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In ancient India, children didn’t pay for their education. They lived in their teachers' home for years as if they were their own children and learnt from them. Only on the completion of their education, when it was time for them to leave, they would have to give something as thanks giving. The teacher would normally ask for something he wanted and the students would happily try their best to get it for him. This token of gift is called Gurudakshina.
Once five students approached their teacher at the end of their studies to ask him what he wanted as gurudakshina. The teacher smiled and asked them to get him a bag of dried leaves. The students went off. They were very confident that they would get it suddenly because there is no use for dried leaves.
Thus they went in to the forest nearby. To their surprise, they saw no dried leaves. Someone had collected the leaves and taken them away. They went to a farmer nearby and asked him for a bag of dry leaves. The farmer told them that he had used all he had as fuel and had none to spare them. Then they went to a merchant and asked him for help. He said that he used the leaves by stitching them to take large leaf plates. He sold them after making large number of leaf plates as disposable so that he had none to spare. At last they saw an old lady and asked her for some. She told them that she separated them every day in to different groups and add them to make herbal medicines. She too had no leaves to spare.
Thus the students returned and told the teacher that they were not able to get even half a bag of dried leaves. Even dried leaves have so many uses. Then the teacher smiled and said, “The best gurudakshina you can give me is the lesson you learned today. Even a dried leaf has many uses, then consider human beings!. Remember this and treat every person as if he or she is important to you. This will help you to get along with everyone and make your life easy and happy”.
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