Teacher’s Lessons

~ H. H. Swamini Vimalanandaji, a dynamic, visionary educator who pioneered the Chinmaya Vision Programme (CVP) 25 years back that now reflects in the National Education Policy (NEP-July 2020).

  I do not remember anything that my teachers ‘taught’ me in my school and college days, only what I ‘learnt’ from them.

The Marathi teacher in 5^th grade put his hand behind his ears and on his heart, each time he said, “Listen only!” and “Learn by heart.” Funny as it looked and sounded, I learnt the importance of body language in emphasizing the words.

The Judo teacher threw me repeatedly in many ways. I learnt that falling safely and getting up unhurt was more important than kicking and hurting another.

The Sports teacher trained me, and I participated in the Interschool Athletic Competition. It was the best run of my life, even though I stood fourth. I learnt that in life we should abandon all care, let knowledge and training take over and enjoy the race.

The Indian Music teacher in 6^th grade told us that music was an art involving singing, playing instruments and dancing. It forever removed narrow boundaries of subjects. I started visualizing music and finding rhythm in paintings. I appreciate the history of science and the logic in literature. Gurudev said that music was the ornamentation of silence. I have been stilled by classical music, chants and bhajans ever since.

The Art Master in school drew on the blackboard and asked us to copy. Everyone’s artwork was the same! Luckily for me, I had a Sunday class Art Master who was the opposite. We painted if we wanted, what we wanted for however long we wanted. The class just provided an inspiring and creative ambience and timely guidance. He allowed us to watch for hours the master strokes of the Master. I never became an artist but am a connoisseur of art and learnt to see beauty in every stroke, form, shape, size and colour. He wanted us to paint on huge sheets, never allowed us to use a pencil and was dead against the use of erasers. I was allowed and encouraged to make mistakes and sometimes my mistakes became art pieces.

The Elocution Teacher made recitation of poetry a dramatic experience, even though I froze on stage in the recitation competition. I learnt the beauty of well-spoken language with right nuances, emotions, tone, enunciation, emphasis, gestures, and expressions.

I learnt in Girl Guides that the stars and sounds can guide us at night and the birds and monkeys in the day. I learnt to pick up and walk along the right signals left by others and leave the right landmarks for others to follow. Our uniform had to be perfect, and the teacher even checked if we wore the horrible blue bloomers! I learnt that we must be disciplined inside out. You cannot fake it to make it.

The chanting of Parsi prayers each day in the assembly opened my heart to the sound of other religions.

When the Maths Professor in 12^th grade explained that the ant saw the world in lines and cockroaches in planes and that they can never imagine what we see, it opened my mind to the possibility of changing my vision to enable me to see a world beyond my imagination.

The Chemistry Professor in 11^th grade spoke of his personal formal and informal interactions with the great scientist and Nobel laureate Niels Bhor. It put a face to the theories of science we studied, humanized the scientists, and brought greatness right within our reach.

During my final year architectural design project research, the scientist and head of the Nehru Planetarium encouraged me to patent my design idea and even named it a Cogitorium. I learnt that making others big shows our greatness. Only those who are insecure belittle others.

The History teacher in school made boring facts come alive and exciting, making me love my least favorite subject. I learnt the important role of a teacher in inspiring and making us love knowledge and learning. Salutations to the innumerable teachers who enriched my life! Happy Teachers Day!