guru-shishya tradition
Enable an agent to recognise and assess a claimed instance of guru-shishya tradition, record how teaching and authority are transmitted, and determine appropriate actions within its commitments and boundaries.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 16 findings · 26 questions
Definitions and recognition Establishes what guru-shishya tradition means in the setting being modelled and how an instance is recognised.
Situated meanings
Records definitions attributed to participants, communities and researchers.
Definition and claimant
Record who uses the term, which context they describe and which features they regard as necessary or optional.
- How do the teacher, disciple and relevant community define guru-shishya tradition in this setting? definition
- Where do these definitions disagree with each other or with the scholarly account being used? boundary
Instance boundaries
Tests claimed instances against explicit criteria rather than titles or appearances.
Relationship identification
Document the basis for recognising this particular association as a teacher-disciple relationship within the tradition.
- What evidence shows that both parties acknowledge this relationship, rather than one party merely claiming association? provenance
- What makes this relationship an instance of guru-shishya tradition rather than ordinary tuition, mentorship or membership in an institution? boundary
Entry and transmission authority Records how relationships begin and how the teacher's authority is established or contested.
Acceptance and initiation
Captures locally relevant ways of entering and acknowledging the relationship.
Entry conditions
Record any acceptance process, initiation, probation or prerequisites without presuming a ritual is always required.
- What act or process establishes the relationship here, and is initiation required, optional or inapplicable? definition
- Which commitments and conditions must each party understand and accept before the relationship begins? action
Authority and lineage evidence
Separates instructional competence, community recognition and lineage claims.
Grounds of teaching authority
Record each asserted basis of authority and the evidence or recognition supporting it.
- Who recognises this guru's authority, for which teachings, and on what evidence? provenance
- Which claimed teacher-disciple links are documented, disputed or unknown, and does this setting require such links? provenance
Pedagogy and attainment Models what passes between guru and shishya and how learning becomes observable.
Instruction and practice
Records the setting's actual methods of teaching, practising and correcting.
Guided transmission cycle
Describe how explanation, demonstration, imitation, independent practice or other methods connect to feedback from the guru.
- What does the guru teach through direct interaction, and what does the shishya practise between encounters? definition
- How are mistakes noticed and corrected, and what records can establish that this feedback occurs? measurement
Progress and recognition
Connects claims of attainment to context-specific demonstrations and assessors.
Attainment evidence
Record what counts as progress, who judges it and which claims cannot be independently assessed.
- Which demonstrations, performances, interpretations or other observations count as progress in the transmitted discipline? measurement
- How are the guru's judgment, the disciple's account and any external assessment distinguished when they disagree? boundary
Commitments and authority boundaries Records reciprocal expectations and the limits governing the relationship.
Reciprocal obligations
Makes explicit what each party offers, expects and considers binding.
Instruction, service and support
Record expectations concerning teaching, practice, service, gifts, fees or material support using the participants' own distinctions.
- What teaching and support does the guru undertake, and what practice, service or material contributions are expected of the shishya? definition
- Which expectations are voluntary, negotiated or treated as obligatory, and how can either party request a change? action
Consent, dissent and departure
Identifies authority limits and practical ways to question, refuse or end participation.
Limits and recourse
Record the scope of claimed obedience, the disciple's expressed boundaries and available routes for resolving concerns.
- Where does the guru's acknowledged teaching authority end, and which extensions into personal decisions are contested? boundary
- How can a disciple refuse an instruction, raise a concern or leave, and what consequences or dependencies affect that choice? action
Continuity, permissions and change Tracks onward transmission and changes to the relationship's form.
Onward transmission
Distinguishes possession of knowledge from permission to reproduce, teach or represent it.
Teaching and disclosure permissions
Record whether permission is relevant and, where it is, who grants it and what activities it covers.
- Does this setting distinguish competence to practise from authorisation to teach, accept disciples or represent a lineage? boundary
- What permissions apply before an agent records, shares or republishes instruction, repertoire or material described as restricted? action
Adaptation and succession
Records how participants assess continuity when teachers, media or institutional settings change.
Continuity under change
Attribute judgments about succession and adaptation rather than presuming either an unchanged essence or inevitable decline.
- Which features do participants consider necessary for continuity when instruction becomes remote, institutional or distributed across multiple teachers? boundary
- Who recognises a successor or adapted form, and what evidence supports or challenges that recognition? provenance
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of guru-shishya tradition this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of guru-shishya tradition this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of guru-shishya tradition this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of guru-shishya tradition this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of guru-shishya tradition this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of guru-shishya tradition this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Cross-cutting context
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- XCT
- Domain
- XCT.QLT
What it is Filled
The guru-shishya tradition is a family of South Asian practices in which a teacher (guru) transmits knowledge, skills, disciplines or spiritual teachings to a disciple (shishya) through a sustained personal relationship, often understood as part of a teaching lineage.
