The Gurus-Parents Partnership

The ideal teacher is a Yogi who has no body‑consciousness and delusion, and who is motivated by, detachment rather than attachment to fame or fortune. Like Brahma, the teacher implants seeds of virtue, like Vishnu she fosters the good and the beneficial and like Siva she weeds out the bad and the maleficent. If the teacher does not adhere to Truth, the community will suffer downfall. This is what happens when the teacher is a teacher of worldly knowledge! How much more vigilant must be the teacher who undertakes to train pupils in morals and spiritual advance!

Children by their very nature imitate the elders and follow their footsteps, with faith. So, when, the teacher observes good princi­ples and walks on the straight path, the children too will develop on those lines. When the teacher indulges in bad habits, the pupils too learn them; or even if some might be wiser and avoid them, they will lose all respect for the teacher and might even ridi­cule them for their hypocrisy. The children have no means of discriminating what is good for them from what is bad. Gurus must make an all‑out effort to set good examples. A little boy heard the story of Shravana from its mother and decided that he would obey his parents like that Shravana. He saw the play, 'Harischandra' and it had such a strong impact on his tender mind that he resolved never to speak untruth there­after. He grew up and gained immortal fame as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Like a bird with two strong wings or a cha­riot with two smooth wheels, he moved along on these two paths and won eternal renown. Unfortunately, children today have no such mothers telling morally effective stories or any play, depicting such ideals. Gurus must be good storytellers, and they must see that the tales actually have an impact on the minds of the children. History reveals that the heroes of childhood have a strong in­fluence on the future careers of the children, in all lands. The child‑mind is a tender creeper in search of a supporting ideal. Gurus should see that the support is straight and rooted deep. They must exhort the children, out of their own genuine experience, and not as textbooks do. They must prac­tise what they teach and speak out of their hearts. There were teachers in the life of Gandhi who strove to lead him astray. But, he escaped their influence and steadily followed the path he knew was good. Do not put yourselves in the position of being admonished by your own pupils.

The Guru is a sculptor trying to release the beautiful idol which she finds impri­soned in the boulder. The parents and the Gurus are partners in this art of sculpture and they transform the uncouth boulder into a sacred idol for the temple. Be happy that you are engaged in this holy task; let no obstacle deflect you from this assignment. Nowadays, the number of mothers engaged in jobs in either factories and offices or schools has increased. But, more profitable than the few chips that are earned by you through this toil is the profit you can get by looking after the progress of your own children. It is far better to bring up your own two children than engaging yourselves in teaching a hundred children of other mothers and neg­lecting your own. Leaving one's own children to grow wild and unruly, what is the good of disciplining a hundred other child­ren? Bring all children up, including your own, in truth, love, honesty, co‑operation and mutual love. Gurus are now relating nice stories, teaching fine stotras and teaching extracts from the Bhagavad-Gita. This is all for the good and has to be appreciated. But, there are other more important things the Gurus have to implant, if the ideals of the Bal Vikas have to be realised. The children have to learn humility, reverence, fear of sin, love of God, respect for elders, affection for other children, and the value of silence and disciplined behaviour. They must please their parents and be sincere in their promises. Unless this too is done well and fully, you should not be contented. They must also learn, in the Bal Vikas classes, cleanliness and how to maintain it. They must be encouraged to rise from bed in the Brahma-muhurta itself and attend to their daily chores, after prostrating before the parents and elders. Until some years ago, children were bidden to begin the day when the cockcrows. Now, parents rise from sleep long after sunrise; how then can they insist on the Bal Vikas rule? The parents lead the children into evil ways. Drinking, smoking, gambling, and other habits are learnt by children with parental encouragement. They take the children along with them into cinema halls, where moral laxity, violence, and sensual depravity are depicted in attrac­tive colours.

Parents should be persuaded to set good examples to their children, if they want them to grow into sons and daughters of whom they can be proud. They must be asked not to demonstrate their affection by stuffing the purses of their children with pocket money, for, money is the root of all evil. If the child wants ten rupees, only nine should be given. He should not be given twenty. The extra money jingling in his pocket will des­troy his holy future.

Of course, the Gurus are now taking care that the pupils are well behaved so long as they are in the classroom; but, some care has to be taken to see that the disci­plinary behaviour continues later and becomes a permanent possession of the child. For this, it is better a Parents Day is held, once in a while and the parents directed to watch for and encourage the traits of service, love and reverence that the Bal Vikas implants. Gurus must also de­velop 'common sense' and 'general know­ledge' in the children under their care. Do not finish the Bal Vikas course with a few dances, dramas, stories and bhajans. Warning must be given to the parents that the children should not be exposed to the banal influence of films and plays, and the degenerating type of pictorials and story books. Discourage them from cinema tel­ling them that it is mostly artificial, false, and photographic trickery and that it is all synchronised stuff. Tell them that the pictures are generally about wicked persons and violent deeds, and that it is not advis­able to see them. "When death is depicted on the film, the people are seen to be affected but really they are only acting—tell them! To be affected on seeing such artificial things is a sign of weakness. We are simply imagining situations and allowing them to affect us. The dress worn by the actors, the incidents depicted, the feelings expressed—all are artificial. What is being taught now in schools is mostly rubbish. We are handing out to the children glass beads and denying them precious gems. Children are not told the way to peace and, joy the road to harmony, and happiness.

Inaugural Discourse, First All India Bal Vikas Gurus' Training Camp, May 22, 1978