What an explanation!!!!!!!!!
Hats off to the writer
Difference between a Guru and a Teacher!!!!!!
1. A teacher takes responsibility for your growth.
A Guru makes you responsible for your growth.
2.A teacher gives you things you do not have and require.
A Guru takes away things you have and do not require.
3. A teacher answers your questions.
A Guru questions your answers.
4. A teacher requires obedience and discipline from the pupil.
A Guru requires trust and humility from the pupil.
5. A teacher clothes you and prepares you for the outer journey.
A Guru strips you naked and prepares you for the inner journey.
6. A teacher is a guide on the path.
A Guru is a pointer to the way.
7. A teacher sends you on the road to success.
A Guru sends you on the road to freedom.
8. A teacher explains the world and its nature to you.
A Guru explains yourself and your nature to you.
9. A teacher gives you knowledge and boosts your ego.
A Guru takes away your knowledge and punctures your ego.
10. A teacher instructs you.
A Guru constructs you.
11. A teacher sharpens your mind.
A Guru opens your mind.
12. A teacher reaches your mind.
A Guru touches your spirit.
13. A teacher instructs you on how to solve problems.
A Guru shows you how to resolve issues.
14. A teacher is a systematic thinker.
A Guru is a lateral thinker.
15. One can always find a teacher.
But a Guru has to find and accept you.
16. A teacher leads you by the hand.
A Guru leads you by example.
17.When a teacher finishes with you, you celebrate.
When a Guru finishes with you, life celebrates.1
When I received the above message,2 I forwarded it to a few more people. One person responded with the following comments (name changed):
Anand [29/07, 10:51 a.m.]:
If we had good teachers, the citizens of this country wouldn’t be experiencing:
1. One student committing suicide every hour in India.
2. Nearly 90 women being raped per day in India.
3. 40,000 children being abducted each year in India.
4. 4% (or 20 million) of India’s child population being orphans.
Here is my response to him:
Dayanand Bharati [29/07, 10:51 a.m.]:
Teachers alone are not responsible for this. The primary responsibility lies with the parents. Teaching has now become merely a profession without much commitment, though there are exceptions to this reality. Commercialization has corrupted every institution, including the family.
Another person then commented on this exchange and asked for a solution:
Rajan [29/07, 11:04 a.m.]:
I agree with you, Swamiji. If not teachers, leaders, and gurus, who should we look to? Please share some solutions, Swamiji.
In response, I offered the following solution, which I also sent to the person who blamed the teachers:
Dayanand Bharati [29/07, 11:04 a.m.]:
Parents must take responsibility for their children. They cannot outsource this responsibility by simply paying for education. Charity begins at home, and so does morality. What is morality? It’s when you act the same way outside as you do at home.
Anand responded, still placing the responsibility on teachers rather than parents:
Anand [29/07, 11:05 a.m.]:
Teachers who take money for education are responsible. Even public school teachers are paid from the taxes we contribute. Parents were once students of these teachers, so the blame falls on the teachers. Charity cannot begin at home when parents themselves are uneducated because their teachers failed to enlighten them. Also, parents are kept very busy by the profit-driven work-to-survive system, so they just want to make their children financially secure somehow and outsource the responsibility of education to schools.
Reflecting on his comments, which placed the entire responsibility on teachers, I offered this response:
When a young person turns into a criminal, what does society generally say? No one blames the teachers; instead, they say, “He wasn’t raised properly.” (In Tamil, this sentiment is captured more strongly: Valarppu sari illa.)
Let me refer to Thiruvalluvar’s Thirukkural, under the section on ‘Worthy Children’:
1. Father’s responsibility to his son lies in placing him ahead of scholars.
(Kural 67)
The duty of a father is to help his son attain a prominent place among the wise.
2. Children wiser than their parents give pleasure to all beings.
(Kural 68)
Children who surpass their parents in wisdom bring joy to the world.
3. A mother rejoices at her son’s birth, but even more so on hearing of his worth.
(Kural 69)
A mother’s joy is doubled when her son is praised for his noble character.
4. A son’s duty to his father is to make others wonder what penance the father must have done to deserve such a son.
(Kural 70)
A son’s exemplary conduct brings honor to his father.
One of the ancient Sangam poems echoes this sentiment:
Begetting a child is the mother’s responsibility; raising him to be a noble person is the father’s responsibility. Making the weapon is the blacksmith’s responsibility, and winning the war is the youth’s responsibility. 3
When one of my students’ daughters passed her board exam, her mother (name changed) sent me the following message:
Shanti [16/07, 8:35 p.m.]:
Jayanti scored 522/600 in her 12th exams.
Dayanand Bharati [16/07, 10:19 p.m.]:
Great. But I expected more from Shanti’s daughter.
Shanti [17/07, 5:54 a.m.]:
We did too, Swamiji. She expected 95+.
Dayanand Bharati [17/07, 11:06 a.m.]:
So, what should be the punishment—for the mother?