In scope
- Participant and scholarly definitions of guru-shishya relationships, with their cultural and disciplinary contexts
- Recognition of teachers and disciples, including any initiation, acceptance or lineage claims
- Personal instruction, demonstration, practice, correction and assessment within the relationship
- Reciprocal commitments, authority boundaries and conditions for consent, refusal or departure
- Transmission continuity, adaptation and claims of competence or authorisation to teach
Out of scope
- Complete doctrines, rituals or repertoires of a particular religious or artistic tradition
- Biographies of individual gurus and disciples beyond their relevant relationships
- Administration, property and finances of an ashram, gurukul, academy or other host institution
- Generic mentoring, coaching and classroom instruction without a substantiated connection to guru-shishya tradition
- Legal adjudication of individual complaints or disputes
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to recognise and assess a claimed instance of guru-shishya tradition, record how teaching and authority are transmitted, and determine appropriate actions within its commitments and boundaries.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Determine whether participants or relevant sources identify the relationship as guru-shishya, and record the reasons rather than inferring it from a respected teacher alone.
- Establish whether transmission depends on a recognised personal teacher-disciple relationship, rather than enrolment or access to instructional content alone.
- Identify what the relationship adds to ordinary instruction: for example, sustained formative guidance, particular obligations or recognised transmission authority; establish which features the local account actually requires.
- Distinguish a claimed teaching lineage from documented teacher-disciple connections and from institutional affiliation alone.
- Test whether residence, initiation, exclusivity or spiritual allegiance is required in this setting instead of treating any of these as universal admission criteria.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Present itself as a guru or claim spiritual authority over a user.
- Defend or excuse abuse, exploitation or coercion committed within teacher-student relationships.
- Reduce the tradition to stereotype or treat it as exotic entertainment.
- Disclose private matters a student shares about their teacher or lineage without consent.
Only with a human decision
- Advising a person whether to leave or report a teacher.
- Recording or publishing teachings a lineage holds as restricted.
May
- Describe the tradition, its forms and its role in music, dance, scholarship and spiritual life from reliable sources.
- Help a student organize practice or study at the student's request.
Moral aspects Filled
- The tradition carries sacred and artistic knowledge valued by many South Asian communities.
- Strong dependence on a teacher can be abused, and victims deserve to be heard.
Who is affected
- Students and disciples
- Teachers and lineages
- Communities that hold the tradition
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns it; teachers and lineages carry it within their communities.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q930933 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.guru-shishya-tradition
- Wikidata: Q5620325 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5620325)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Contextual definition: Attributed definition, setting and stated inclusion or exclusion criteria
- Transmission domain: Religious practice, philosophical study, music, dance, other specified domain or a documented combination
- Teacher-disciple recognition: Proposed, mutually acknowledged, unilaterally claimed, disputed, ended or unknown
- Lineage connection: Named predecessor-successor links with claimants, evidence and uncertainty; absent or not applicable where established
- Instructional arrangement: Residential, visiting, institutional, remote, mixed or unspecified, with individual and group components recorded
- Guided practice intensity: Hours of direct instruction and supervised practice per stated period, where meaningful and available
- Authority scope: Explicitly identified domains of guidance, decision-making and claimed obedience, with limits and disagreements
- Transmission permission: Unspecified, not required, restricted, granted, disputed or withdrawn, with the granting authority and permitted activity
Plane XCT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
The teaching relationship cannot be reliably identified by appearance, clothing or ritual objects.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Compare definitions and identify why a particular relationship is included, excluded or contested.
- Map documented teacher-disciple connections while distinguishing evidence from lineage assertions.
- Record teaching practices and assess progress using criteria attributed to the relevant discipline and participants.
- Check whether a proposed recording, performance, disclosure or teaching activity falls within documented permissions.
- Identify conflicting expectations, authority claims or consent conditions that require clarification before acting.
- Track departure, succession and adaptation without automatically equating change with loss of legitimacy.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Unchecked authority can lead to financial, emotional or sexual exploitation of students.
- Commercial imitation can distort and devalue the tradition.
Standards and interfaces not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
No single formal standard or official classification defines this diverse religious teaching tradition.
Context of use required Filled
- The tradition is encountered in Hindu spiritual instruction, philosophical study, ritual training and artistic education.
- A sustained teacher-disciple relationship supports the transmission of teachings, practical skills and disciplinary commitments.
- Expectations concerning lineage, initiation, service and authority vary between communities and teachers.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q5620325: guru-shishya tradition - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Guru–shishya tradition - general description of the item
Open questions
- Which reference works and community accounts best establish the range of meanings across religious, philosophical, musical and dance settings?
- In which settings are initiation, lineage, residence or exclusive allegiance defining requirements, and where are they optional or explicitly rejected?
- How should the model represent disagreements between participant accounts, institutional narratives and historical evidence without privileging one by default?
- Which forms of attainment and teaching authorisation can be independently evidenced, and which remain judgments internal to a particular community?
- How do contemporary participants negotiate material dependence, consent, departure and digital transmission, and which differences require context-specific extensions?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q5620325/spec.json