Careful

God's Own Garden

The Times of India; Date: 04-Mar-08

A school is akin to a garden. Just like a garden full of trees, a school has a number of students. Like the trees in the garden, each one has a distinct personality. Not just externally, but internally too students have different interests, strengths and ambitions. It is this multifaceted harmony among students of a school that resembles a beautiful garden.

School-teachers are akin to gardeners. Being the care-takers of the garden, they have to strive towards its well. As they sprinkle water of their knowledge and add the manure of their experience, a tiny sapling develops into a full-grown tree. They also have to remove the “weeds” that can harm growth of the trees and mar the beauty of the garden. At times, they need to be stern too. With the shower of their love acting as the fertilizer, they make the weed discover its natural beauty. As the American poet Ella Wilcox said “A weed is but an unloved flower”.

As the tree grows, it discovers its treasures like flowers, fruits and thorns. Similarly students realize their strengths and identify the areas where they can improve. In harnessing the true potential of these treasures, teachers play a vital role in giving the tree proper shade, sunlight and protection. Without the gardener’s timely care the trees will not be able to grow well. Some parts of the trees may have been infected; the gardener has to ensure that he redresses the infected part so that the growth of the tree is not stunted.

But the guardian never owns any tree or the garden itself. Teachers are just the selfless caretakers and their noble role is to meaningfully guide the child. They should not be dominating and enforce their own ideas, rather they should leave enough space for the tree to explore their strengths. Just as Kahil Gibran says in his book The Prophet “If the teacher is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.” As the trees grow and the garden blooms, the charming fragrance of the flowers and the nectar-like sweetness of the fruits of those trees are the gardener’s real satisfaction.

So, whom does this garden ultimately belong to?

The Almighty or God is the ultimate creator of these trees, the gardeners and the garden itself. It is only with his solemn grace that the trees are able to grow, the gardener is able to protect the trees and the garden remains as beautiful as it could be. In fact, the trees, the gardener and the garden are nothing but a reflection of the many beautiful faces of the Almighty.

Dear students, as we all grow from innocent saplings to a mature trees, may not we forget the contributions of the gardeners and the Almighty. The strength of a tree lies not in its branches, but in its roots which are nurtured by the toil of the gardener.

(The author is an alumnus of Fr. Agnel’s Multipurpose School and Junior College, Navi Mumbai. He is a freelance writer.)