) : the Gurus was entrusted with the task of moulding the very character of their disciples.

Needless to say, Gurus were expected to demonstrate the highest level of mastery in their subjects and impeccable character traits. This is of course everyone's favourite part 😊.

But I've also just used the word disciple. It derives from discipline. Without discipline, the mind is one big mess. You know it already if you've observed your mind. A messy mind can only absorb knowledge messily. And if you've been observant, you also know the truth of this in the society around you. There are very very very few people in society today who have mastery over any subject. Mastery over their minds is a far cry. And this reflects in all aspects of their lives and all decisions they make for themselves or others.

A willingness to be disciplined is the first step in one's quest for knowledge. Without it, mediocrity in one's subjects as well as all aspects of one's life is the only possibility.

Introspect honestly and you will see the truth of this: Times in your life when you've approached your education with a sense of discipline : you've absorbed knowledge. Times when you've not been disciplined : you've just gotten by somehow.

And parents used to know that their attachment to their children will come in the way of disciplining them at home. Hence the concept of "students staying at Gurukuls 24x7". This was the philosophy behind residential campuses. Extreme circumstances aside, parents trusted teachers and did not start jumping up and down every time their children came cribbing and complaining to them. They knew that interfering with how teachers do their job is detrimental to the teacher-student relationship and their children's education.

That's what residential campuses were all about! They were Gurukuls!

And just look at what we have done with them!

The culture of Gurukuls has to arrive back in our country.

Teachers in schools and colleges have to exhibit the stature of a Guru and students have to become disciples.

Our understanding of educational institutions has to go through a dramatic shift. We have to stop thinking of teachers as "service providers". They offer knowledge : the most precious entity in the whole of existence! Vidya-Daanam (the offering of knowledge) was considered higher than even Anna-Daanam (the offering of food). And the Sanskrit translation of student is "Vidyaarthi" : One who finds one's Arth (very sense of purpose) in Vidya (Knowledge). That is the sense of reverence with which knowledge has to be received and the depth of gratitude and respect that one owes his or her teachers, i.e. Gurus.

[I also invite you to read: Strike a Pause: Vidyaarthi (strike-a-pause.blogspot.com)]