A gardener is the one who believes in the seed even before it is sown. Once sown, the seed is watered everyday . It begins to grow steadily into a seedling, but this growth is invisible, it happens underground. Soon, it rises from the ground. The gardener is always there to nurture the plant. As the plant grows, it develops branches and leaves. During this process, the plant may show some unusual growth and characteristics. If it is not given a proper structure and corrected at the right time, the transition of the plant into a tree might get hampered.
Under the care of the gardener, the plant develops flowers and then fruits. The gardener has no intention of plucking them. Just observing the tree grow gives him the joy. He never asks for anything in return. Eventually, the tree grows tall and is full of flowers and fruits. It is now ready to provide service to other beings. Having done his job, the gardener moves on to his next mission. Another seed. Another tree.
Gradually, the gardener changes the surroundings, one tree at a time.
Well, this is exactly how the relationship between the student and teacher works. The gardener is the ‘guru’ and the seed is the ‘shishya.’
‘Teachers change the world, one student at a time.’
I consider myself fortunate to have always found the best mentors at different stages of my life. These include my school teachers, tuition teachers, and sports coaches.
It was not just the knowledge of the respective subject that I gained from my teachers. ‘I learnt a lot more than they taught.’ One thing common in all of them was the ‘passion to teach.’ The amount of energy and dedication they put in to answer all my silly questions, was again, inspiring!😃 In retrospect, the best lessons I learnt from my teachers were the ones I learnt unconsciously, just by observation and being around them. It is the values that I picked up from them that have stayed with me.
This quote by one of my internet mentors sums it up beautifully:
‘The teacher is the lesson.’
Naval Ravikant
Of course, not to forget my family and friends, from whom I learn something new everyday ! We keep learning from each other, and growing together is really fun! 🙂
The Covid-19 pandemic has been tough on all of us. Through this blog, I would like to express my gratitude to all teachers around the world, who did their best to adopt to the online mode of teaching. They themselves had to become students to teach! I admire the amount of patience they exhibit while teaching online. Even after being aware that more than half the students in class are busy entertaining themselves behind the screen, they come in everyday with the same enthusiasm and try their best to make the class engaging. All this, just to make sure that the students don’t get left behind. Respect for all the efforts! 🙌
Teachers provide us with a foundation for life-long learning. They truly are the building blocks of our society. It is time we appreciate their contribution to our lives more often than we do currently. After all, who taught God to be God? 😉
HAPPY TEACHER’S DAY TO EVERYONE!
Ronit Ghiya-Inside my Encephalon 