{"id":695,"date":"2011-07-15T15:35:41","date_gmt":"2011-07-15T19:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/omsweetom\/?p=695"},"modified":"2011-07-15T15:35:41","modified_gmt":"2011-07-15T19:35:41","slug":"guru-purnima-celebrating-the-bond-between-guru-and-shishya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omsweetom\/2011\/07\/guru-purnima-celebrating-the-bond-between-guru-and-shishya.html","title":{"rendered":"Guru Purnima: Celebrating the bond between guru and shishya"},"content":{"rendered":"
Today, Hindus celebrate Guru Purnima, a festival in which one pays homage and respect to her guru<\/em>, or teacher. Traditionally in India, when a child reached an appropriate age, he would move out of his parents\u2019 home to commence his studies at a gurukul<\/em>. \u00a0Here, he, along with a number of other students, or shishyas<\/em>, would live under the supervision of their guru<\/em>. \u00a0In addition to receiving an education, the shishyas would also participate in the day-to-day chores of the gurukul<\/em>. \u00a0There was no monetary cost for students to attend the gurukul, but at the end of their stay, they offered a guru<\/em> dakshina<\/em>, a gift of thanks which could be monetary in form or a task that the guru requests the shishya perform. \u00a0In effect, the gurukul was an extended family which gave birth to the guru-shishya parampara<\/em>, or tradition, which is considered to be one of the most sacred of relationships.<\/p>\n

The guru-shishya<\/em> relationship was based on the trustworthiness and genuineness of the guru<\/em> and respect, obedience, and devotion of the shishya<\/em>. \u00a0As the relationship developed and strengthened over time, knowledge was imparted from the guru<\/em> to the shishya<\/em> until the shishya<\/em> mastered it. \u00a0The importance of the bond between guru and shishya cannot be overstated, particularly with respect to spiritual education where often, knowledge was imparted from guru<\/em> to shishya<\/em> through silence or a purely mental form of telepathy\/communication.<\/p>\n

Some \u00a0of the best examples of the guru-shishya<\/em> relationship can be found in my favorite Hindu epic, the Mahabharat<\/em> – a saga that questions our sense of right and wrong at every turn. \u00a0The obvious guru-shishya<\/em> relationship in the Mahabharat<\/em> is that between Arjun (the shishya<\/em>) and Krishna (the guru<\/em>). \u00a0But I find the one between Arjun and his childhood guru<\/em>, Dronacharya, to be far more interesting. \u00a0\u00a0Arjun and his four brothers (along with their many cousins) lived and studied in Dronacharya\u2019s gurukul<\/em>. \u00a0Quickly Arjun, who was an innately gifted archer, became Dronacharya\u2019s favorite shishya<\/em>, and the guru<\/em> went so far as to promise Arjun that he would make him the greatest warrior of his time. \u00a0It is vital to note that the Mahabharat<\/em> takes place in a time when verbal promises were considered binding by all parties and upheld, almost without fail. \u00a0In fact, the Mahabharat<\/em> emerged because so many such promises were made (and upheld) without enough foresight. \u00a0Thus, Dronacharya fully intended to keep his promise to young Arjun.<\/p>\n

One day, Dronacharya was teaching his shishyas<\/em> a lesson outside, and a dog suddenly ran past them. \u00a0It appeared that someone had shot multiple arrows around the dog\u2019s mouth to keep it from barking, but the dog was otherwise unharmed. \u00a0Dronacharya and his pupils stood up and began looking for the archer. \u00a0They eventually came upon a young man who was practicing archery in the woods. \u00a0Upon seeing Dronacharya, the young man, whose name was Ekalavya, fell at his feet and asked for his blessing.<\/p>\n

Dronacharya asked, \u00a0\u201cAre you the one who shot the arrows to trap this dog\u2019s mouth?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ekalavya man nodded his head.<\/p>\n

Dronacharya said, \u201cYou must have an accomplished guru<\/em>. \u00a0Who is your guru<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ekalavya said, \u201cYou are my guru<\/em>.\u201d \u00a0Then Ekalavya revealed a stone statue he had made in the likeness of Dronacharya.<\/p>\n

Dronacharya then remembered this young boy from years ago. \u00a0Ekalavya had requested permission to attend Dronacharya\u2019s gurukul<\/em>, but the guru had rejected him. \u00a0As he stood in front of Ekalavya, Dronacharya also remembered his promise to Arjun and realized that it maybe in jeapardy because of Ekalavya\u2019s innate talent and skill.<\/p>\n

Dronacharya said, \u201cIt seems like you have mastered this knowledge. \u00a0Since you say I am your guru<\/em>, what will be your guru<\/em> dakshina<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ekalavya readily agreed to give his guru anything he wanted.<\/p>\n

In a calculated move, Dronacharya asked the young archer for his right thumb. \u00a0Without question or hesitation, Ekalavya cut off his right thumb and presented it to his guru, thereby resigning himself to a life without archery.<\/p>\n

And therein lies one of the most intricate depictions of the depth of guru-shishya<\/em> relationship. \u00a0Ekalavya dismembered himself because of his respect for and complete devotion to his guru. \u00a0Dronacharya took on a huge karmic debt with this request in order to uphold a promise he made to his favorite shishya<\/em>, Arjun. \u00a0Today, we may condemn Dronacharya as cruel and heartless, but at that time, a promise was akin to a man\u2019s honor, and Dronacharya had already made a promise to his other shishya<\/em>. \u00a0The Mahabharat<\/em> is replete with examples of moral dilemmas existing within the confines of various relationships, and the story above is only one of many guru-shishya<\/em> incidences in this great epic.<\/p>\n

These days, the traditional gurukul<\/em> system is no longer as popular in India, but the guru-shishya parampara<\/em> is still highly regarded and respected. \u00a0In the West, the term guru<\/em> has been adopted by the yoga community and loosely applied to popular yoga teachers. \u00a0\u00a0Unfortunately, it discounts the special and revered relationship between a guru<\/em> and shishya<\/em> that traditionally existed throughout India and still does in some places.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, Hindus celebrate Guru Purnima, a festival in which one pays homage and respect to her guru, or teacher. Traditionally in India, when a child reached an appropriate age, he would move out of his parents\u2019 home to commence his studies at a gurukul. \u00a0Here, he, along with a number of other students, or shishyas,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":390,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hinduism-101"],"yoast_head":"\nGuru Purnima: Celebrating the bond between guru and shishya - Om Sweet Om<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omsweetom\/2011\/07\/guru-purnima-celebrating-the-bond-between-guru-and-shishya.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guru Purnima: Celebrating the bond between guru and shishya - Om Sweet Om\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today, Hindus celebrate Guru Purnima, a festival in which one pays homage and respect to her guru, or teacher. 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