A Day to Remember Our Gurus with Gratitude
"Instead of celebrating my birthday separately, it would be my proud privilege, if 5th September is observed as Teachers’ Day", said Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the then President of India, when a group of students and friends approached him with the request to allow them to celebrate his birthday. And since then, in India, every year, we dedicate 5th September to all our teachers. It is a day to commemorate and remember our teachers for their selfless dedication to spread knowledge and wisdom.
As an NGO for education, we, at Vidya Chetana understand the vital role that teachers play in the lives of students. And on this very significant day, we offer our deepest gratitude to all the teachers who are guiding and helping our beneficiary students to attain their academic goals as well as their aspirations. We also thank all the mentors, trainers, and counsellors who go the extra mile to support the overall development of our beneficiaries through several skills training and mentorship programmes.
Teachers do not discriminate their students based on social status, economic background, or any other factor, rather place them all on one level - that of a student. This teacher-student or the guru-shishya relationship is considered to be one of the most sacred bonds in India. A teacher grants knowledge and wisdom with the hope that the students grow up to be wise, empowered and enlightened. They nurture their students to succeed and sow the seeds for future generations to come and learn from them. So, this Teachers’ Day, as an honour to their selfless contributions, how about thanking your teachers by offering Guru Dakshina?
Offer Guru Dakshina to your favourite teacher!
In Indian culture, guru dakshina is a highly revered gesture.
It is a way of thanking the teacher or the guru by acknowledging and honouring
their efforts, guidance, and teachings. Reiterating the practice of guru
dakshina in ancient times, interestingly, it was not confined to only
monetary offerings; it could be in the form of service to the gurukul or
the society, execution of important tasks as instructed by the guru, spreading the guru’s message through preaching, and the
like.
Taking the same tradition forward, how about expressing gratitude to your teacher or teachers this year by choosing to donate for the education of the underprivileged students. As you know, as an NGO for education, we are providing scholarships for higher studies to meritorious students from socio-economically challenging backgrounds. And, every penny of your contribution will not only help students to continue their studies in PUC (Intermediate), Degree, Engineering, and Medical courses, but also make them empowered and self-sufficient individuals like you.
Are we missing something?
On Teachers’ Day, while we remember our teachers and mentors, let’s take a moment to remember and pay our respects to the silent guides of our lives – our parents and also those who selflessly come forward to help and advise us. And to donate for the education of the underprivileged students in honour of them would be the best way to celebrate their remarkable contributions in our lives. Rest assured; nobody will be prouder than them for your noble deed.
To conclude, we may have our
favourites, but we should always remain grateful to all the teachers. It is
their combined efforts and commitment that we are where we are today!
