The sacred bond

Yesterday was Guru Purnima, an occasion to re-examine the sacred bonds between the guru and the shishya. The Guru Geeta contains a beautiful...

Yesterday was Guru Purnima, an occasion to re-examine the sacred bonds between the guru and the shishya. The Guru Geeta contains a beautiful shloka describing qualities of a guru one who leads and shows the light: Chaitanyam Shashwatham Shantam Vyomaateetam Niranjanam/ Nadabindu-Kalateetam Tasmai Shree Guruve Namah I bow to my teacher who is the supreme spirit, who is eternal and benign; who is beyond sound, line and art. Salutations to thee!

The guru is thus vested with incredible responsibilities. As role model and as one who knows, it is up to the guru to enlighten disciples. The Sanskrit roots of the very word 8216;gu-ru8217; implies one who chases away darkness!

In a world where role models are far and few between, the guru8217;s importance cannot be overemphasised. The guru leads the way, shows the path and, most important, awakens in disciples the ability to gauge between right and wrong, good and bad, acceptable norms and avoidable ones.

In our globalised world, when material things acquire luminosity and values are at a discount, the teacher who shows the path to eternal values needs to be celebrated.

I have had the good fortune of learning classical dance from gurus who were also wonderful human beings. They gave willingly not only of their technical skills but veritably a part of themselves, their feelings, thoughts, values.

Values or traditional arts cannot be transmitted through timebound courses; they can only be transmitted through the best Indian practice of shruti and smriti.

Hear and memorise, see and follow; be led only by example. The fascinating process of traditional transmission of art frequently engaged the imagination and strengthened the mind and tempered the character. It was a complex and highly evolved system.

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There were no external exams, no fixed terms in which to acquire knowledge; each student acquired knowledge and progressed at the individual pace, with only the guru as arbiter.

Such processes are today extant only in the Indian performing arts; in both dance and music these age-old traditions have continued. Time-tested and true, they are the best proof of our unique system of transmitting knowledge. They enshrine the role of the teacher 8212; one who instigates creativity and thought. The guru is thus vested with responsibility.

The best prayer that a guru can offer is found in the Devibhagwatham, IX-9, and is dedicated to Saraswati: Jnaanam Dehi Smritim Dehi Vidyaam Vidhyaadhidevathe/Pratishtham Kavitham Dehi Shakti Shishyaprabodhikaam O Saraswati, Goddess of learning, grant me knowledge, grant me memory, grant me learning, reputation and poetry and the power to enlighten disciples.

The writer is a Bharata natyam dancer and founder-president of Natya Vriksha