A Sanskrit adage glorifies the great four of our lives—Mata, Pita, Guru, Deivam. Reiterating a great truth, it shows the order wherein they should be remembered. Next to parents, the Guru (teacher) enjoys divine and noble status. Through the mother who brings us as a child into the word, one knows their father. He in turn takes the child to the Guru—who, by imparting knowledge and helping them know the world, makes them realise God (consciousness or the real self). During this learning-span, the teachers enter and enlighten us on men and matters.
My teachers, all equal, still live in my thoughts and are respected. My Guru, fondly called ‘Engal Nataraja vaathiyar’ (Our Nataraja sir), was the first among equals. Our bare-bodied hero, though sporting a simple look with thick chignon and in conspicuously white voile dhoti and angavastram, looked attractive. The tilak on his forehead made him more handsome.The doyen held my fingers supportively as my schooling began with ‘Hari Om Namaha, Guruve Thunai’ written on rice on Vijayadasami in 1957. Having initiated me into the world of alphabets and numbers, I crowned him my Guru. His qualities and credentials made him the headmaster of the elementary school at Vellanguli in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu.
He was also the branch postmaster. In our village, highly educated persons were very rare. But our hero created graduates and officers. In his dual role as teacher and postmaster, he helped the villagers wherever and whenever possible. He even helped them financially. He transformed students into responsible citizens. When he rode majestically on his Raleigh bicycle from house to school, villagers would greet him with folded hands in spontaneous respect.
Even today the village remembers and reveres the great man with the bun. The then Governor of erstwhile Madras State Bishnuram Medhi honoured him with the state’s Best Teacher award in 1964. A father christened his son Natarajan as a token of love and gratitude. Even now, I feel guilty for not having followed suit. Our mentor is no more but my association with his family is still strong; his elder son, a retired postal official, guides me, like an elder brother, in times of ordeals.
Oh Guru! You have vanished from our midst but you are reigning supreme in our hearts. I bow before you excelling in qualities—honesty, sincerity, discipline, strictness, uprightness and duty-consciousness—all you personified. You, a role model to all, remain next only to my Mata and Pita!