For a classical musician, this is a challenging topic to talk about. But I am here to speak about some deep realisations that I have had, and I will stay true to that. Over the many centuries that classical music has been around in India, it has been passed on only through the oral tradition. A musician can become one only if he or she surrenders to a ‘Guru’ completely. The musician has to trust him or her, unconditionally, to guide and lead the path to musical and therefore spiritual, salvation through the pursuit of ‘Sur’, or the divine key of bliss. This was, and to an extent still is, needed because unlike written music of other genres, the nuances of Classical music can be imparted only directly. They are communicated orally and through the generosity of one’s Guru. The spiritual nature of the form adds an additional responsibility on the Guru, one that compels him or her to be spiritually enlightened, evolved and compassionate.
This is a lofty goal for any human being, irrespective of whether or not in the context of musical learning. Realising this made me delve deeper into the awesome force that musicians are moulded by — the Guru, and made me think about the nuances in the meaning of this word.
I came across an interesting WhatsApp forward recently about different Sanskrit words for a teacher. Among them stood out two words, Adhyapak and Guru, among a few other similar words. The difference between Adhyapak and Guru was stark and was striking. Loosely put, Adhyapak is a person who hands over knowledge and skills to his or her student. A Guru is an all-encompassing spiritual force that leads a student through to exemplary spiritual wisdom that includes qualities of compassion, generosity, and most importantly humility. This holds true irrespective of the Guru’s subject of specialisation. A Guru is spiritually awakened enough to know that in the human form, there is no possibility of perfection or complete mastery. And that the pursuit of music, just as life itself, is a deepening of a never-ending spiritual quest. In this quest, a true Guru realises how insignificant he or she is in the presence of the awesome nature of creation. The Guru also realises that he and the rest of humanity, including the students he guides, are in the process of evolving. He realises that he is not superior to anyone, including his students, in the ultimate sense. He may be just a little ahead in the spiritual evolutionary curve if that. He is there to help and guide but with a deep cognition of his failings and challenges as an artist and as a human being. He does not accept the superiority his student showers on him, reminding the student of the ultimate truth — that we are all fallible and will continue to be so till we attain salvation.
Despite this nuance, the terms Guru and teacher are often used very loosely nowadays, many times confusing one for another. I look at myself and see that as skilful as I may be as a musician, and as earnest as my meditative path may be, I still have a long way to go before I would like to be called a ‘Guru’ in the true sense of the word. If at any point in time, a student were to express that I have displayed qualities of a true Guru, I would be very thankful, but also humbled.
I have felt that in my own musical training, my teachers show genuine Guru qualities, qualities that have sometimes moved me to tears. One such moment was when after a few years of training, one of my earlier teachers told me that she wanted me to learn and grow more. She added that she had completed imparting whatever she had to and that I should move to someone else who be better equipped to mould me. She had never been more of a Guru to me than at that moment. I will remember this for life in my own role as an imparter of music.
One more such moment was when another earlier teacher of mine told me and even encouraged me to learn additionally from someone else so that I could tap into my potential further as a musician. She became cemented in my mind that as a true Guru that day.
I want my students to have moments with me when they can see that I am aware of my fallibility. Moments when they can hear me appreciating them for something they can do better than me. Moments where I can switch momentarily to the role of a student when my student has enabled spiritual enlightenment by showing me things I may not yet know. For, to genuinely lead one must learn to follow. To genuinely know one must learn to seek. And to genuinely gain wisdom, one must be ready to challenge what one knows. A Guru is humble, compassionate, forgiving and is forever craving to grow spiritually through his or her art. A Guru is always an eager student of music and of life. Such a teacher would be truly worthy of being called a Guru.