Guru Bakthi in Classical Dance

Subashini Pathmanathan

Guru Bakthi is an important role in any classical dance form. Guru Bakthi means devotion towards the teacher who specially teaches the art form. Bakthi means devotion, Bakthigeeth means devotional songs, Bakthi cult means devotional trend in the religion and Bakthi literature means devotional literature.

In ancient days, the students stayed at the guru's residence, served the guru and studied the classical dance, or music or instrumental music or any Martial art forms, or even Yoga. However, today the trend of learning these fine arts by the student community is totally changed.

Whatever it is for learning and mastering the classical art forms, the Guru Bakthi is very much needed. Simply the Guru Bakthi means the devotion towards the guru who imparts the art to the Shishyas (students).This type of devotion towards the guru naturally builds up an inner moral strength into the students' minds. Mainly learning these classical art forms give full confidence and strength to the student community.

Eye opener

According to the Eastern culture, Matha (Mother) Pitha (father), and Guru are the eye opener and mentor for a child's childhood. In ancient gurukulams, the guru was regarded as genuine mentor, guide, and God for the students' community.

These art forms are not only giving inner strength to the students' community, internally it promotes and cultivates the dedication, devotion, and involvement to the art form. Even today in the Classical BharathaNatyamarangetrams, at the very beginning of the arangetram we invoke the blessings by singing the slogan

",Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu, Guru DevoMakeshvara, Guru Sachiya, vishmishreeGuruvaeNamaho" is sung.

The word guru means that he not only imparts the art but also enlightens the minds of the students, and lead the souls towards the salvation.

Good qualities

All these ancient classical art forms purify the mind and the body and lead the Athma (soul) to salvation. By learning the art in the Gurukulams is a unique experience, one not only learns the art but also imbibes it. The gurus teach and cultivate all the needful and good qualities to the students. According to Hindu astrology among the nine Nava Geerahas (planets), Jupiter is as often referred to as Guru, which is the most powerful planet, among the other planets.

Teaching aesthetic art is a difficult task. First the teacher must have the full dedication and devotion towards the art and full knowledge in that field. Moreover, the teacher has to spend more time with the students to induce their interests, ideas, and their involvements in that selective art form. Hence, it is possible for the student to develop or cultivate the Guru Bakthi in their inner minds.

With the lack of Guru Bakthi, one cannot shine in the selective art field or in life. However, in these modern days, unfortunately most of the teachers the degree of dedication, and their approach and their mentality towards the fine arts are totally changed.

However, today learning and teaching the classical arts have moved to the school level, institutional level, and university level.

Most of the student community are learning the art without much interest, or involvement, learning these arts, is just for the sake to gain a qualification or, to seek an employment venture.

Earlier the parents chose a proper teacher, to enroll their children for these aesthetic classes. But now without knowing the teacher's mentality; they just enroll their children to these classes, without knowing the real nature and mentality of the teachers.

Healthy manner

Most of the parents are taken up by the cheap advertisements of the teachers. Later the parents regret and keep on changing the teachers from one teacher to another, if they are not satisfied with the chosen teacher.

This is not a proper or healthy manner for the student's career. Any aesthetic art should be learnt under, and taught by one and the same Guru, it is not a mechanical methodology of teaching these aesthetic art forms.

In the epic Mahabharata, there is a legend that Thronacharayer (the great Guru of the Pandavas, and Gouravas) who asked Ekalyvan the (indirect disciple of Thronacharayer), to cut and give his thumb to prove his Guru Bakthi. Ekalyvan without any further second thought, or hesitation, immediately cut his thumb and gave it to him to prove his Guru Bakthi.

Guru Bakthi is a sacred factor, which provides and showers blessings of the Guru on the students throughout their lives.