Gurukula

A gurukul or gurukulam (Sanskrit: गुरुकुल, romanized: gurukul) is a type of education system in ancient India with shishya ('students' or 'disciples') living near or with the guru in the same house for a period of time where they learn and get educated by their guru.^[1] Tradition by contrast, the word Guru has a very restricted use and not generally applied to individual teachers, while the institution of Gurdwara has a major social role instead of a monastic one.) The word gurukula is a combination of the Sanskrit words guru ('teacher' or 'master') and kula ('family' or 'home').^[2][3] The term is also used today to refer to residential monasteries or schools operated by modern gurus.^[4] The proper plural of the term is gurukulam, though gurukuls is also used in English and some other European languages.

The students learn from the guru and help the guru in his everyday life, including carrying out of mundane daily household chores. However, some scholars suggest that the activities are not mundane and very essential part of the education to inculcate self-discipline among students.^[5] Typically, a guru does not receive or accept any fees from the shishya studying with him as the relationship between a guru and the shishya is considered very sacred.^[6]

At the end of one's education, a shishya offers the guru dakshina before leaving the gurukul.^[3] The gurudakshina is a traditional gesture of acknowledgment, respect and thanks to the guru, which may be monetary, but may also be a special task the teacher wants the student to accomplish.^[3] While living in a gurukula, the students would be away from their home from a period of months to years at a stretch. Through Gurukul, students used to learn self discipline, politeness, good humanism and spirituality that would assist them to be an enlightened person in the future.