Day 1 

Om Purnamadah

Purnamadah

Purnat purnamudacyate

Purnasya purnamadaya

Purnamevavasisyate

Om Shanti Shanti Santihi

Upanishad means sitting close, sitting near the master-the student and the teacher sit close. It is not just physical proximity. It is mental or emotional proximity. Only when there is connectivity can knowledge flow. When there is no connectivity, the student is at one level and the teacher at another, then they are speaking in different languages and knowledge cannot blossom. 

You can get information but for knowledge to get into you, there needs to be mental closeness, spiritual closeness, a sense of belongingness and that is Upanishad, sitting close.

Today the issue in the world is that students in the the colleges or children in classroom are on a different rhythm than the teacher. 

So, they only pass on information, there is no transfer of knowledge. For knowledge to get transferred we have to be on the same rhythm and that can happen when there is peace. That's why all Upanishads start with a shanti mantra. A peaceful mind can probe into something beyond, it can grasp that something which cannot be grasped by the little mind. 

The intellect cannot access things which your spirit can get access to. And for that, closeness is essential. This exercise has been there in the world all over right from Socrates and in other places. The Guru of Socrates used to give this exercise to students to see whether the student is on the same rhythm, same wavelength as the teacher.

Is there that inquisitiveness to know? Or is he caught up in some little wishes and desires?Do you want this and that or are you focused in knowing something beyond? Are you an empty cup or are you already overflowing? If you are already overflowing nothing more can add to you. This is why makes you come closer. 

If a student thinks he already knows everything then he is no more a disciple. He is only there to verify why he already knew. So, being hollow and empty, a willingness to know and having that faith in the teacher that the teacher knows "I would like to learn from the teacher" and the teacher should know the sinceritv of the student. 

A student should believe in the wisdom of the teacher and teacher should believe in the sincerity of the student. Then they are on the same wavelength. The teacher doubts whether the student is sincere or not, whether he has come here to study or has been pushed into the class just because of parents. This is the discord that we are seeing in the world. 

Why in site of so many universities and colleges are we not bringing up people with wisdom or minds with knowledge? The reason is disconnect. Student should have faith in the wisdom of the teacher and the teacher should have faith in the sincerity of the student and hence the shanti mantra.