Guru - the keeper of knowledge

For the better part of last year, while contemplating masters, I had to deal with questions on the utility of going for higher studies abroad, given the high costs involved. Few friends argued that the only difference in US and Indian education system is that rather than learning from the books, you would be learning from the authors. But I disagreed. My previous exposure had convinced me that the difference between various societies is primarily rooted in their thinking process. The choice a person makes (in any sphere of life) is a function of available alternatives, information and preferences. Nowadays with the advent of internet, information is freely available to almost all. Globalization has also ensured that people, especially those well versed with outside world know about the various alternatives available. But where the gulf still exists is in people knowing and thereafter pursuing, what they prefer.
What students in US might think cool, in India it might be perceived foolish. If lifelong learning is the manta of Europeans, then cowboyish adventurism (also known as entrepreneurship) is what drives an American. I wonder sometimes, how has India really changed from my parents time. Did Manmohan's reforms just liberalize the Indian economy, thereby opening it to the prevalent global free market climate or did he reform and opened the minds of an entire generation? If we look around, in every sphere, we see a more assertive, resurgent India. 10 year ago when people used to come to America, the first thing they did was apply for a green card. Now they dont care because they know, there is a place back home waiting for them to return and share their fruits of knowledge.I would say that the greatest change has been that people are now looking to move out of their comfort zone and do a lot more things than imagined before.The change has started but the question is- is that enough?
But I have digressed. Let me get back to my original point.I have supposedly studied in one of the best educational institute in India, an institute which attracts arguably the best students in the country in terms of brainpower. These are young,impressionist mind who have all the ingredients in them to become future scientists, engineers, businessmen and academicians. They enter these institutes with a curious, and knowledge hungry mind. Yet, when they leave, most of them have become so disillusioned by academics that they shirk and balk at anything remotely associated with their field of study. That mind, which was once the best in business, and which craved knowledge, now just wishes to rest on the laurels earned long before.What happens in those 4 years? And if that is the state of country's 'best' institute, which educates less than 1% of its total technical workforce, what must be the state of countless other institutes dotting India's landscape?
Why is it that Indians, who came to US for higher studies, found disproportionate success as compared to their friends back home? Is it just luck or is there something in American education system that fosters and rekindles at beautiful mind, thereby helping it reach full potential. I concede the huge gap in information faced by the previous generation, but the primary difference, in my point of view, is in the thinking process, which impacts one's decision making in the face of choices by changing his/her preferences. Be it any sphere (research, start-up, business), sometimes all that is required is some spark of inspiration. Its the exposure to visionaries and trend-setters that really makes a difference to the choices you make later on in life.In America, only the best in business are elevated to the pedestal of professorship and paid, in most part, handsomely for their services. They realize that the expenses involved are a short change for the impact that a good teacher can have on the psyche of generations of students and thereby on the social and economic fabric of the country. High quality educational institutions are unarguable the best investment a country can make, and the returns achieved can be reaped for generations to come. And teachers are the building blocks of such an investment. How many times have we read the biography of an achiever mention the name of his teacher as an initial source of inspiration? In India, most of my peers (myself not excluded), lost respect upon the profession of teaching because of the apparent disregard for the abilities of most of our teachers. But out here, I realize once again, how much social impact a teacher can have, and how much have we suffered and will continue to suffer, till the time we do not encourage our best to again take up the role of teaching. People have derided ancient Hindu customs because of their apparent caste bias and narrow-minded customs but whatever be their failings, they still had the virtue of placing Brahmins at the top of hierarchy list, acknowledging their status as the keepers of a society's know-how and progress.
In school, I used to learn and recite a poem which placed teachers the highest in a student's priority list(even above parents), coz of their status as a Guru and their impact on their character and personality.Somewhere along the line, I forgot that poem and all the interpretations associated with that. Coming here, I have again understood the meaning of 'guru' and have finally realized the difference between learning from 'books' and their 'authors'. I also believe that its the right time to launch another revolution and this time it would be aimed at making us self sufficient in education, rather than spending billions of hard earned money on schools abroad.