Guru Purnima is a celebration of a particular full moon, this time of year. This full moon is being celebrated particularly for our guru. In the modern society, the word, guru, is understood to be something of an expert, someone who is knowledgeable for something. But in Sanskrit, the word, guru means so much more.
It stems from the word, gu, which is means dark, or darkness, and ru, meaning something that dispels the darkness, something that sheds light, someone who clears our spiritual paths. In Guru Purnima, we are not talking about “inner guru” but someone external. In Vedic tradition, our first external guru is also considered to be a mother. What is a mother? A mother is someone who provides what we need, and not what we want. A mother who watches over us but let us figure out on our own. A mother who is there when we need them.
I was teaching our son how to read clocks. Anyone who is a parent figure who has tried to teach a child something that is considered so simple in adulthood knows what that’s like. It can be tough. It tests you on an emotional level as if you were assigned to teach in an inferno. Patience is a mantra you repeat to yourself 100 times.
The interesting thing is that I remember, one of my teachers, the late Michael Stone used to translate the Sanskrit word, tapas, as patience. When I am trying to be patient, I feel the heat in my body that I am trying to contain. That heat is being created by a friction. That friction comes from having to deal with the difference between what I believe to be simple (my pre-conceived idea) and what I am dealing with in that moment, which is not simple to the other person (the reality of what is), in this case, my son. That heat from this friction, this fire element, is also part of the meaning of guru.
And the light that dispels the darkness is fire. Fire is also the component of the word, tapas, another translation is passion. In other words, guru-student relationship cannot be carried out without a bit of fire element. A teacher gives us what we need and sometimes, a good teacher does not always give us what we want. And that can cause a friction, heat. That is why when we chant a mantra for studying, we often chant the following:
Om Saha Naav[au]-Avatu |
Saha Nau Bhunaktu |
Saha Viiryam Karavaavahai |
Tejasvi Naav[au]-Adhiitam-Astu Maa Vidvissaavahai |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
This is a mantra to protect us all (teacher-student, or everyone involved in studying something), to be nourished by knowledge and wisdom we are about to acquire and through the passion of studying, there may be a conflict, argument, or a debate. We chant to avoid these potential conflicts.
As I contemplate a teacher-student relationship and teach my son how to read clocks, I am also reminded of all the times my teachers might have felt as heat. None of my teachers have ever shown any signs of fire, yet, as a student, I remember feeling the heat, the tapas. Me wanting to advance faster than my teacher tells me so, and for good reasons. I am thankful for all the time my teachers have shown (and many times, hidden, without my knowing) compassion, kindness and patience.
I truly am where I am because of them in so many ways.