Spiritual Education –Need of the Hour

Saluting Teachers on World Teachers’ Day- WTD (October 5th)

Prof. (Dr.) Jayadeba Sahoo, Faculty, Brahma Kumaris & Dean (Ex_ HoD), Faculty of Education,
Rajiv Gandhi (Central) University, Itanagar- 791 112, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Mobile: +91- 9436042658, 8837245051; E-mail: jsahoo6@rediffmail.com ; drjayadeb12@gmail.com

“Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Deva Maheswara; Guru sakshat Param Brahma, Tasmei Sri Gurave Namah.”
Teacher guides us towards the success in every aspect of life. It is important for both to respect the relationship.
Since times immemorial, Indians have respected and idolized their teachers and placed above
the God.. Earlier, we used to call our teachers 'Guru' and now it's the contemporary 'Sir' or 'Madam'.
Nevertheless, the role of teachers has remained the same. They were, are and will continue to be our
guiding light, creating conditions conducive to our overall development. We will always be thankful to
them for their constructive support. It is as an expression of this gratitude only that we celebrate
Teacher's Day in India.
The idea of celebrating Teacher's Day took ground independently in many countries during the
XX century; in most cases, they celebrate a local educator or an important milestone in education (for
example, Argentina celebrates Domingo Faustino Sarmiento's death Anniversary on September 11 since
1915, while India celebrates Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan's birthday on September 5 since 1962). These
two factors explain why almost all countries celebrate this day on different dates, unlike many other
International Days.
World Teachers’ Day, held annually on October 5th since 1994, commemorates the anniversary
of the signing in 1966 of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. It is
an occasion to celebrate the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels. Since
1997, with the signing of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Status of Higher Education Personnel,
October 5 is also celebrated by colleagues in the Higher Education and Research sector. It is an
opportunity for UNESCO and Education International to celebrate the profession and to promote
international standards for the teaching profession. The theme for this year is: Teachers for gender
equality.
Despite the teaching profession being made up largely of women, inequality remains an issue.
Even if measures to ensure equality are enshrined into the policies and constitutions of many states, for
millions of female teachers, the goals remain unfulfilled. The teaching profession, both men and women,
must unite and urge governments to implement their commitments.
Contribution towards Indian Education: Just after Independence Dr. Radhakrishnan Chaired the
University Education Commission in 1948-49. As Erich Fromm told “Education makes machines
which act like men and produces men who act like machines,” he realized that our Education system
does not appear to fulfill the true aim of education. He said, “The three things- vital dynamism,
intellectual efficiency and spiritual direction together constitute the proper aim of education. Moral
and spiritual training is an essential part of education. Enfranchisement of the mind, freedom from
prejudice and fanaticism, and courage are essential. What we need today is the education of the whole
man- physical, vital, mental, intellectual and spiritual……… If education is to help us to meet the
moral challenge of the age and play its part in the life of the community, it should be liberating and life
giving. It must give a basic meaning to personality and existence and equip us with the power to
overcome spiritual inertia and foster spiritual sensitivity….......Seat of learning should produce men and
women who will move together to develop common ideals and purposes, love each other and co-exist to
create a co-operative common wealth.”
Radhakrishnan had also strongly recommended the teaching of spiritual and ethical aspects of
the religions as it is evident in the report of the University education commission of which he was the
Chairman. The report maintained that: “Unless morality is taken in a larger sense it is not enough. If
we exclude the spiritual training in our institutions, we would have to be untrue to our whole
historical development. To be secular is not to be religiously illiterate. It is to be deeply spiritual and
not narrowly religious.” To enable students to become enlightened civilized citizen, he used to lay
stress on the need of ethical teaching while addressing them.
