Essays

The word 'student' refers to "a learner'. A person who wishes to acquire a certain kind of knowledge and wisdom or skill in a particular field or enhances his/her intellectual capabilities in a general manner is a learner or a student. Though, all of us remain students of the Great Master called Life throughout, yet our life is thus divided that we spend around 15-20 years of the early part of our life in acquiring the necessary knowledge in order to lead a successful life later. This calls for a systematic and organized system of education. Pupils under the ambit of this formal system of education spend a bulk of their childhood, adolescence and a part of their youth in acquiring all the pre-requisite knowledge needed to build up a successful career and thereby lead a successful life.

Thus we see that a child for the first quarter of his life first is and foremost a student. Even in ancient times in our country, the life of a person was systematically divided into four parts called the 'Ashramas' viz - the Brahmacharya Ashrama, the Grihastha Ashrama, the Vanprastha Ashrama and the Sanyasa Ashrama. The Brahmacharya Ashrama was the time when the child practiced celibacy and acquired knowledge, wisdom and understanding at the feet of his Guru. Only after that did he step into the next phase of his life - the married or family life.

A person in order to acquire knowledge and gain wisdom should have certain qualities, capacities and abilities in him in order to be a good student. A person who has such capacities makes for a desirable and likeable student in the eyes of his teacher. An ideal student should first of all be punctual. Ho should know the value of time. Unless he realizes how precious the time is, he will not be able to master himself. If he lacks this quality, time the great power will finally beat him and he will fail to achieve his goals. Next. an ideal student should be obedient and should have an open mind. Unless he follows the instructions of his teacher and allows himself to be corrected and reformed for betterment, a student will never be able to succeed in life. A good student should be humble as well. If he is humble then only he will tie able to learn, be obedient and will gain the knowledge and the skills of the teacher. Students are like raw clay in the hands of a teacher. They are like tender saplings which need to be grafted and groomed- This is possible only, it the clay is willing to be moulded in a desirable shape and the sapling is tender. If U refuses to bend, it will break.

A good student should be responsible. Without having the capability to shoulder the responsibility regarding anything, a student will not be able to achieve anything worthwhile in life. Only a responsible person will carry forward the greater responsibility of being a good citizen, a good person or even for that matter shoulder the responsibility of a family. A good student should be persevering and consistent in his studies. A person who moves ahead continuously without being discouraged by failures and obstacles, succeeds in life. Along with perseverance, a good student should be hard working. Hard work and consistency goes hand in hand. Moreover, a good student will never be selfish. He will be very helpful. Knowledge, it is said, increases only on sharing. An ideal student will always help his fellow students, He will be full of humility and will know no pride, conceit, vanity or selfishness. An ideal student will have a keen observation and a curious mind. Without these two, he will fail to acquire knowledge, wisdom and understanding. In fact, they are the seeds of knowledge. Only a curious mind will seek new things and like to learn novel ideas; knowledge of new things can be acquired only by a keen observer.

These intellectual capacities are not sufficient. A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. Thus, an ideal student has to be physically strong and fit in order to have a good concentration and work hard. An ideal student therefore, keeps fit by exercising regularly. Exercise increases his capacity to concentrate, makes him disciplined and orderly. And we all know a disciplined student is always successful. Finally, a good student is also respectful. He who knows no respect, knows no knowledge, is a maxim. One cannot progress without the blessings of his teachers and elders which he earns only when he is respectful. These are but a few qualities of an ideal student which are his beacons on his march towards attaining the eternal wisdom.