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| Sachin's Guru Shri Ramakant Achrekar with his brother. |
Two incidents of last week, one
real and other in reel, caught my attention. Yes, I am talking about Sachin Tendulkar’s
retirement. Each of us had a personal story to tell and no doubt my facebook newsfeed
page was full of posts about Sachin from friends. And simultaneously new
channels kept playing old Sachin’s tapes, discussions and then there was the
LIVE match. It was the last hurrah of the man, though I personally pray and
wish that his best is yet of come, maybe out of cricket field, out of those 22
yards that he mentioned in this farewell speech. Sachin received a farewell
which he truly deserved. He once again brought happiness, joy and yes....tears
on the faces of his countrymen. In midst of all this, we saw a fragile man in
red shirt being driven on wheel chair into the stadium. Man, who had driven
Sachin on his scooter to different fields, was driven on wheel chair on that
day to watch his pupil’s last run between the wickets. You got it right I am referring
to Sachin’s guru Shri Ramakant Achrekar. That very moment caught the essence of
a guru shishya relation. If sachin didn’t forget the contribution of his
teacher in his success, guru acknowledged the contribution of pupil in his own
name and fame. They both contributed to each other. If a pupil/mentee is successful
it’s the teacher/mentor who is credited as well. In all these celebrations,
this beautiful message was lost somewhere.
The other incident was in a
teleserial. I am a great fan of Mahabharat. It keeps fascinating me, and each
episode of it is a new revelation no matter how many times I watch it. So understably
I was super excited when the new Mahabharat started on StarPlus. In one of the episodes,
after Guru Dronacharya asked for Eklavya’s right hand thumb in Guru Dakshina, Arjuna
confronts him. The conversation happens as below: (watch the full conversation @ http://www.startv.in/episodes/arjun-rescues-dronacharya-from-a-crocodile/55858):
Arjun: Gurudev! Don’t you have faith on me? Can’t I become the best archer by my own hardwork?
Drone: Don’t you have faith on you Guru? Do you think I am biased
towards you to make you the greatest archer?
Arjun: then why did you ask such a guru dakshina from Eklavya?
Drone: It’s my right to decide what I want in Guru Dakshina from
which of my pupil.
Arjun: But why such a Dakshina which becomes an accusation?
Drone: I understand, my dear Arjun!.....Dhitrashtra sons would
accuse me of biasness.........not only they....even the generations to come
would accuse me of biasness. But I was
bound by Dharma, my dear Arjun. Eklavya was a Magadh Kingdom’s citizen. He
would have used my teachings against Hasthinpur where my duty lay. I was duty
bound.
Arjun: Is teaching also bounded by the boundaries of kingdom,
Gurudev?
Drone: No! But a teacher is bound by his commitment to a
nation. I survive on alms provided by
Kuru Nation Hashtinapur. My commitment is for it. If Eklavya would have become
the greatest archer by teaching from some other Guru, I would have been
happier.
Arun: But how would you absolve yourself of this accusation, my
dear Guru?
Drone: There is a way son. You prove it, without any doubt, that
you are the best archer in this world. Better that Eklavya, better than even
your grandfather Bhisma. Go and prove it to the world, my son! Go and prove!!
If you could do this, none would accuse me. I would be absolve of this paap.
Mesmerising.....such an intense conversation
between a teacher and pupil. Both these events stated the unstated: importance
of a teacher/ a mentor in one’s life. In today’s time, when we seek the best of
the facilities for our daughters/sons, do we seek the right teacher? I went
back to my school days, and came forth the image of two wonderful teachers I
had early in my life, which made me capable enough to make my living today. But
what lies beyond this, I seek...I plan.....I fail......I wonder will I find a
mentor at this stage of my career? Setting aside, I bow to Guru Drone and Shri
Achrekar!!!
(Images used above are from Google Image Search)
