Like Vineyan,
The Student has another name "अन्तेवासि~Antevāsi" which means "one who lives with".
Just as "Upanayana" (leading near) means "leading near the Guru",
Antevāsi (living with) must be taken to mean "one who lives with the Guru".
(1/12)
Strictly speaking "ante" does not "with or by the side".
It means "in" or "Within" in the same way as it means in the words in
"Antaranga",
"Antarātman",
"Antaryāmin".
Đ "anta" here means "in the Mind".
Đ ācārya must, in keeping with this meaning, harbour the student in his Mind
so to speak, which suggests that he must have deep affection for him.
The ācārya has a great responsibility towards his student. If He does Not Fulfil it,
He will himself come to great harm.
Teachers nowadays say :
"What does it matter whether or not the student is doing well?
We get our salary. That is what really matters."
Those who conducted the Gurukula in the old days could not have the same attitude because the Guru-Śiṣya relationship was not governed by anything lika a business contract.
Indeed,
Education today is one step worse than what is
implied by the Phrase "Business Contract".
In Business, If You pay a Price, You must receive something in Return for it.
Now d teacher is not bothered by the failure of his student who has paid his fees(i.e.,The Price).
In contrast the ācārya who conducted the Gurukula in ancient
times shouldered a great responsibility.
What was that?
शिष्य पापं गुरुम व्रजेत्।
So proclaim the Nīti Śāstra (Law books).
It means that the Sin committed by the student attaches itself to the teacher.
Đ Guru imparts not only learning to his Disciple,
He takes the responsibility
upon Himself to ensure his Disciple & good Conduct.
If He does not discharge this responsibility, there is a penalty to be paid for it.
If He cannot make his student Meritorious & if the latter commits a Sin,
It passes on to the Guru because of His failure to correct him.
If the wife is guilty of lapses, the Sin thereof attaches to the husband who has failed to lead her on the path of virtuous conduct.
Similarly,
If a citizen commits a wrong in the affairs of the nation, The Sin thereof is visited upon the King for his failure to correct Him.
If the King himself commits an improper act or Sin,
His Purohita who has failed to correct him will have to suffer the consequences.
Đ Nīti Śāstra thus invest
The Husband,
The King
&
The ācārya with an Awesome responsibility :
राजा राष्ट्रकृतं पापं राज्ञः पापं पुरोहितः।
भर्ता च स्त्रीकृतं पापं शिष्यपापं गुरुस्तथा॥
Đ husband is not to exercise authority over his wife by creating fear in her,
Nor is the King to rule over his subjects by creating fright in them. It is the same case with the Guru-Śiṣya
relationship ~ Fear has no place in it.
Đ Husband,
Đ King
&
Đ ācārya
have to care for those under/with them & have the duty to ensure their good conduct.
If they fail in this duty, they will incur the Sin for the wrongs committed by those under them (i.e., The Sin for the wrongs
committed by the wife, the subjects of the king & the student respectively).
The Guru must Not swerve from Vedic observances & must be strictly attached to Dhārma.
सनत्सुजातीयम्~Sānatsujātiyam : ii
An Unusual Parallel :
A little digression is Worthwhile here.
Sānatsujāta has listed the 6 most fundamental Virtues that any seeker should have,
before even embarking on the Spiritual path Upward.
(1/21)
In the same #Mahābhārata ., there is another context occurring very much earlier in the Chronology of events,
Which lists for Us the 6 most Fundamental Evils one should Avoid.
Đ Scene is in Sabha Parva, (the 2nd one out of 18 Parvas) where Yudhishthira has just been crowned the
prince of Indraprastha.
Đ Divine roving Rṣi Narada appears on the Scene & in his blessings to the Newly crowned prince,
gives pieces of advice in the form of some Rhetorical Questions.
One of these Questions is whether as a King & Adminstrator He has avoided certain 6 Evils.
Among musical Instruments,
Đ bamboo Flute is considered d most Organic.
Now the Question is,
How did this Flute get d blessed fortune to be with Śrī Kṛṣṇa all the time?
Bhagavān’s love for His flute was such that,
Never would He leave it Here & There.
(1/11)
Đ Bhagavān’s Flute received the touch of the Bhagavān’s nectarean lips,
Which everyone longs for, for lifetimes together.
The Gopīs, or women of the cowherds,
were ever Jealous of the Bhagavān’s Flute,
talking to it & chiding it, saying, “You are Stealing our right.
The Bhagavān’s lips are Our right. So long as you are seated on His lips,
We will not get to touch them.”
Someone once asked,
“O Flute,
What Meritorious deeds did You perform,
that the Bhagavān always keeps You with Him & places You on His lips?”
People normally find a hundred excuses for Not performing,
doing Spiritual practices like Pūjā, or
Visiting the Mandirā.
‘I am unwell’,
‘I cannot afford rituals’,
‘I have no time’,
‘I do not know the chants’,
there is no place at home where I can worship’
& So on.
Normally,
people feel Pūjā is a mechanical action,
Which has to be ‘got over & done with’ as part of one’s daily routine (Dinacaryā).
People say,
‘pūjā kar ḍālī’ (Hindi),
or
‘pūjā karī nākhī’ (Gujarati),
which indicates, that one has finished it with a sense of relief that it is over, rather than with a sense of fulfilment of having done it well.
Our attitude should be ‘Pūjā kar lī’ ~ completed (with good feelings derived from it).
that he had commenced his Journey. They had now returned to the presence of the same Baba Vishwanath.
Acharya remembered all the past incidents.
The people of the city welcomes Acharya with great Joy & Devotion. Acharya directly went to the Mandira of Sri Vishwanatha & worshipped
If We Realize, that whatever He ordains, is for Our Best, We would not be
Disappointed,
Dejected,
Or
Plunged into Doubt,
When our Wish is Not Fulfilled.
We should continue to Worship & Pray to Him.
A sick child demands an ice cream, & Screams at his parents for not fulfilling
his Wish, little realizing, What is good for Him.
Many of Our demands are Childish & Contradictory.
To demand that every Wish of Ours be Fulfilled, is illogical.
A Sāttvika person Prays,
‘May I improve myself.’
A Mature person knows,
‘I will get, what I deserve,
in the passage dealing with the concept of the Paramātmān (Paramātmā~Tattva).
Here one is exhorted to "go to the Guru for refuge".
One Qualification for the Guru is that He must be a Śrotrīya.
A Śrotrīya is one who is steeped in the Vedas. Erudition in the Vedas constitutes his
educational qualification.
But as a Guru He must have a 2nd qualification.
That is He must be a Brahmā~Niṣṭhāka :
apart from possessing Knowledge of the Paramātmān to the utmost-limits,
He must have realisation of it in his Heart.
Such personal experience or realisation is not