Guru–shishya tradition
Each parampara belongs to a specific sampradaya, and may have its own gurukulas for teaching, which might be based at akharas, gompas, mathas, viharas or temples.
It is considered that this relationship, based on the genuineness of the guru and the respect, commitment, devotion and obedience of the student, is the best way for subtle or advanced knowledge to be conveyed.
In the Upanishads, gurus and disciples appear in a variety of settings (e.g. a husband answering questions about immortality; a teenage boy being taught by Yama, Hinduism's Lord of Death).
[citation needed] Traditionally the word used for a succession of teachers and disciples in ancient Indian culture is parampara (paramparā in IAST).
While some argue for freedom of interpretation others maintain that "Although an ācārya speaks according to the time and circumstance in which he appears, he upholds the original conclusion, or siddhānta, of the Vedic literature.
Akhara is a place of practice with facilities for boarding, lodging and training, both in the context of Indian martial artists or a Sampradaya monastery for religious renunciates.
[6] Within the broad spectrum of the Indian religions, the guru–shishya relationship can be found in numerous variant forms including tantra.
These are known variously as the kala-guru or as the "four gurus" and are designated as follows:[10] The relation of Guru and Shishya is equated with that of a child in the womb of mother.
[7] Rob Preece, in The Wisdom of Imperfection,[11] writes that while the teacher/disciple relationship can be an invaluable and fruitful experience, the process of relating to spiritual teachers also has its hazards.
As other authors had done before him,[12] Preece mentions the notion of transference to explain the manner in which the guru/disciple relationship develops from a more Western psychological perspective.
The Śrauta tradition is a purely oral handing down of the Vedas, but many modern Vedic scholars make use of books as a teaching tool.
The bhakti form of the guru–shishya relationship generally incorporates three primary beliefs or practices: In the ego-destroying principle of prapatti (Sanskrit, "Throwing oneself down"), the level of the submission of the will of the shishya to the will of God or the guru is sometimes extreme, and is often coupled with an attitude of personal helplessness, self-effacement and resignation.
This doctrine is perhaps best expressed in the teachings of the four Samayacharya saints, who shared a profound and mystical love of Siva expressed by: In its most extreme form it sometimes includes: Often a guru will assert that he or she is capable of leading a shishya directly to the highest possible state of spirituality or consciousness, sometimes referred to within Hinduism as moksha.
In the Theravada Buddhist tradition, the teacher is a valued and honoured mentor worthy of great respect and a source of inspiration on the path to Enlightenment.
In return, the disciple is expected to show great devotion to his or her guru, who he or she regards as one who possesses the qualities of a Bodhisattva.
