On Teachers
पाकः पृच्छामि मनसाविजानन् देवानामेन निहिता पदानि।
pākaḥ pṛcchāmi manasāvijānan devānāmena nihitā padāni
अचिकित्वाञ्चिकितुषश्चिदत्र कवीन् पृच्छामि विद्मने न विद्वान्।
वि यस्तस्तम्भ षळिमा रजांस्यजस्य रूपे किमपि स्विदेकम्॥
acikitvāñcikituṣaścidatra kavīn pṛcchāmi vidmane na vidvān
vi yastastambha ṣaḻimā rajāṁsyajasya rūpe kimapi svidekam
अवर्त्या शुन आन्त्राणि पेचे न देवेषु विविदे मर्डितारम्।
अपश्यं जायाममहीयमानामधा मे श्येनो मध्वा जभार॥
avartyā śuna āntrāṇi pece na deveṣu vivide marḍitāram
apaśyaṁ jāyāmamahīyamānāmadhā me śyeno madhvā jabhāra
The first descriptive that comes to my mind whenever I think of a teacher is “a dispeller of ignorance”. Teachers share with us their experiences and shows us the path to right knowledge. They are our friend, philosopher and guide on our eternal journey. Some of them accompany us throughout the journey with us, some of them join us for brief periods during the journey, yet others receive us when we reach our destination. Visible and invisible, they give us that push or lend us a helping hand – one that enables us to make those quantum leaps and progress faster than we could on our own individual effort.
Relative to my inner journey, who then are these teachers? Where do I find them? How do I make them impart their knowledge for my benefit?
They are forces of cosmic consciousness, each with a specific outward characteristic and a more subtle inner power. They are the Gods that lie dormant in us waiting for us to call them by the Word. And the deeper I go, I realise that these are forces that we can enter into fulfilling and strong relationships with throughout the tenure of our journey. Each of them has a purposeful and subtle but powerful function they perform. They awaken various latent powers in us – what our outwardly vision mistakenly perceives as external to us.
The rşhi dīrghatamā aucathyaḥ first calls to them in supplication, “I am immature in mind, I want to know the hidden steps (to the Supreme) which even the Gods themselves may not know.”
And he then continues, “Being ignorant I approach the seers who know – Not knowing, I ask them for obtaining the knowledge – I want to know about the sole One, the unborn, who in his form, upholds the six worlds.”
The rşhi vāmadeva gautamaḥ further elucidates later in the Veda, “When I was immersed in the intricacies (entrails) of a miser, I did not receive any comfort from the Gods. My spouse was in despair. Then the soul brought the delight of existence.”
The first lesson I learn from the Veda is that the Gods do not manifest themselves to those who are greedy or who also labour under any of the five other psychological foes – lust, anger, delusion, arrogance and jealousy.
Enough of the theory, it is time to practice and imbibe the first lesson.
Peace
S