Origins of Indian Pedagogy
ॐ सह नाववतु।
सह नौ भुनक्तु।
सह वीर्यं करवावहै।
तजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
'Om, may He protect us both (teacher and the taught). May He look after us both to enjoy (the fruits of scriptural study). May we both exert together (to find the true meaning of the sacred text). May our studies be fruitful so that we acquire luster. May we never quarrel with each other. Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti'!
One of the prominent Vedic mantras from Taittriya Upanishad, it is recited on a daily basis in many households. Though the mantra asks for a benediction for teacher-student duo, a deeper thought over it throws some light on Indian pedagogy and its origins.
Bhartiya Darshans have always conceptualized knowledge (gyaan) as inherent dharma/guna/quality of Atma. A human being takes birth with knowledge as his innate characteristic however, this Gyaan is covered due to a veil of ignorance (Agyaan). This is one of the propositions of Bharatiya Darshans that has a deep impact on our tradition.
A Guru's role was thus, removing the veil of ignorance rather then imparting knowledge from a higher level to a lower one. Many of our scriptures like Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Bhagavatam are a dialogue between Guru and a Shishya. A Guru in these scriptures is seen as the one who stimulates the shishya (student) to contemplate on a point, connect dots for a better understanding, dwell deeper in it by asking appropriate questions.
This is the reason why Guru Gita describes the word Guru as,
गुकारश्चान्धकारस्तु रुकारस्तन्निरोधकृत्।
अन्धकारविनाशित्वात् गुरुरित्यभिधीयते।।
'Gu' stands for the darkness of ignorance and 'Ru' stands for remover/dispeller, thus the word 'Guru' means ' remover of darkness of ignorance'.
A simple aphorism of our Darshan shastra had such major impact on our pedagogy. It made the Guru-shishya relationship more cohesive and interdependent. The Shishya served the Guru out of reverence, not out of fear; Guru-Dakshina was given at end of education to express gratitude, not as an exchange against knowledge given.
It is even more interesting to compare the word 'Guru' with the contemporary word 'Teacher'. According to Cambridge dictionary, 'Teacher' denotes 'a person who instructs or trains others'. When a child is born as 'tabula rasa' (blank slate), it is obvious that he/she has to be instructed, trained and taught everything anew.