Yes, the Guru Pournima day is both, religious and secular. It is religious because in Gangapur, near the Karanataka-Maharashtra border, is organised a religious festival of the "padya poojan" of Shri Dattatreya. Similarly, in most all temples, devotional programmes are organised on a regular basis on this day to commemorate the eternal divine guidance.
It is secular because most students remember the intellectual/emotional debt they owe to their teacher(s). Yours truly, for example, got extremely touching messages by students whom one taught some six or seven years ago, students who have been abroad in the meanwhile, students who have been working in truly reponsible positions, students who have themselves graduated in to parenthood and teacher-dom.
True, the "guru" concept is indeed much larger than a subject teacher, and hence the students' kind messages mean much. Indeed, a guru is someone who helps us develop intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. In that sense, our best "gurus" would be our parents, right?
Yet I must say that I expected a more nuanced celebration this year, given the CJP turmoil supposedly over student grievances. Well, we all know that it was more politicking than a genuine concern for the student welfare, hardly so sensitive or sincere or sympathetic.
Why do I think thus? Well, after the party in a five star, or was it in a seven star, hotel got over, the CJP is more concerned with arguing over who how why should not be punished, while the unfortunate suicide victims are almost overlooked in such sound and fury not signifying much. In fact, they have never been more than the pics in the background for those fighting in their name.
Hence the government or its student wing and/or the media, not to forget the larger society beyond party politics, should have taken cognizance of these parents' pain, should have used the Guru Pournima as an occasion to assuage it. Surely their sufferings are far far more then any sum the CJP may assure grandly, and hence these soul wringing woes could have been addressed on this auspicious day!
Pratima@ The debate in the parliament, too, did not address that infinite pain. I did feel that the Guru Pournima celebrations hence were more a mere ritual.
Quote of the day: "Any ritual is an opportunity for transformation," maintains Starhawk.
Word of the day: assuage Assuage is a verb which means to lessen the intensity of something painful or distressing, to pacify or calm. Occasionally, it may mean to satisfy an appetite.
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