Send sanskrit mailing list submissions to
sanskrit@cs.utah.edu
To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
http://mailman.cs.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/sanskrit
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
sanskrit-requ...@cs.utah.edu
You can reach the person managing the list at
sanskrit-ow...@cs.utah.edu
When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of sanskrit digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ????? (S. L. Abhyankar)
2. Re: ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ????? (Naresh Cuntoor)
3. Re: ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ????? (Krishnamachary)
4. Re: ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ????? (Krishnamachary)
5. akShayatritIyA edition of vishvavANI (arun)
6. Greatness of Sanskrit (K.N.RAMESH)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 19:56:25 -0400
From: "S. L. Abhyankar" <sl.abhyan...@gmail.com>
Subject: [Sanskrit] ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ?????
To: sanskrit@cs.utah.edu
Message-ID:
<aanlktint_ezgowcjhach4kizlwrf8ltvouo0kr7ky...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ???????????
??? ????????? ????? ?
???????? ????????? ?????? ??? ???????????? ????? ?
???????? = May everything be fine!!
--
???????? ,
?????????????????? ???????? |
"?????? ?? ???? ?????????? ? ????? ???????? ???? ??????????? ?"
Greetings
1. Good Morning = ??????????
2. Have a good day = ??????????
3. How are you (masculine)? = ??????? ????? ?
4. How are you (feminine) ? = ??????? ???? ?
5. Good evening = ???? ????????
6. Good night = ??????????
7. Good bye!! or Bye ! Bye !! = ?????
8. See you soon = ??????? ???????
9. Hearty wishes = ????????? ?????????
10. Thank you = ?????????
11. Are you (masculine) fine ? = ????? ????? ?
12. Are you (feminine) fine ? = ??????? ???? ?
13. Is everything fine ? = ?????? ?????? ?
14. Excuse me please = ???????
Formal addresses -
1. Sir = ?????
2. Madam = ??????
3. Cordially or Affectionately = ????????
???????? = May everything be fine!!
God is ready to listen. Do you have time to pray?
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL:
http://mailman.cs.utah.edu/pipermail/sanskrit/attachments/20100515/57f4050b/attachment-0001.html
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 22:50:21 -0400
From: Naresh Cuntoor <nares...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Sanskrit] ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ?????
To: Sanskrit Mailing List <sanskrit@cs.utah.edu>
Message-ID:
<aanlktimbhomcrinycai7fztgeud_m2vwdptmvbo7h...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Samskrita Bharati has published a booklet called Vyavahaara saahasrii
with conversational greetings and such. May be of interest.
Naresh
vaak.wordpress.com
2010/5/15 S. L. Abhyankar <sl.abhyan...@gmail.com>:
> ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ???????????
> ??? ????????? ????? ?
> ???????? ????????? ?????? ??? ???????????? ????? ?
> ???????? = May everything be fine!!
> --
> ???????? ,
> ?????????????????? ???????? |
> "?????? ?? ???? ?????????? ? ????? ???????? ???? ??????????? ?"
> Greetings
>
> Good Morning = ??????????
> Have a good day = ??????????
> How are you (masculine)? = ??????? ????? ?
> How are you (feminine) ? = ??????? ???? ?
> Good evening = ???? ????????
> Good night = ??????????
> Good bye!! or Bye ! Bye !! = ?????
> See you soon = ??????? ???????
> Hearty wishes = ????????? ?????????
> Thank you = ?????????
> Are you (masculine) fine ? = ????? ????? ?
> Are you (feminine) fine ? = ??????? ???? ?
> Is everything fine ? = ?????? ?????? ?
> Excuse me please = ???????
>
> Formal addresses -
>
> Sir = ?????
> Madam = ??????
> Cordially or Affectionately = ????????
>
> ???????? = May everything be fine!!
> God is ready to listen. Do you have time to pray?
>
> _______________________________________________
> To UNSUBSCRIBE or customize your subscription or topics of interest, visit
> http://mailman.cs.utah.edu/mailman/options/sanskrit
> and follow instructions.
>
>
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 20:34:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: Krishnamachary <vedantham_kris...@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sanskrit] ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ?????
To: Sanskrit Mailing List <sanskrit@cs.utah.edu>
Message-ID: <345758.74527...@web35507.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
?????????? ?????? ??????????
Mr.V.Krishnamachary
Retired Civil Engineer
U 51 6th Main Road
Annanagar
CHENNAI-600 040
Phone: 44-26215105
Camp: 338 Sterling Circle
??? ??? ??? CARY, IL 60013 USA
Email: vedantham_kris...@yahoo.com
Phone: 847-639-2016
--- On Sat, 5/15/10, S. L. Abhyankar <sl.abhyan...@gmail.com> wrote:
From: S. L. Abhyankar <sl.abhyan...@gmail.com>
Subject: [Sanskrit] ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ?????
To: sanskrit@cs.utah.edu
Date: Saturday, May 15, 2010, 6:56 PM
????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ???????????
