Great Indian Teaching System

This teacher’s day here is a look back into the old Indian system of education and how things have changed now. 

India is a land of many traditions. In Indian families when a child is born, on the eleventh day namakarnam (naming ceremony) is performed. After few months annaparshanam (feeding the child with solid food) is done. Then after few years on the Navarathri festival, Gurupurnima or on any other auspicious day the child is given aksharabhyasam where the child is introduced to the world of education. They are familiarized with alphabets in their mother tongue by making them write.

It is from there that the role of a teacher begin in a child’s life. Initially mother becomes the first guru, introducing them to their father, family, friends and relatives.

The second guru is father, the head of the family. He takes the child to a guru and seeks their help in educating his kid and brighten his or her future. Education is the teacher of the teachers.

“Vidhyaa Guroonaam Guruh.”

The gurukula system is an ancient form of education that prevailed in India. Oral lectures were the only medium to impart Vedic texts for leading a better life. Guru-Sishya Parampara is best found in the epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. Drona is that guru under whose name the National awards for best coach is titled as the Dronacharya Award.

Dronacharya to Arjuna, Valmiki to Lava and Kusa, Shukar to Parikshith and others, Vasista and Vyasa for Pandavas and Kauravas, Dhathathreya for Prasurama and Karthaveeryarjuna, Yama for Nachiketha, Surya (the sun god) to Hanuman, Chankya for Chandragupta were all the phenomenal gurus and sishyas. Their sole aim was to make their students excel in their chosen fields.

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Then came the stage of using palm leafs and copper plates to preserve teachings in the form of manuscripts. Later on the system of school education began with slate and pencils. As the days progressed, with the invention of printing machine, the methods of using books and notebooks were introduced into the education system.  With more advancement in every field, even the education scenario moved to smart class and OMR sheets. In the place of guru, google is being substituted.

With the onset of modern education, the teachers too are made to fit to handle the subjects and impart the essence in the best possible way.

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Rukmini devi Arundale, Yoga guru Krishnamachary, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam have all left a mark in the field of  teaching.  On this Teachers day, I salutes to all the teachers of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Earlier Published here.

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