​Guru Purnima: 7 greatest teachers India has ever had​

As India observes Guru Purnima on July 3, 2023 let's understand the importance of this day and the significance it has on the followers of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhists. The festival is celebrated to honour one's teacher or guru. Be it a spiritual teacher or an academic guru, remembering and paying tributes to one's teacher has significance in these religions. On this auspicious day, let's learn about the greatest teachers India has ever had.

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Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam BR served as the 11th President of the country from 2002 to 2007. A beloved statesman, Dr Kalam was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied aerospace engineering. He passed away on July 27, 2015 while addressing students at IIM Shillong. He was only 5 minutes into the lecture when he suddenly collapsed and breathed his last. In his honour, National Students' Day is observed on October 15, on his birthday.

Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888. He is considered to be the greatest teacher of all time and in his honour, September 5 is observed as Teacher's Day in India. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was the first Vice President of India and the second President of India.

Founder of the Arya Samaj, Swami Dayanand Saraswati was born on February 12, 1824 in Tankara. He was known as Maharshi Dayanand and was respected as the builder of modern India. His book Satyarth Prakash continues to remain the best book on the philosophy of the Vedas.

The first female teacher of India, Savitribai Phule, was a poet and a social reformer too. She led the feminist movement in India. Born on January 3, 1831, strongly opposed Sati Pratha, which was very common in those days. She completed her education after her marriage to Jyotirao Phule and went on to become the first woman teacher and headmistress.

A monk, philosopher, author and spiritual teacher, Swami Vivekananda is known as a teacher and a social reformist. He was one of the notable disciples of Ramakrishna. He was born on January 12, 1863 in Kolkata and passed away on July 4, 1902.

Vishnugupta, also known as Chanakya, is considered to be the greatest teacher of all times. Chanakya's principles are still germane and are referred to several times in different contexts: political, non-political and academic.

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Guru Rabindranath Tagore had reshaped Indian literature, especially Bengali literature. He is known as Gurudeb, Kabiguru and Biswakabi. He was conferred the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

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