“Bad teachers distance themselves from the subject they are teaching—and, in the process, from their students.
Good teachers join self, subject, and students in the fabric of life because they teach from an integral and undivided self; they manifest in their own lives, and evoke in their students, a “capacity for connectedness.”
-Parker J Palmer
Kabir – The couplet
गुरु बेचारा क्या करे, सीखहि माहि छूक ।
भावे त्यों परमोधिये, बांस बजाये फूँक ॥
transliterated:
Guru bechara kya kare, seekhahi maahi chook|
Bhaave tyon paramodhiye, bans bajaye phoonk||
Translation:
Are the faults of the student due to the teacher, or despite him?|
A broken flute produces no music, an un-teachable student benefits not from a good teacher ||
My understanding:
A true teacher is not one who imparts knowledge, but rather points the direction and allows the student to find it on his own. The best of teachers is a guide to the seeker, one who has the patience to let the student falter but is able to provide appropriate support before the final fall, and let the student re-embark on the path of discovery.
Most students come looking for answers, and turn away from the teacher who works to make them ask the right questions instead. These teachers, instead of being revered, are shunned, especially in our current world of instant gratification and easy solutions.
Because it is easy does not make it right, and that is truly the hardest lesson to learn.
So, the next time you find such a teacher, hold on tight and let go only when the teacher asks, for then the teacher has been convinced that you are ready for the next stage. Trust not instinct over the wisdom of the guru – else blame not the guru for your lack of courage or conviction.