Role of the Teacher – Part 2: The source and centre of values

Trees teach the lesson of sacrifice in the sense that they not only bear fruits while they are alive

but also give away their body to be used as firewood once the life goes out of them. Amongst teachers, a tree is the greatest .

(Telugu poem) [Telugu is the official languages of southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telanga]

Every house is a centre of human values. It is from the house that the human values originate, blossom, and foster the sacred culture. The person presiding over the house is known as householder, which from ancient times was a position of respect and responsibility. When a student takes to a wrong path, he ruins himself, whereas if a teacher takes to wrong ways, he will be ruining the lives of hundreds of students. Hence a teacher, on whom lies the responsibility of moulding the careers of students, must cultivate virtues and lead an ideal life.

Today, there is certainly no dearth of teachers endowed with the spirit of sacrifice and leading ideal lives.

But there are some teachers who have become slaves to vices like drinking and smoking. Naturally, the students may emulate their teachers and ruin their lives. If the country is to progress, teachers should mould the students as ideal citizens. The whole world will prosper when students tread along the right path. Hence it is essential on the part of a teacher, whom the students are bound to emulate, to cultivate virtues.

The teacher must have virtues and a pure heart.

A teacher can be compared to a water tank and students to taps connected to it. As is the water in the tank, so is the water that comes from the taps. Therefore, the teacher must have a pure heart and virtues like adherence to truth, good conduct, duty, devotion, and discipline so that he can impart the same to the students. He or she alone is a teacher in the true sense who imparts these virtues to the students. He or she alone is a student in the true sense who cultivates these sacred qualities.

If the teachers are ideal, the system of education, too, would be ideal. If the teacher does not possess moral, ethical, and spiritual values, the entire system of education will go astray.

- Courtesy Sai Institute of Education West Indies, St Michael, Barbados. Visit them at www.siewi.org or https://www.sathyasai.org/about-us/education or email: siewibb@saibarbados.org