??? ????????? ????? ??
???????? ????????? ?????? ??? ???????????? ????? ?
???????? = May everything be fine!!
--?
???????? ,
?????????????????? ???????? |
"?????? ?? ???? ?????????? ? ????? ???????? ???? ??????????? ?"
Greetings?
Good Morning = ???????????
Have a good day = ???????????
How are you (masculine)? = ??????? ????? ??
How are you (feminine) ? = ??????? ???? ??
Good evening = ???? ?????????
Good night = ???????????
Good bye!! or Bye ! Bye !! = ??????
See you soon = ??????? ????????
Hearty wishes = ????????? ??????????
Thank you = ?????????
Are you (masculine) fine ? = ????? ????? ?
Are you (feminine) fine ? = ??????? ???? ?
Is everything fine ? = ?????? ?????? ?
Excuse me please = ???????
Formal addresses -?
Sir = ??????
Madam = ???????
Cordially or Affectionately = ?????????
???????? = May everything be fine!!
God is ready to listen. Do you have time to pray?
-----Inline Attachment Follows-----
_______________________________________________
To UNSUBSCRIBE or customize your subscription or topics of interest, visit
http://mailman.cs.utah.edu/mailman/options/sanskrit
and follow instructions.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL:
http://mailman.cs.utah.edu/pipermail/sanskrit/attachments/20100515/f513c4fd/attachment-0001.html
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 20:39:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: Krishnamachary <vedantham_kris...@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sanskrit] ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ?????
To: Sanskrit Mailing List <sanskrit@cs.utah.edu>
Message-ID: <81610.43997...@web35506.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Samskrutha Bharathi samskrutha-vyavahara- sahasree book contains allthese
Mr.V.Krishnamachary
Retired Civil Engineer
U 51 6th Main Road
Annanagar
CHENNAI-600 040
Phone: 44-26215105
Camp: 338 Sterling Circle
??? ??? ??? CARY, IL 60013 USA
Email: vedantham_kris...@yahoo.com
Phone: 847-639-2016
--- On Sat, 5/15/10, S. L. Abhyankar <sl.abhyan...@gmail.com> wrote:
From: S. L. Abhyankar <sl.abhyan...@gmail.com>
Subject: [Sanskrit] ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ?????
To: sanskrit@cs.utah.edu
Date: Saturday, May 15, 2010, 6:56 PM
????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ???????????
??? ????????? ????? ??
???????? ????????? ?????? ??? ???????????? ????? ?
???????? = May everything be fine!!
--?
???????? ,
?????????????????? ???????? |
"?????? ?? ???? ?????????? ? ????? ???????? ???? ??????????? ?"
Greetings?
Good Morning = ???????????
Have a good day = ???????????
How are you (masculine)? = ??????? ????? ??
How are you (feminine) ? = ??????? ???? ??
Good evening = ???? ?????????
Good night = ???????????
Good bye!! or Bye ! Bye !! = ??????
See you soon = ??????? ????????
Hearty wishes = ????????? ??????????
Thank you = ?????????
Are you (masculine) fine ? = ????? ????? ?
Are you (feminine) fine ? = ??????? ???? ?
Is everything fine ? = ?????? ?????? ?
Excuse me please = ???????
Formal addresses -?
Sir = ??????
Madam = ???????
Cordially or Affectionately = ?????????
???????? = May everything be fine!!
God is ready to listen. Do you have time to pray?
-----Inline Attachment Follows-----
_______________________________________________
To UNSUBSCRIBE or customize your subscription or topics of interest, visit
http://mailman.cs.utah.edu/mailman/options/sanskrit
and follow instructions.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL:
http://mailman.cs.utah.edu/pipermail/sanskrit/attachments/20100515/cdef5e5d/attachment-0001.html
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 09:24:42 +0530
From: arun <dri...@gmail.com>
Subject: [Sanskrit] akShayatritIyA edition of vishvavANI
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Message-ID:
<aanlktikeewge-boazl7q1pksnt8x0btspn396wtce...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: UMd Samskritam <umd_samskri...@yahoo.com>
Date: 2010/5/16
Subject: [umd_samskritam] akShayatritIyA edition of vishvavANI
To: umd_samskri...@yahoogroups.com
???,
???????????????????? ???????????? ??????????? ????????? -
http://speaksanskrit.org/vishvavani/vishvavANI_vol3_no3.pdf ? ????
?????????? ????????????? ??? ?????? ???????????? ?????????? ?????????
???????? ? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ?????????? -
http://www.speaksanskrit.org/vishvavani.shtml (????? ???????? download
?????? ?????? ??? ???????? ? ??? font-????? ? ?????? ?)
??????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????? ????? ???????
???????????? ??? ???? ???????? ? ????? ?????????????? ??????? ??????
??????????????? ???? ? ???? ?????? ????????? ?????? ?????????????????
?????????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ??? ? ?????? ????????? ?????? ??????????
