"In this world, you can achieve everything with love."

- July 28, 1999

So, you want to be a teacher? You roll into class your very first day of school full of idealism, with visions of students learning human values by osmosis within a week, and your classroom becoming a beacon of love and light in the school, right? Instead you are stunned to meet children who would prefer to ignore you than follow instructions, and who place the highest value on lunch, recess and the dismissal bell. What do you do? Since this happened to me, and I continue to teach public middle school, I would like to share a few ideas on how to make teaching a form of sadhana; I am still working on practicing these myself.

"The first quality you have to cultivate is gratitude to the Divine."

- Jan. 14, 1989

Gratitude. First of all, realize how absolutely blessed you are to have such a challenging job; think of all the karma you are quickly burning by tossing yourself into the lion's den every single day. No matter how tough it gets, there is always some ray of light for which to be thankful. Know that through all your tribulations, you are on the expressway to self-knowledge.

 

"There is only one true friend who is always with you, in you and around you. He is God."

- Dassera Message, September 1998

Demand God's Presence. I can remember screaming at the top of my lungs in the car on the way to school that first year, telling Swami He had gotten me into this, so it was His responsibility to work through me every single day. It was not long before some pretty amazing things began to happen in my classroom. As Phyllis Krystal instructs, you can ask God to think, feel, speak, act and love through you every morning before leaving for work. Swami assures us that He is always with us; as we become aware of this truth, our fear and anxiety subsides, and we can trust ourselves.

 

"In fact, you have no difficulties and no anxieties. There is only bliss."

-Dassera 9/98

Recognize Maya. Remember that every situation is just God's play, God's gift. When that child pushes your buttons because he can't sit still, see this as Swami teaching you patience. When you dole out consequences to a student who cannot complete her homework, see this as Swami teaching you compassionate strength. When a parent is furious about her child's situation and wants to blame everything on you, see this as Swami teaching you to be peaceful. Every situation can be viewed from a worldly view or a spiritual one. The more often we can take the spiritual view by asking ourselves, "What is Swami trying to teach me through this?" the more we can get out of the magical mystery of maya.

 

"Your Life is His Message."

First Be, then Tell. We teach others who we are. Students will probably forget a lot of what you say in class, what they read in books, or even what they memorize for tests. What they will remember is how you treated them and the way they felt about themselves when they were with you. When you are stressed, you teach them that the world is a stressful place. When you are full of joy, you teach them that the world is joyful. Ask yourself, "What kind of example am I today?"

 

"The best way to love God is to love all and serve all."

- November 22, 1998

Love All, Serve All. What a magnificent opportunity teaching is to find ways to serve. Some people think of service as that thing we do on Saturday at the soup kitchen, but it is much more accessible than that. Opportunities to serve are available to us every minute of every day:
Serve the parents of your students by encouraging and supporting their efforts to raise upstanding young citizens; do your best to make sure that they leave conferences and meetings feeling good about themselves and their children. Serve your students by demonstrating that you care about them: Notice their strengths and emphasize them so they feel good about themselves when they are with you. Serve your colleagues by maintaining a positive attitude: Schools are stressful places to be; find ways to uplift your colleagues with good cheer, ideas, solutions, food or other forms of appreciation.

 

"One can at best save one's self by trying to save the world."

- Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 5

Nishkama Karma. Do the best you can, and don't be attached to the fruits of your work. Once in a while, a student may call you or write you a note expressing his or her gratitude for your efforts, but for each of those, expect a thousand other efforts to go unnoticed. You may never know how you touched someone, or what important lesson he or she may have learned from you. Trust that in doing the best you can, you are making yourself a better person, which is what Swami says this game is really about.

Teaching is a fabulous opportunity to put Bhagawan's teachings into practice every minute of the day. While the early years can be fraught with peril, the well-intentioned teacher's good work is multiplied by the numerous students who come into contact with him or her every day. Trust that your profession is a Divine opportunity.

"God's work will never fail."

- April 14, 1999

.