Guru Purnima- an intimate part of our culture

Guru Purnima assumes special significance in our culture and ethos where Guru is kept at a pedestal even higher than God. As a Doha by Kabirdas goes, “ When the Guru and the almighty both appear simultaneously, I will go and bow in respect to the Guru first for I would have never realised God without Guru’s guidance.”

But in a time when spiritual Gurus have paved way for professional teachers, the concept of Guru- Shishya parampara is almost extinct. It’s more so in the professional world, where each new individual at the place of work is either expected to be a domain expert from day 1 itself or is to fend for himself to learn the tricks of the trade. No senior or boss has the time or inclination to invest in the career development or learning path of youngsters. 

I, of course, belonged to an era when the new recruits were given space and time to learn the work and seniors were patient with us. So we had the sense of gratitude towards those who invested in grooming us. But when today’s youngsters pay their obeisance to me for their progress and prosperity, it beats me no end and I can only attribute this to our culture that ingrains such values in us. 

I don’t consider myself worthy of all these tributes paid to me by my several ex colleagues , but would exhort upon all the managers and bosses to carry forward this important legacy of our culture and country and invest at least some time and effort in the youngsters starting their career as part of our teams. No amount of professional success will be as satisfying as a word of gratitude from a young colleague who gains something from such an intervention. This will give us the status of that of a Guru, considered superior even to God almighty, as aforesaid.

#Happygurupurnima

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