One of the
trademarks of the way Indian Mythology is narrated , is its extreme bias
towards some characters and some actions , however illogical and inappropriate
they may be .
It is probably
very unorthodox of me to take the story
of Ekalavya on an occasion like teachers day and point out that the story is in
fact , not as glorious as it is made out to be .
Mythology tells us
that Dronacharya , one of the greatest teachers of the land was engaged to
teach the sons of the kings . Being a teacher in the royal household , he
refused to take Ekalavya , a student of the lower caste , as his student .
Absolutely hell bent on learning archery , Ekalavya proceeded to learn the art
all by himself considering Drona to be his Guru . Finally , when he got a
chance to display his talents to whom he considered as his Guru , what price
did he have to pay ? A thumb from his right hand as GuruDakshina !
Whenever this story
is narrated , it mostly talks about the
devotion of a student for his teacher and the noble sacrifice made by him just
to please his Guru .
Really , this is so
absurd ! Its high time we look at this from a critical point of view .
It is very
hypocritical the way our mythology can
claim Drona to be an excellent teacher , while he possesses many of the
qualities a teacher should absolutely not posses .
Consider the way he
rejected Ekalavya just because of his caste . If every teacher refused to take
up students based on caste , class or social standing , then how can our
country hope to achieve literacy ?
A teacher is
supposed to be impartial and judge students only on their skills . Even though Drona's favoritism towards Arjuna
can be justified considering that he was the most talented archer in the royal
household , the lengths to which he went to ensure that his star pupil remained
the best is just despicable !
I have never
understood the concept of Guru Dakshina . For a teacher , I assume that seeing
the student doing well itself is the most fulfilling reward . Of course , one
needs some monetary compensation to maintain a living . But it is really
ridiculous that under the pretext of "Guru Dakshina" a teacher is
allowed to ask whatever he wants of the student . And the student is
"supposed" to oblige .
Probably in the
earlier days , the concept of Guru
Dakshina arose from an assumption that the teacher knows what is best for the
Student . It was probably a tactic devised to prevent the young student from
making rash judgements . And the student at the time was of course , totally
under the care of the teacher .
In todays context I
would say this becomes obsolete .
Generally , on
Teachers day it is the students who are reminded to pay their respects to the
teachers . With utmost respect to everyone who has ever taught me , I would
like to take a different tone today .
My message goes out
to all of you who consider or want to be considered as a teacher . Do not be
Dronacharya . Do not teach with the intention of receiving something back , not
even appreciation . It is difficult , very difficult to do this .
Maybe your students
will not wish you a happy teachers day today , maybe they will not even talk to
you . Do you still have the will to continue ?
-Deepika
