In 2021, the festival of Guru Purnima falls on the 24th July, which is celebrated by Buddhists, Hindus and Jains to commemorates the contribution of teachers and gurus for imparting knowledge, skills and wisdom leading to understanding of life and its worth.
In spirituality, disciples express gratitude to their Guru for showing the path to enlightenment and leading a life of self-less action and service to society and reform it.
In ancient India, the Gurukul system of education was practiced in which the student as a disciple or shishya lived with the guru to acquire experiential education by serving the family of the Guru.
The disciples followed as disciplined life, practiced yoga and meditation along with learning the literacy and numeracy skills to become ultimately self-learners.
It is believed that ‘Gurukul’ system of education is the epitome of Indian style of learning with sacred relationship between the the teachers as mentors and their students with spirituality as a part of daily life along with learning language, maths and scriptures to learn values of life. It is said the the system was lost during the British colonial rule.
To revisit the Gurukula system, here is my sketch-note and an ABC poem.
SKETCH NOTE
ABCs of gurukula system of education
A: Acknowledgement of 'return for education' as deep reverence for the guru and willingly giving guru-dakshina
B: Basing learning on self-discipline, deep learning and self-study
C: Carrying out daily household chores of Guru’s house while staying there disconnected from own family
D: Devout and pious relationship between the guru and the shishya as family model of schooling
E: Education of both worldly knowledge and self-knowledge given to dispel darkness of ignorance
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