The significance of celebrating World Teachers' Day
 The teachers are the Removers of spiritual blindness. We in our country look upon teachers as
‘Gurus’, ‘Acharyas’, what do these words indicate? Acharya is one whose ‘achar’ or conduct is
exemplary. If he is a victim of ‘durachar’ then he is not an ‘acharya’. He must be an example of
‘sadachar’ or good conduct. He must inspire the pupils who are entrusted to his care with love of virtue
and goodness and abhorrence of cruelty and violence. We must love the good and detest the bad. Until
we are able to give our youngster that kind of out look we cannot call ourselves good teacher.
World Teachers Day is the right occasion when we remember the time spent with our teacher,
what they taught and what we are today. Teacher guides us towards the success in every aspect of life.
Teachers are the prime movers who commit their whole life to the welfare of the youth; hence they are
the greatest builders of a society or a nation. If we are proud of our country, our progress, our wealth
and power, then we should be proud of our teachers.
A mind flexes contribution to the field of education. A tribute to the Teacher represented by the
Dr. S Radhakrishnan- the greatest Teacher and Educationist.
“The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with
the wish to teach himself”, said Edward Bulwer-Lytton
A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others. In the words of
the great saint, Humayun Kabir, he once said “Teacher and God are standing before me, whom to pay
my obeisance, I will bow to you my teacher who guided me to God”; here “bow” implies a great
respect, curtsy and regard for the teacher. When Dr APJ Abdul Kalam became President of India, he
located his centenarian class VIII science teacher Siva Subramania Iyer (who had changed his life with a
lesson on how birds fly) in Tamil Nadu and put him on stage with him to share his honour. Dr Kalam
said, “….the launch of the rocket is most crucial. If it is given the right take-off, it can reach the moon.
The teacher is the launching pad of every great person who reaches for the sky.” Dr. Manmohan Singh
said, “Through teachers, flow the values and culture of a nation and its people,”
On World Teachers' Day, the basic message that a teacher needs to receive is quite simple. "We
appreciate you". We highly appreciate you having chosen this profession, one so fundamental to
society, and the fact that you continue in it, despite - and often because of - the challenges you face. We
value the initiatives you take in opening doors of knowledge and tolerance for each girl and boy. We are
aware of what your profession demands of you, of your responsibilities and of your rights. We
acknowledge the difficulty of your task, and the fact that it takes professional training and a decent work
environment to teach well. We appreciate the care you take to direct your knowledge at children with
special needs, and your awareness that all students have individual needs. We value your ability,
developed through training and experience, to listen to your students and to shift the responsibility of
being a learner from your shoulders to theirs. In sum, we appreciate you, and we call upon parents,
community leaders, business people, trade unions and government officials, especially educational
authorities, to find a way, this World Teachers' Day, to tell you just that, in their own words and in their
own way. Let’s move from words to action: WTD is your day!
On this day, we gratefully remember and honor all the teachers that have made our life much more
knowledgeable and fulfilled, as serving as our beacons of light. It is because we Indians, howsoever
illiterate are reasonably educated. It is Education and Education only which can bewitch and emanate
the mind. There is nothing to feel bewildered and bad about, because, reason is the bond between cause
and effect. Reason is re-as-on knowledge base, feeling faculty and skill-scale and speed. Knowledge,
feelings and skills have no ultimate. There is knowledge beyond knowledge, there are feelings beyond
feelings and there are skills beyond skills. “No action is absolutely good or bad" says Swami
Vivekananda. Indian Education is unique. The globe as a whole likes to emulate Indian Education,
teachers and learners. Truthfulness, compassion and forbearance are the wonderful attributes of Indians.
Sattyam- Shivam- Sundram is the Logo of mother India. Taleem Hamari Daulat Hai, Tahzeeb Hamara
Gahna Hai.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” is often said. For a teacher it is said that
‘we must first see what he is than what he says’. A spiritual teacher does not teach his learner for any
ulterior motive, for name or fame, but he teaches only with the divine love for instilling the spiritual
knowledge in his disciples and serving the Supreme thereby. Any other motive, be it for money and
material wealth or any popularity, is sure to destroy the element of spirituality and thus negate him the
very title of being a Guru.
