Kabir wrote these lines in the 15th century,
Guru Govind dou khade, kaake laagoon paye
Balihari guru aapki, Govind diyo milaye
which translates to:
I face both God and my guru. Who should I bow to first?
I first bow to my guru because he's the one who showed me the path to God.
In a time when education is bought and sold, parents trying to invent a child prodigy from ordinary children and gangs of political hooligans always vying for that easy money and unrivalled power in the college elections, the student is left to believe that he will always remain aloof from the society which is too self centred to evolve into a perfect world. In this sensitive stage of development, a teacher to whom he can look up to and admire without apology can guide and prepare him for the challenges in his coming life.
Though many may disagree, respect for teachers comes naturally to most students. In our lives, we all have at least been influenced by one of our teachers, who used to know us by our names and expected us to give our best. They constantly encouraged us to be good citizens and come good with our responsibilities and duties. I have always admired the quality in my teachers who were professional yet had a personal care for their students. Society is in good hands that we still have a few good minds left in this noble profession. With incidents like Ujjain, which leave a scar on the face of education, its time that we realize that teaching may become a last resort for younger brighter minds of the coming generation. Its time to put one Mr. Kabir's words into practice.