Passage 4

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In plain words

Not the politicians: the teachers are the true leaders of the whole country. You alone can set the children right. If there were no teachers at all, anarchy would run riot. Teachers must take due care, shape the children into lamps of the ideal, spread that light in every village and every street, and give joy to the people. The people are tossed about by sufferings of many kinds. They must teach them the remembrance of the Lord's sacred Name and try to relieve their sufferings. However many sufferings they may be in, the moment the sacred Name of the Lord touches their ears, Ānanda dances in their hearts.

Teachers! You are so very fortunate. You must hold on to this good fortune that has fallen to you. You must make this good fortune grow and nourish it. You must share this good fortune with many others. Sharing it in this way, you must eat the harvest of joy that ripens from it. The teacher's calling is a most noble one. Teachers are leaders of the world itself. If they were not there, this very world would not exist. Vasiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, Jamadagni: how great all such maharṣis were! Droṇācārya, Kṛpācārya, Bhīṣmācārya ... All of these set an ideal before the world by living it. It is these who are the true ācāryas. Only when you grow into ācāryas like these can you drive away all the wrong conduct in the world. Once in their boyhood, while the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas were playing with a ball, the ball fell into a well that was there. Just then Droṇa, on a journey somewhere with his wife and son, came that way. He came up to the children gathered round the well: ‘Why have you all crowded round the well like this? What has happened?’ he asked. ‘Our ball has fallen into this well, master!’ said the children. ‘Do not worry at all. I shall take it out,’ said Droṇa, and he loosed an arrow, which went and pierced the ball. He loosed another arrow so that it pierced that arrow. In this way he ‘joined’ the arrows one to another, made a rope of arrows, and with it he drew the ball out.