In nutshell, the disciple’s relationship with the teacher is that of ancestor and descendent. The
teacher in our culture is no less than spiritual ancestor while the learner is supposed to be his spiritual
descendent. It is for this grand and majestic tradition of Guru- Disciple relationship that the spiritual
teacher in our culture is equated with Gobind (God). And rightly so, the teacher is the only person in
one’s life who comes somewhere near the Supreme.
We attribute the virtues of ‘Satyam-Shivam-Sundram’ to God meaning thereby that He is the
Ultimate Truth, the Supreme Benefactor and the Purest. From this point of view in our culture, a teacher
of spirituality, often addressed as ‘Guru,’ needs to be sinless, knowledgeable and selfless well-wisher of
humanity. We also often call the Almighty as ‘Incorporeal-Viceless-Egoless’ (Nirakari-Nirvikari and
Nirahankari). From this point of view also, an ideal spiritual teacher qualifies for this status. He must be
universally available to all his students without any discrimination of social or economic status
(Nirakari). He must be as discussed above, sinless and free of all vices of the material world (Nirvikari-
viceless) and finally he should not have any desire for name or fame or any greed for material comforts
and luxuries (Nirahankari-egoless ). Hence is it not fair to equate him with the Supreme soul? The muse
has rightly worshipped him when he says: Guru Gobind dono khare, kake lagun paye, Balihari Guru
aapki, Gobind diyo milaye. (When the teacher and God are both before me, I am at a loss whom should
I pay my respect first. But then I bow before my teacher as it is he who led me to God.)
The great saint, Kabir, extolled “Teacher and God are standing before me, whom to pay my
obeisance; I will bow to you my teacher who guided me to God”.
But in broader way Guru means (Gu- ignorance, Ru-destroyer) he, who removes the darkness
and delusion from the heart and illumines it with the higher spiritual wisdom (Ruhani Ilam as per Quran.
The real teacher is the Remover of spiritual blindness- ignorance. Who can do it rightfully ? So there is
only one Guru, rather a Satguru. He is God - the Supreme Soul known as Ocean of Knowledge, who is
also Known as Satyam, Shivam & Sundaram Shiva. On this day, one should try to transform his heart
making it pure and sacred. The realisation of that wholeness is the real tribute to guru not the offering of
pada puja(Feet worship) to some guru and obtaining a mantra from him. One should resolve today to
turn his thoughts to God; to strive for the purification of his heart and to seek self-realisation.
I wanted u all to try this simple technique of remembering and coming close to the Satguru or
God on this Teachers Day & have a collective meditation during Amrit Vela (Nectar Time) from
3.30am -4.45am. Find a quiet place and relax. Soft music, though not a necessity, can create an
appropriate atmosphere. Sit comfortably upright on the floor or in a chair. Keep your eyes open and,
without staring, gently rest them on a chosen point somewhere in front of your room. Gently withdraw
your attention from all sights and sounds. Become the observer of your own thoughts.
Don't try to stop thinking, just be the observer, not judging or being carried away by your own
thoughts, just watching. Gradually they will slow down and you will begin to feel more peaceful. Create
one thought for yourself, about yourself for example, "I am a peaceful soul." Hold that thought on the
screen of your mind; visualize yourself being peaceful, quit and still. Stay as long as you can in the
awareness of that thought. Don't fight with other thoughts or memories that may come to distract you.
Just watch them pass by and return to your created thought, "I am a peaceful soul." Now think of the
Supreme Soul, who is the ocean of peace, bliss, love, Knowledge and so on. Soul receives all these
virtues from Him. Acknowledge and appreciate the positive feelings and other positive thoughts, which
will spring directly from this thought and affect whole cosmos. Be stable 4 few mins. Let us revive,
modernize and Spiritualise our whole Education to transform man into deity. Come, Join, Celebrate and
Exhilarate Education! This will be best tribute on this Day.
OM SHANTI
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