Uttama Sishya!!!

I was just listening to a talk by one of my favourite people.He spoke about why Arjuna was recognised by his Guru Dronacharya as "Uttama Sishya".
We all generally know that Arjuna was one of the finest disciples and was a great archer and the best of all the students of his Guru Dronacharya.At this juncture I am ofcourse reminded of Eklavya who also worshipped Dronacharaya as his manaseega Guru though he could not learn directly from Drona.He learnt archery and mastered just by observing what was taught by Dronacharya to his students.Realising that Eklavya was as good an archer as his favourite student Dronya takes Eklavya's thumb as Gurudakshina thereby making sure no one would beat Arjuna in archery.It is indeed very important to mention here that in doing so though Dronacharya appeared to have earned a bad name for himself,he made sure that Eklavyas name was known and celebrated by all,when ever Guru Bhakti was spoken about.
All guru's have total comapssion and are filled with grace and love for their disciples is what we need to understand and acknowledge.Dronacharya had his limtations and hence could not accept to teach Eklavya.
Coming back to Arjuna,he was such an enthusiastic and sincere learner that he was always trying new skills and improving himself all the time.
One night Dronacharya hears the sound of the twang of Arjuna's bow and when he sees Arjuna practising shooting arrows in the dark, he wonders how Arjuna learnt this, because this was one skill which Dronacharya never taught Arjuna.So he approaches Arjuna and asks him how he learnt this skill when he was not taught this.In reply Arjuna tells his Guru that one night the lights were swithced off during dinner time and though it was dark Arjuna observed that he was able to take the food and put it in his mouth without difficulty.This motivated him to think that when it is possible to eat in the dark it should also be possible to shoot arrows on target in the dark,with practice.When Dronacharya heard what Arjuna had to say he was overwhelmed with pride for his disciple and called him Uttama Sishya.
Jai Gurudev...
Stay tuned...