Wednesday, September 12, 2018

7 points that define the role of a teacher


I come across this often, either in the form of a request to define the role of a teacher or in the form of students wanting to define my role as a teacher. I just decided to understand this concept as I share my perspective on it. This understanding has developed over several years in me because I have worked on myself a lot both as a teacher as well as a student and I think I am clear on this one for now.

  1. A teacher is whom you have chosen to learn from. You need to be very clear about this one. You have NOT chosen to teach your teacher. Your teacher similarly has NOT chosen to learn from you. That is not the choice your energies made. You only chose to learn from them. If the teacher learns something from you or not, that must be left at the teacher’s end and that isn’t going to change anything for you. If you get busy trying to teach, it’s only your learning that won’t happen. The teacher has his / her own teachers designated from where they will learn. So, FOCUS on learning and not on teaching.
  2. A teacher who seems to refuse what you want them to learn, is not a bad teacher. They are just clear about their role. You actually will never know their lesson. They may not be learning what you think they should be learning but they will be learning something else from your experience but that can’t be seen by you since that’s on the other side of the fence. The very reason you chose them as a teacher was that they hold a perspective higher than yours which you need to learn to align with. For you to learn from them, they see your bigger picture. Accept it. Do not create ego here. Just accept it.
  3. A teacher will trigger you, will challenge you, will squeeze you to show you what’s coming out. If lemon juice is coming out, it is made evident to you that you are the lemon. So, when you are squeezed and anger, jealousy, comparison and all sorts of shit comes out, know there is heaps more inside. The teacher is efficient, for they could squeeze you to show you your truth.
  4. Never compare one teacher with another for they don’t have the same roles to play. You chose to learn physics and maths both. Comparing two teachers is like comparing physics and maths. No matter what you do, both are inside, and the comparison doesn’t save you from yourself. Certainly not. You will still need to learn both. Today or tomorrow…or whenever!
  5. The teacher you manifest is always the right one. You attract the juicer which can squeeze you hard enough to bring out enough juice. A softer juicer maybe would have made you feel better about yourself but would have left you with all the shit inside.
  6. Always respect the guidance received through whom you have chosen as a teacher, whether you asked for it or it just happened. You chose the lesson, and the teacher allows it to come through you when you are ready.
  7. The role of a teacher is in their consciousness. A good teacher will never try to be fair or just or nice to students. They would just be who they are. Their consciousness of their role will derive the appropriate response for the student, which they have chosen to learn from. If the student experiences the teacher was unfair, unjust, arrogant etc, that’s their juice and they need to deal with it. The roles do not get reversed.


These points do not mean the teacher doesn’t learn, but their learning is in their consciousness of being a seeker and that does not overlap the role of a teacher at any repoint. So, it’s best for a student to trust that the fact that they chose to be the student, the teacher will have learning to offer them as long as they are willing to receive.

The student who wants to teach their teacher will never grow in either direction, neither as a teacher nor as a student. If you want your teacher to learn from you, let them be inspired by your humility and ability to learn rather than your ability to judge.  

When someone comes to me as a student, I want them to experience themselves for all that they are, that’s how I learned about myself. Saving yourself from your shit doesn’t work. You might carry a good feeling about yourself, but you wouldn’t grow. Allowing your lesson is enough to learn from any teacher. They will just become a channel to reveal what you chose to teach yourself through them.

Most of those who are in denial of them being those lemons will want to abandon their teachers by when they reach this line. If you reached this point in the acceptance of everything I have said, then congratulations, you are a good learner and your teacher has taught you well! 

Don’t look for the ideal teacher. Become a student instead 💖

4 comments:

  1. Wonderful article this is ..such clarity on role is commendable ..

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  2. Beautifully written Minal! How apt!

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  3. Deepti Priyadarshini KabraSeptember 13, 2018 at 8:26 PM

    This is so beautiful.. and so Apt! I like the "to the point" way this is written!

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