Guru Purnima: When Wisdom Was Replaced By Curriculum
Pratim Kalita
Every year, the birth anniversary of Maharshi Vedavyasa is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Ashada as 'Guru Purnima'. It is a day to offer unwavering respect and gratitude to the Gurus. In India, right from the beginning of civilization, a guru has been considered as the most respectable person of the society. The Indians keep Guru at the highest esteem after God and parents. Indian culture and tradition teach us that a guru is a combination of Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and Maheswara, the destroyer. Undoubtedly, the role played by a guru in eliminating the darkness of ignorance and lighting the way to a brighter future in one's life is immeasurable. It cannot be qualified by any honorarium. The term 'guru', derived from two terms 'gu' and 'ru', itself means the remover of darkness. Guided by the principles of karma yoga, the gurus impart knowledge to their disciples.
According to Hindu legend, Vedavyasa, or the author of the Mahabharata, was born on a full moon day to Rishi Parasha and Satyavati. His deep dedication to learning the Vedas helped him emerge to great spiritual and scholarly heights. He mastered the entire Vedic knowledge and categorised them into four parts based on their principles and characteristics. After compiling the Vedas as Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva, he assigned four of his disciples to circulate and preserve this vast treasure of wisdom. Paila was given the responsibility of Rig Veda, Yajur Veda to Vaishampayana, Sama Veda to Jaimini, and Atharva Veda to Sumanta.
Though Guru Purnima transcends religious boundaries, it is purely a hindu festival, it not only encourages engaging in spiritual practices but also plays a highly significant role from an academic point of view. The followers of Buddhism commemorate this day as the first day of receiving a sermon from Lord Buddha at Sarnath. The Jains honour this day as the day of introducing Indrabhuti Gautam as the first disciple of Lord Mahavira. According to the Yogic tradition, Guru Purnima is celebrated as the day when Lord Shiva, as the first guru, offered Yoga classes to the seven sages (Saptarshi).
The question is whether the importance of this day has decreased in our society or is still considered with the same reverence as it was in earlier days. If someone opines that its significance has declined, this will not be an invalid opinion. The modern education system has gripped students in such a way that they have limited opportunities to learn about our past and the beauty of the traditional Guru-Shishya relationship. Yes, times have changed, and we cannot simply continue with the traditional system as it was. We must acknowledge the acceleration of modern learning. However, it is not reasonable to consider the traditional system as devoid of proper structure. In ancient times, knowledge essential for managing a household or governing a state was imparted in a highly structured manner. The contributions of brilliant minds like Aryabhata, Sushruta, Charaka, Brahmagupta, and Chanakya in fields such as mathematics, medicine, Ayurveda, and politics are truly incomparable. Therefore, it is purely unjust to agree with Macaulay's comment on that era as the “Dark Ages,” especially when our country was far ahead of many other countries in both physical and spiritual domains.
The justifiable truth is that the significance of Guru Purnima has been gradually diminishing. If we dive deep into the topic, we may have different answers in front of us. Our country has been occupied for a period of time by various external forces and they have never missed the chances of breaking down the spiritual importance that we had in our society. The Eurocentric Model of Education, introduced by the British, has played its role very structurally and systematically. Knowing the fact that India’s strength is strongly harmonized by its culture and tradition, the British engineered the project of breaking it down. Macaulay was greatly successful in his mission; he was able to downgrade the role of the Guru to that of a mere teacher. He imposed his framework on us and we allowed the same to continue after our independence.
Westernization is also another cause of diminishing this most important day of Indian tradition and culture. Though nothing wrong is there, adopting more western ideals and lifestyle has also outclassed the Indian tradition. Additionally, we simply cannot ignore the trend of commercializing Indian culture as one of the root causes. Indian festivals have been commercialized and transformed into lucrative business opportunities. It forces the traditional ritual to shift to a more commercialized one.
When India gained Independence, our leaders and scholars did not establish a framework that could have broadened the boundaries of our culture and tradition. Macaulay's model could have been better if Indian tradition had been given a little importance, rather than being considered wrong practices.
Despite all these, Guru Purnima is still significant for many. There are many institutions and organizations who celebrate this important day with great enthusiasm. Their process of reconnecting with the traditional root is really appreciable. It is important to understand that embracing modern values does not mean we should stop respecting our tradition. It is true that the spirit is still alive, but our people lack time to practice this spirit. Only blaming the education system will not solve the problem. We need to be flexible, we have to arrange our hectic schedule, feel the value of ancient learning, and teach our younger generation to accept it wholeheartedly. The education department should introduce chapters on Indian philosophies, additionally; hosting dialogues that explore the guru concept will surely bring positive results. Let the wisdom remain in our heart but not only in our curriculum.