The Teacher’s Responsibility in the Guru-Śiṣya Tradition

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Lecture: The Teacher's Responsibility in the Guru-Śiṣya Tradition

70.00 ₪

In this final exploration of the guru-śiṣya tradition, we examine teachers' ethical responsibilities through three Mahābhārata narratives: Droṇācārya and Ekalavya, Droṇa and Arjuna, and Karṇa and Paraśurāma. These stories from 400 BCE - 400 CE illuminate complex questions about knowledge transmission during a period of social transformation. For modern yoga teachers, they address critical challenges: determining who receives advanced teachings, balancing tradition with accessibility, and recognizing when knowledge restriction becomes discrimination. For students, they provide frameworks for understanding teacher authority and learning responsibilities. These ancient dilemmas offer insights for navigating contemporary issues of cultural appropriation, educational equity, and authentic transmission in today's diverse yoga landscape.

Agi Wittich PhD

Agi Wittich is a yoga practitioner since two decades, and is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher. Wittich studied Sanskrit and Tamil at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, completing a PhD with a focus on Hinduism, Yoga, and Gender. She has published academic papers exploring topics such as Iyengar yoga and women, the effects of Western media on the image of yoga, and an analysis of the Thirumanthiram yoga text.