Editing Guru (section)

=== Gurukula and the guru-shishya tradition ===
[[File:Parmarth4.jpg|thumb|upright 1.2|Guru teaching students in a gurukul]]

{{Main|Brahmacharya|Guru-shishya tradition|Parampara|Gurukula}}

Traditionally, the ''Guru'' would live a simple married life, and accept ''shishya'' (student, Sanskrit: शिष्य) where he lived. A person would begin a life of study in the [[Gurukula]] (the household of the ''Guru''). The process of acceptance included proffering firewood and sometimes a gift to the guru, signifying that the student wants to live with, work and help the ''guru'' in maintaining the ''gurukul'', and as an expression of a desire for education in return over several years.<ref name=mlecko37/><ref>Ludo Rocher (2003), The Dharmaśāstas, in ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism'' (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell Publishing Oxford, {{ISBN|0-631-21535-2}}, page 102-104</ref> At the Gurukul, the working student would study the basic traditional [[Vedanga|vedic sciences]] and various practical skills-oriented shastras<ref name=stella>Stella Kramrisch (1958), Traditions of the Indian Craftsman, ''The Journal of American Folklore'', Volume 71, Number 281, Traditional India: Structure and Change (Jul. - Sep., 1958), pages 224-230</ref> along with the religious texts contained within the [[Vedas]] and [[Upanishads]].<ref name=tamara/><ref name=sameul>Samuel Parker (1987), Artistic practice and education in India: A historical overview, ''Journal of Aesthetic Education'', pages 123-141</ref><ref>Misra, R. N. (2011), Silpis in Ancient India: Beyond their Ascribed Locus in Ancient Society, ''Social Scientist'', Vol. 39, No. 7/8, pages 43-54</ref> The education stage of a youth with a ''guru'' was referred to as [[Brahmacharya]], and in some parts of India this followed the [[Upanayana]] or [[Sanskara (rite of passage)|Vidyarambha]] rites of passage.<ref>Mary McGee (2007), Samskara, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Mittal and Thursby), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415772273}}, pages 332-356;<br />Kathy Jackson (2005), ''Rituals and Patterns in Children's Lives'', University of Wisconsin Press, {{ISBN|978-0299208301}}, page 46</ref><ref name=kaneupan>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n325/mode/2up Samskara, Chapter VII], ''History of Dharmasastras'', Vol II, Part I, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, pages 268-287</ref><ref>V Narayanan (Editors: Harold Coward and Philip Cook, 1997), ''Religious Dimensions of Child and Family Life'', Wilfrid Laurier University Press, {{ISBN|978-1550581041}}, page 67</ref>

The gurukul would be a hut in a forest, or it was, in some cases, a monastery, called a ''matha'' or ''[[ashram]]'' or ''[[sampradaya]]'' in different parts of India.<ref name="michelltempleschool"/><ref>[[Gavin Flood]] (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0521438780}}, pages 133-135</ref><ref name=scharfetempleschools>Hartmut Scharfe (2002), ''From Temple schools to Universities'', in Education in Ancient India: Handbook of Oriental Studies, Brill Academic, {{ISBN|978-9004125568}}, pages 173-174</ref> Each ashram had a lineage of gurus, who would study and focus on certain schools of Hindu philosophy or trade,<ref name=stella/><ref name=sameul/> also known as the [[Guru–shishya tradition|''guru-shishya'' ''parampara'']] (teacher-student tradition).<ref name=tamara>Tamara Sears (2014), ''Worldly Gurus and Spiritual Kings: Architecture and Asceticism in Medieval India'', Yale University Press, {{ISBN|978-0300198447}}, pages 12-23, 27-28, 73-75, 187-230</ref> This ''guru''-driven tradition included arts such as sculpture, poetry and music.<ref>Winand Callewaert and Mukunda Lāṭh (1989), ''The Hindi Songs of Namdev'', Peeters Publishers, {{ISBN|978-906831-107-5}}, pages 57-59</ref><ref name=stellacrafts>Stella Kramrisch (1994), ''Exploring India's Sacred Art'' (Editor: Barbara Miller), Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120812086}}, pages 59-66</ref>

Inscriptions from 4th century CE suggest the existence of ''gurukuls'' around [[Hindu temple]]s, called ''Ghatikas'' or ''Mathas'', where the [[Vedas]] were studied.<ref>Hartmut Scharfe (2002), "From Temple schools to Universities", in ''Education in Ancient India: Handbook of Oriental Studies'', Brill Academic, {{ISBN|978-9004125568}}, pages 169-171</ref> In south India, 9th century Vedic schools attached to Hindu temples were called ''Calai'' or ''Salai'', and these provided free boarding and lodging to students and scholars.<ref>Hartmut Scharfe (2002), "From Temple schools to Universities", in ''Education in Ancient India: Handbook of Oriental Studies'', Brill Academic, {{ISBN|978-9004125568}}, page 175</ref> Archaeological and epigraphical evidence suggests that ancient and medieval era gurukuls near Hindu temples offered wide range of studies, ranging from Hindu scriptures to Buddhist texts, grammar, philosophy, martial arts, music and painting.<ref name=scharfetempleschools2>Hartmut Scharfe (2002), "From Temple schools to Universities", in ''Education in Ancient India: Handbook of Oriental Studies'', Brill Academic, {{ISBN|978-9004125568}}, page 176-182</ref><ref name=michelltempleschool>George Michell (1988), ''The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms'', University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN|978-0226532301}}, pages 58-60</ref>

