“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”
I’ve heard this phrase countless times, and even uttered this platitude a few times myself. But a conversation with a friend of mine (another yoga teacher and owner of a yoga studio) made me take a fresh look at the teacher-student relationship.
When we say this phrase our emphasis is always on the teacher appearing. That the teacher should know when the student is ready and then magically appear. But what a student does/is doing while they are waiting for the teacher to be conjured is also important.
I’ve noticed two kinds of students-in-waiting:
- Those who have searched for a yoga class or a teacher and haven’t found one. This is usually because there are no classes in the neighborhood or because they didn’t like any of the teachers available to them. These students usually throw up their hands and deem that ‘it’s not time yet’. In such scenarios your teacher may never appear, because a student who sees distance as an impediment isn’t really a student. Also a student who looks at a teacher as mere commodities are searching for a bar of soap and not a human being who will guide them on possibly the most difficult journey in life.
- Then there are students who demand the teaching from the teacher. They may ask to work on advanced asanas or work towards a specific asana. These students demonstrate little regard and zero respect for the teachings being imparted. The desire to learn advanced postures is only justified if it is accompanied by hours and hours of relentless self-practice.
The most important aspect of any practice is the practice itself. Your yoga practice is your teacher. If you aren’t visiting your teacher daily then you’re not a student nor a seeker. Your desire to practice advanced asanas isn’t an indicator of your interest or your passion – it’s actually a measure of how tamasic you are. You are looking at an external force to help you achieve your goal, instead of putting in your own sweat, blood and tears.
Finally, the teacher-student (guru-shishya) relationship is very much driven by the student. The student must offer himself up first. The surrender happens, and then the learning commences. Until the student is able to turn off his ‘I-ness’, he will forever flail, grasping blindly for knowledge and wisdom which will always elude him.
Pictured below is my 11-12th grade English teacher. Those of you who know me know that I went to different schools around the world until I landed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. At the American International School/Dhaka I had the double privilege of not only studying literature but also writing innumerable essays under the guidance of Ms. Spisso. Here she is with books written by her alumni. I like to think this is my guru dakshina to her.