When a student tops the school, she might give some credit to her teachers for their excellent teaching, but she will also acknowledge the support of her family, especially her parents, who stood behind her throughout her hard work.
As I mentioned earlier, once education became commercialized, the noble profession of teaching also turned into a business, often lacking commitment to the overall development of students. Scoring high marks isn’t the sole purpose of education; building character is. And this is something only parents can impart by setting an example. Parents act as fellow pilgrims, walking alongside their children towards their goals. In Indian tradition, alongside other gurus, one’s parents are the primary gurus for their children. For most children, especially daughters, their father is the hero of their lives. Among the five gurus deserving special honor, four are relatives (father, mother, brother, and husband).
In 10th-century Tamil Nadu, there was a famous poet and teacher named Satanar, who earned the title ‘Seezhthalai Satanar’ (Puss-headed Satanar). While teaching his students in his Gurukulam, he would hit his head with the writing nail (a sharp iron needle used to write on palm leaves) whenever they made mistakes. Over time, his head became wounded and pus would ooze from it, hence the title.
Now, show me one teacher today who would take the blame for a student’s failure—not just in life, but even in exams. But when a child fails, both in exams and in life, it is the parents who bear the pain without giving up on their children.
A young man (name changed) shared the following thoughts:
Sridhar:
In my opinion, the education system needs to change. Instead of striving for marks, one should thirst for knowledge. Today’s economy demands that educational institutions produce obedient workers who serve the upper management without question. This rat race leaves no room for development, improvement, or research. The system doesn’t teach students how to make money but rather how to enslave themselves to a 50-hour work week for a monthly salary. If you want to break free, you must forge your own path to excellence. Parents must educate their children and help them understand the true purpose of education. This applies universally. To truly educate yourself, you must first unlearn what the system has taught you.
Finally, let me illustrate my point with another profession: medicine.
When a patient is admitted to a hospital, who ensures their full recovery? The doctors who treat them? The nurses who attend to them? Or the relatives (often a mother or wife) who stay by their side 24/7? Once discharged, a patient’s complete recovery depends on their family members, who won’t charge them a fee like medical professionals. When seeking major treatment, you often get a second opinion from another doctor. But in life, there is no second parent.
Anand’s argument, blaming the teachers entirely, is just that—an argument. But in reality, a child stands or falls because of their parents. Others, like teachers, can provide an environment, like rain, air, and sunlight, which may be seasonal, but the parent remains the solid ground on which the child grows and bears fruit.
There is no substitute for a parent in one’s life—they are the permanent guru.
Notes
1 …The word guru is often used in the sense of any elderly person, male or female, who is entitled to respect. Visnu Dharma Sutra. [32.1-2] says that the father, the mother and the acarya are the three highest gurus of a person and Manu II.227-237 contain the most sublime glorification of these three. Devala says that ‘among gurus five deserve special honour, viz. father, mother, acarya, eldest brother and husband [in the case of women]’. Manu [II.149] says that whoever confers on another the benefit of knowledge, whether great or small, is the latter’s guru.— P.V. Kane. History of Dharmasastra, Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute , 1968, Vol. II, Part I, p. 323
…But in II.145 Manu says that an acarya is ten times superior to an upadhyaya, the father is superior to a hundred acaryas, while the mother is thousand-fold superior to the father. Gautama-dharmasutra II.56 declares that the acarya is the highest among all gurus while according to some the mother is the highest. Yajnavalkyasmrti.I.35 also places the mother higher than the acarya…-ibid. p. 323.
2 1 I received another video in which one young man explained various meaning of Sanskrit words for teacher: One who provides information is called ‘adhyapak’; one who combines ‘information and knowledge is called ‘upadhyaya’; the one who has in depth knowledge of a particular subject is called ‘pandit’; the one who trains and imparts specific skill is called an ‘acharya’; the one who has a visionary view on a subject is called ‘drishta’; the one who truly awakens wisdom within you and takes you from darkness to light is called ‘guru’
2 தந்தை மகற்கு ஆற்றும் நன்றி அவையத்து
முந்தி யிருப்பச் செயல்.—67
தம்மின்தம் மக்கள் அறிவுடைமை மாநிலத்து
மண்ணுயிர்க்கு எல்லாம் இனிது.–68
ஈன்ற பொழுதின் பெரிது உவக்கும் தன்மகனைச்
சான்றோன் எனக்கேட்ட தாய்.69
மன்தந்தைக்கு ஆற்றும் உதவி இவன்தந்தை
என்நோற்றான் கொல்எனும் சொல்.-70
.
ஈன்று புறம் தாறுதல் எந்தலைக் கடனே;
சான்றோன் ஆகுதல் தந்தைக்குக் கடனே;
வேல் வடித்துத் தருதல் கொல்லார்க்குக் கடனே;
வெம் சமற் ஏறி, போர்வெல்லல் காளைக்குக் கடனே.
— Kaniyan Poonkundranar “Purananuru,” verse 192
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