Why do we celebrate Teachers' day?

The answer is obvious. It is the day we remember and celebrate the first vice-president and the second president of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birthday, who was a great philosopher and himself a teacher. Therefore, he wished his birthday to be remembered as the day of the teachers.

This much we all know but this is not the answer that i sought. To find the answer we need to first answer another question.

Who is a teacher?

From what i understand, a teacher is someone who is supposed to guide a student to enlightenment. A teacher or rather a 'guru' has to play three distinct roles in the life of a student. Firstly, that of 'a loving Friend', secondly, that of 'an inspiring philosopher' and lastly, that of 'an honest guide'. As a friend, he helps the student solve his problems, as a philosopher, he helps the student in finding the answers to the important questions of life and as a guide, he helps the student find his path to success.

(Here, I would like to draw a rather interesting (some might even find it absurd) analogy between a 'Teacher' and a 'Battery'. When one acquires knowledge, he acquires the potential similar to how a battery acquires potential by the process of charging. The potential in the battery is measured in 'voltage', whereas, the potential of a teacher can be measured in 'knowledge' of that teacher. The more knowledge the teacher acquires, the better teacher he will be. Similarly, the more voltage, or charge a battery acquires, the better it'll perform. However, like a battery, a teacher might also have his limits. And just like batteries, they also vary in quality and capacity. There are some teachers who are like rechargeable batteries, because they keep their thirst for knowledge alive forever. And obviously, people prefer rechargeable batteries to normal batteries because they last longer. But they are priced more than the ordinary batteries, hence they are difficult to get. The same can also be said about the 'rechargeable' teachers as they are popular but rare and hard to find.)

This is the definition of an 'ideal' teacher. But do such teachers really exist today? Maybe yes, but they are extremely rare. Have I ever met any such teacher in my life? To be honest, the answer is 'no'. I can not remember any teacher who has actually made a difference in my life. But maybe its just me.

Now, coming back to the original question, why exactly do we celebrate teachers' day? Is it to worship the teachers who have lost their significance in this flawed academic system that is designed to create more and more slaves of the system? Or is it to chase after the mirage of ideal 'gurus' that do not exist anymore?

I feel that this day should neither be about any particular teacher, nor about the class of teachers as a whole. This day should be about 'Teachership' or rather 'The Spirit of Teacher-ship'. I would like to quote one of my teachers here, as he said that the most important aspect in this day is "neither in the proper noun, i.e. 'S. Radhakrishnan', nor in the common noun, i.e. 'teacher', but in the abstract noun, i.e. 'teachership'"

What is Teachership? you may ask. Teachership is the quality of being a teacher. It is a latent quality that everyone possesses. When a student acquires knowledge, he also acquires the potential of imparting that knowledge to someone else. So, every student is a potential teacher. And every teacher is also a student because, to be a teacher, one has to acquire that potential by acquiring knowledge. This implies that a teachership and a studentship are complimentary to each other. You cannot have one without having the other. 

So, the Teachers' day should not be about the one teacher or the teachers as a whole but about the 'Spirit of Teachership' that we need to find within us and to realize our moral duty to give what we got and the duty to be good teachers.