The word acharya is a commonly used Sanskrit
word. It is used by people, who do not even know Sanskrit, as it is present in
almost every Indian language. The widely used meaning of the word acharya
is teacher. However, it is necessary to see the other meanings and the origins
of this Sanskrit word. Sanskrit is a classical language like Greek, Latin, and
Persian. And in Sanskrit, as in most classical languages, most words are
derived from a stem or root.
The word acharya is
derived by adding the aa prefix and nyat suffix to the root verb char,
which means to go, eat, behave, act, move, walk, graze, follow, practise,
tremble, shake, be animate, being formerly, late, locomotive, unsteady,
wandering, being, and living. So, acharya means one who goes, eats,
behaves, acts, moves, walks, grazes, follows, practises, trembles, shakes, is
animate, was formerly, was late, is locomotive, unsteady, wandering, being, and
living.
The word acharya also means a person
who expounds the meaning of mantras, teacher, preceptor, spiritual guide, holy
teacher, a person who gives the sacred thread to a pupil, one who teaches the
Vedas, one who propounds a
particular doctrine, learned, venerable, an adviser or preceptor of a Vedic
sacrifice, an epithet of Drona, a degree or title of proficiency, one who knows
and teaches the rules, and one who leads by example.
According to Sanatana Dharma acharya
is not a person having merely the knowledge of the scriptures, but one who practises the
teachings of the scriptures and knows all the practical ramifications of such
practice from one’s own experience.
Swami Vivekananda said that while
it was easy to find a teacher to learn secular subjects like physics,
chemistry, or mathematics, it was quite difficult to find a spiritual teacher
or acharya. The reason he gave for this difficulty was that while it was
sufficient for a teacher of secular subjects to have expertise in their
subjects and it did not matter what their moral compass was or how their
lifestyle was, in the case of a spiritual teacher it was paramount that the
teacher practised what she or he taught. Swamiji also said that when an acharya
teaches spirituality, it is not just the wisdom contained in the scriptures
that gets transferred from the teacher to the pupil, but a part of the
spiritual energy of the teacher, in fact, a part of the teacher’s
character, is transferred. That is why it is important that the acharya is
established in the highest spiritual principle, the ultimate Reality, Brahman.
The Upanishads describe that the best acharya,
spiritual teacher, or guru is one who is thoroughly well-versed in the
scriptures, lives on alms, does not have any craving for the world, and is
established in Brahman. It was the tradition to completely emulate one’s acharya,
because the life of the acharya was flawless and following in the
footsteps of the acharya could easily lead one to spiritual fulfilment.
Jainism considers an acharya to be one among
the five parameshthis, greatest gurus of the Jain religion. In Sanatana
Dharma, the word acharya has also been used as a title for great
prophets or teachers like Acharya Shankara, Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya, and
so on.
Author is Editor Prabuddha Bharata. The Balabodha series as
written is a glossary of words and not an article.
To read all
articles by the Author
Also read
1 Who
is a Rishi
2 An
offering on Guru Purnima
This article was first published in the August 2019 issue of Prabuddha Bharata, monthly
journal of The Ramakrishna Order started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896. This
article is courtesy and copyright Prabuddha Bharata. I have been reading the
Prabuddha Bharata for years and found it enlightening. Cost is Rs 180/ for one
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