The Role of a Teacher

 

"The teacher is like a water storage tank. If there is clean and good water in the tank, you will get

good water in the taps. Students are like the taps and will prove to be good only when the

teachers are good. Teachers should have lofty ideals so that these can be reflected in their

students, who are the future citizens and leaders. Teachers should first practise themselves what

they want to teach to the students. They should have a feeling of Thyaga (sacrifice) for the sake

of the well-being of the nation so that the students will have a similar ideal. Before they try to

correct the students, they should first correct themselves.

Human values are not commodities sold in the market. They should be reflected in one's

behaviour and one's way of life. They should be taught not as academic subjects but as the basis

on which right living should be built up. The teacher should do Sadhana to ensure control of

senses and achieve harmony in thought, word and deed. When you achieve this harmony, you

will become an ideal teacher."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(Address to the Bal Vikas teachers from Tamil Nadu at Abbotsbury, Madras, on 20-1-1985)