Guru Shishya Parampara
Teacher-Student Lineage Tradition.
Guru — The Teacher.
Shishya — Student of a guru.
Parampara — An uninterrupted succession.
“Gu” means dark and “Ru” means light. So, “Guru” can be roughly translated as darkness to light, or possibly one who leads from darkness to light. The Guru is a teacher who guides the Shishya’s (student’s) life or a spiritual mentor who leads the shishya from blindness or ignorance to bliss, wisdom, and enlightenment.
The Guru leads his shishya towards the ultimate goal without any attractions for fame or gain.He shows the path of God and watches the progress of his disciple, guiding him along that path. He inspires confidence, devotion, discipline, deep understanding and illumination through love.
The shishya should above all treasure love moderation and humility.
Though we have entered into our new millennium, but our culture remains unforgotten. We can say that the Guru is the core of all the education, arts, culture and knowledge.
Process
In the Guru Shishya tradition, a student approaches a Guru in his chosen area of expertise, and requests to be granted admission, also known as “Shishyvruthi”.
Once Guru accepts the Shishya, he will go through a formal initiation ceremony, where the Guru accepts the Shishya and takes the responsibility of his spiritual well being and progress in life known as “Gandabandhan”. Here the main aim is to impart the knowledge of Indian tradition which cannot otherwise be gained by merely reading books.
After the Shishya completes his part of training, if the Guru feels he is ready to graduate to the real world; then he conducts a test and invites Gurus from other Gurukuls and experts in the field. This is formally known as “Ashtavadhanam”, i.e. “Arangetram” in Bharatanatyam(South Indian classical dance form), shyamrang in kathak(North Indian classical dance form). Upon passing this test, the Shishya is proclaimed as an expert and prmoted as “vidwan” in his field. In return the Shishya will show his respect by presenting a token of respect to the Guru for the knowledge he imparted in kind , which is also known as “Gurudakshina”.
Guru Mantra
Meaning of Guru Mantra: Guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, in fact guru is Parabrahma himself, the Brahman, and the Absolute. Salutations to such guru.
Guru Shishya Tradition in Yoga
The study of Yoga is not like work for a diploma or a university degree by someone desiring favourable results in stipulated time.The Obstacles, trials and tribulations in the path of Yoga can be removed to a large extend with the help of a Guru.
According to Shiva Samhita, there are four types of yoga, they are Mantra yoga, Hata yoga,Laya yoga, and Smrati yoga. These are explained for Mrudu, Madhyama, Adhimatraka, and Adhimatratama people respectively
Conclusion
The Guru Shishya tradition started fading away in the Indian culture with the advent of British rule. Though we don’t find the Guru Shishya tradition in most of the fields, it’s still alive in the field of art, specifically performing arts like Dance, Music and Yoga.
Swamiye Saranam :)
