Salutation to a Teacher

E

ver since man practised the Guru-Shishya parampara, the profession of a Guru has been treated as the noblest one on this earth. A Guru or a Teacher on this earth, occupies the 3^rd most respected place after one’s parents, so has been chanted :

Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devo Maheswara

Gurur Sakshat Param Brahma, Tasmai Shree Gurave Namaha……..

It is only the Teacher who opens our eyes of knowledge, introduce us to the world of wisdom, knowledge and belief and prepares us to represent and lead the generation.

Such a holy profession is always admirable by the society and should be given due respect in every step of life. While saying a Teacher’s name also, one should say it with respect, by affixing a salutation ‘Teacher’ before his name. In ancient times also, we have seen that the name of the Teacher was pronounced with a Salutation as ‘Guru’, followed by the name; such as – Guru Brihaspati, Guru Shukracharya, Guru Vashishth, Guru Sandipani, Guru Dronacharya etc.

In some of the professions in today’s world, we see that the person associated is known & identified by the salutation, such as ‘Dr.’ for a medical practitioner/ Research Scholar (Ph.D.), ‘Er.’ for an Engineer, ‘Ar.’ for an Architect, ‘Fr.’ (Father) or ‘Br.’ (Brother) for a Christian religious practitioner, ‘Adv.’ for an Advocate ‘CA’ for Chartered Accountant and ‘Prof.’ for a Professor.

Witnessing such a name prefixed with such profession automatically creates a sense of respect in us for that parson for being associated with that very profession. Actually, these professions are regarded as holy & noble professions to serve the mankind in their own way.

Considering the above, why can’t a Teacher’s name be prefixed with ‘Tr.’ which will reflect the holy and noble profession? If a Teacher’s name is prefixed with ‘Tr.’, then, by looking at/hearing the name itself, one is bound to respect the profession.

This culture shall definitely bring a sense of respect, admiration, value-addition and attraction to this oldest yet charming profession and our ‘ever respected’ Teachers shall get their due respect from anyone in the society. This new tradition shall be our tribute to the Teaching Fraternity.

— Pranab Jyoti Thakuria

Pilani, Rajasthan (INDIA)