Loving and divine souls,
Let the choicest blessings of God and the masters be upon all of you. I take this opportunity to pray for you, and I send my best wishes on Teachers’ Day, which is celebrated to honor teachers.
It was originally the birthday of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the second president of independent India. He was primarily a teacher of philosophy in India and abroad. Later he became a statesman, and then the president of India. Since he was a teacher, he liked a day dedicated to the teachers of humanity in general and the teachers of India in particular.
The children and their teachers are the foundation of the future of human civilization. Children are like soft clay, and teachers are like potters. The children are like odd-shaped rock, and the teachers are the sculptors. They have the ability and talent to shape as they want.
It is our duty to honor teachers and pay them respect. In Indian culture and civilization teachers are given the highest regard. Kings and emperors leave their thrones and bend their heads at the feet of their teachers.
A teacher pours out his or her heart and soul, and mind and intellect with joy. After the parents, teachers have an important position, and sometimes even more than the parents because a teacher’s sacrifice is not less than the parents’. Parents give birth to the body with life; teachers give the second birth of light and love. Parents care for the children’s bodies with food and support until they can care for themselves. Teachers care for the hearts and brains of children to make them better people.
A teacher shapes a child’s destiny as well as that of the nation and humanity with the right kind of education. In the past education was freely imparted by a teacher, and society took care of the teacher with honor and dignity. In Indian culture education is to be imparted as a divine gift. Knowledge should be free and should be transferred to others who are capable of receiving, perceiving, practicing, and transferring it with refinement to others. Knowledge is never merchandised as a commodity to buy and sell.
The present world is truly chaotic. Education has been commercialized, and everything has a market value. It is unfortunate. It is the duty of the teacher and society to redefine the goals of life.
It is time to consider inculcating children with more human and spiritual values to make the world a better place.
My loving teacher, I bow to you from the core of my heart. I humbly request that all of you ignore the race for money. Although money is needed, we must be beacons of light to inspire, motivate, and guide little children toward higher values. There might be resistance, but with the strength of your character, your values will triumph.
On this special day I bow to my parents, who were my first teachers; I bow to all my teachers who taught me directly or indirectly. I pray for the entire humanity and creation.
With Love,
Prajnanananda
