Guru

Guru Poornima just passed this Friday. And it made me ponder over what the word Guru means to most of us today.

For majority, Guru is a movie starring AbhiAsh, an enjoyable film about a great visionary and an immensely successful man who has transformed many lives.

For many, the word ‘guru’ would remind them of management gurus; people who somehow seem to take the correct decision everytime, who have an aura and a sense of authority when they speak which makes everyone else sit up and listen.

Ask a Sikh and he’ll close his eyes reverentially and tell you that a Guru is a teacher, a person of irreproachable integrity and honesty, a man of principles and values, someone you can look up to and follow, someone who’s teachings can help, as Nanak said ‘cross over to the other shore.’

The cricketers might shudder a bit on hearing the word ‘guru’ as it would remind them of Guru Greg; a very very hard taskmaster, an outspoken man and a harsh critic.

For Navjot Singh Siddhu, ‘guru’ is anyone who had a great sense of humour..somenone who can make him laugh out uncontrollably aloud as he shouts in acknowledgement – ‘Guru!!’

Many people would think of spiritual gurus, great philosophers who can guide people over matters of life, death and beyond.

Travel back in time and ask Eklavya, and he would describe a guru as someone so inspirational that his mere statue (and thought) can propel one to extraordinary achievements.

Literally, Guru is composed of the syllables 'gu' and 'ru', the former signifying 'darkness', and the latter signifying 'the destroyer of that [darkness]', hence a guru is one characterized as someone who dispels ignorance (darkness), with illumination (light).

And this Guru Poornima, as I thought of the man whom I (and all us radiologists) consider our guru from the depths of our hearts, I could see that he embodies all of this. And much more. Much much more. He is a person who commands a respect and an emotion in all of us that words fail to describe. (Perhaps that’s why we are always tongue tied whenever we end up facing him?!)

And then I thought of the word ‘shishya.’ A shishya is supposed to show complete respect, commitment, devotion and obedience to the Guru, to strive to live upto his ideals and teachings, to prove to be worthy of his Guru one day. For whom, when the Guru pats him on the back and states ‘I am proud of you’, his entire life is made. And this Guru Poornima, I can only pray that my life too is made some day!!