The ''guru-shishya parampara'', occurs where knowledge is passed down through succeeding generations. It is the traditional, residential form of education, where the Shishya remains and learns with his Guru as a family member.<ref>William Pinch (2012), ''Warrior Ascetics and Indian Empires'', Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-1107406377}}, pages 37-38, 141-144, 110-117<br />William Pinch, ''Peasants and Monks in British India'', University of California Press, {{ISBN|978-0520200616}}, pages 57-78</ref><ref>Sunil Kothari and Avinash Pasricha (2001), Kuchipudi, Abhinav Publications, {{ISBN|978-8170173595}}, pages 155-170 and chapter on dance-arts related ''Guru parampara''</ref><ref>SS Kumar (2010), ''Bhakti - the Yoga of Love'', LIT Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3643501301}}, pages 50-51</ref>

====Gender and caste====
The Hindu texts offer a conflicting view of whether access to ''guru'' and education was limited to men and to certain ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]]'' (castes).<ref name=murty>[[Kotha Satchidanda Murthy]] (1993), Vedic Hermeneutics, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120811058}}, pages 14-17</ref><ref name=asharma/> The Vedas and the Upanishads never mention any restrictions based either on gender or ''varna''.<ref name=murty/> The Yajurveda and Atharvaveda texts state that knowledge is for everyone, and offer examples of women and people from all segments of society who are ''guru'' and participated in vedic studies.<ref name=murty/><ref>D Chand, [https://archive.org/stream/yajurveda029670mbp#page/n279/mode/2up Yajurveda], Verses 26.2-26.3, Osmania University, page 270</ref> The Upanishads assert that one's birth does not determine one's eligibility for spiritual knowledge, only one's effort and sincerity matters.<ref name=asharma/>

The early Dharma-sutras and Dharma-sastras, such as Paraskara Grhyasutra, Gautama Smriti and Yajnavalkya smriti, state all four varnas are eligible to all fields of knowledge while verses of Manusmriti state that Vedic study is available only to men of three varnas, unavailable to Shudra and women.<ref name=murty/><ref name=asharma>[[Arvind Sharma]] (2000), ''Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195644418}}, pages 147-158</ref>{{refn|[[Patrick Olivelle]] notes the modern doubts about the reliability of Manusmriti manuscripts. He writes, "Manusmriti was the first Indian legal text introduced to the western world through the translation of Sir William Jones in 1794. (...) This was based on the Calcutta manuscript with the commentary of Kulluka. It was Kulluka's version that has been assumed to be the original [vulgate version] and translated repeatedly from Jone (1794) and [[Wendy Doniger|Doniger]] (1991). The belief in the authenticity of Kulluka's text was openly articulated by Burnell. This is far from the truth. Indeed, one of the great surprises of my editorial work has been to discover how few of the over 50 manuscripts that I collated actually follow the vulgate in key readings."<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2004), ''Manu's Code of Law'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195171464}}, pages 353-354, 356-382</ref><br />Sinha writes, in case of Manusmriti, that "certain verses discouraged, but others allowed women to read Vedic scriptures."<ref>J Sinha (2014), Psycho-Social Analysis of the Indian Mindset, Springer Academic, {{ISBN|978-8132218036}}, page 5</ref>|group=Note}} Kramrisch, Scharfe, and Mookerji state that the guru tradition and availability of education extended to all segments of ancient and medieval society.<ref name=stellacrafts/><ref>Hartmut Scharfe (2007), ''Education in Ancient India: Handbook of Oriental Studies'', Brill Academic, {{ISBN|978-9004125568}}, pages 75-79, 102-103, 197-198, 263-276</ref><ref>Radha Mookerji (2011), ''Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist'', Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120804234}}, pages 174-175, 270-271</ref> Lise McKean states the ''guru'' concept has been prevalent over the range of class and caste backgrounds, and the disciples a guru attracts come from both genders and a range of classes and castes.<ref>Lise McKean (1996), ''Divine Enterprise: Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement'', University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN|978-0226560106}}, pages 14-22, 57-58</ref> During the [[bhakti movement]] of Hinduism, which started in about mid 1st millennium CE, the ''gurus'' included women and members of all ''varna''.<ref>John Stratton Hawley (2015), ''A Storm of Songs: India and the Idea of the Bhakti Movement'', Harvard University Press, {{ISBN|978-0674187467}}, pages 304-310</ref><ref>Richard Kieckhefer and George Bond (1990), ''Sainthood: Its Manifestations in World Religions'', University of California Press, {{ISBN|978-0520071896}}, pages 116-122</ref><ref>Sheldon Pollock (2009), ''The Language of the Gods in the World of Men'', University of California Press, {{ISBN|978-0520260030}}, pages 423-431</ref>