????????????????? ?????????? ? ???????????? ??? ????? ???????? ??????????? ?
??????????? ??? ????????? ? ??????? ??????? ?
vishvav...@speaksanskrit.org????? ????????????? ? ????????????
????????? ????????,
?????????????????????? ??? ? ????????? ??????????? ? ??????????? ??????? ???
??????? ??? ??????????????? ???????? ?
We are glad to announce the release of the akShayatritIyA edition of our
Sanskrit webzine vishvavANI
http://speaksanskrit.org/vishvavani/vishvavANI_vol3_no3.pdf . This edition
completes three years of vishvavANI ( with 3 editions every year ). All nine
issues are available at http://www.speaksanskrit.org/vishvavani.shtml .
Instead of directly opening the pdfs in the browser, we suggest downloading
on to your local drive to avoid font problems.
We are happy to see that based on our request after the previous edition,
articles have come in from diverse locations. We are also happy that we
received lots of feedback from readers, some of which go to the depths of
analyzing and pointing out unintended language errors - one of the letters
is published in this edition. Please continue this support and send us
feedback and contributions for future editions to
vishvav...@speaksanskrit.org . Answers to and winner of the crossword from
the previous edition are published and we call for answers to the latest
crossword also to be sent to the above email ID . We sincerely thank all the
contributors for this issue:
*????*
* ?????? - Naresh Cuntoor, Albany, USA
* ????? ????????? ???? - Anupam Srivastava, Chennai, India
* ??????? ?? ????? - Hari Chandan Mantripragada, Pittsburgh, USA
* ????? ????? ????? - Subrahmaniyam Iyer, Mumbai, India
*??????????*
* ???????????? - Sowmya Joisa, Morrisville, USA
*???????*
* ????-????? - Yaajushi, Nagpur, India
* ??????????? ??????? - Avinash Varna, Greenbelt, USA
* ???????????? - Anupam Srivastava, Chennai, India and I. V. N. Acharya,
Kakinada, India
* ????????? ???????? - Uma Krishnamurti and Lakshmana Krishnamurti,
Pittsburgh, USA
* ???????????? - P. Narayanan, Nagarcoil, India
* ???????
--------------------------------
Campus Samskritam Network
www.speaksanskrit.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL:
http://mailman.cs.utah.edu/pipermail/sanskrit/attachments/20100516/f913bf5f/attachment-0001.html
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 16:07:09 +0530
From: "K.N.RAMESH" <knram...@gmail.com>
Subject: [Sanskrit] Greatness of Sanskrit
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Message-ID:
<aanlktimitzwwftkxxmz9yxdzlolabpjlfdtc_-nnk...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Courtesy :Sri.NG Iyer
=================
ENJOY!!!!!
The greatness of Samskrit
Sri Rutger Kortenhorst is a Sanskrit teacher in John Scottus school in
Dublin.
He is also known as Mrutyunjayah. He is an active member of School of
Practical Philosophy and Economic Sciences.
He took a year off and stayed in 'Aksharam', Veda Vijnana Gurukulam,
Aurobindo Ashram etc. to learn Samskritam, Vedanta etc.
He had also attended 'samvaadshaalaa' and shikshka-prashiksha na-vargah.
His mail is below and it is very informative.
I particularly liked the idea expressed in the following sentence taken from
Mrutyunjayasya essay:
"......Although India has been its custodian, Sanskrit has had universal
appeal for centuries... ...."
------------ -----
"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, we are going to spend an hour together
looking at the topic ?Why does my child do Sanskrit in John Scottus?? My bet
is that at the end of the hour you will all have come to the conclusion that
your children are indeed fortunate that this extraordinary subject is part
of their curriculum.
Firstly, let us look at Why Sanskrit for my child? We are the only school in
Ireland doing this language, so this will need some explaining. There are
another 8 JSS-type schools around the world that have made the same decision
to include Sanskrit in their curriculum (they are all off-shoots from the
School of Philosophy).
Secondly, how is Sanskrit taught? You may have noticed your son or daughter
singing Sanskrit grammar songs in the back of the car just for the fun of it
on the way home from school. I?ll spend some time telling you HOW we
approach teaching Sanskrit now since my year in India.
But first of all: WHY Sanskrit? To answer that we need to look at the
qualities of Sanskrit. Sanskrit stands out above all other languages for its
beauty of sound, precision in pronunciation and reliability as well as
thoroughness in every aspect of its structure. This is why it has never
fundamentally changed unlike all other languages. It has had no need to
change being the most perfect language of Mankind.
If we consider Shakespeare?s English, we realize how different and therefore
difficult for us his English language was although it is just English from
less than 500 years ago. We struggle with the meaning of Shakespeare?s
English or that of the King James Bible. Go back a bit further and we don?t
have a clue about the English from the time of Chaucer?s ?Pilgrim?s
Progress? from around 700 AD. We cannot even call this English anymore and
now rightly call it Anglo-Saxon. So English hadn?t even been born! All
languages keep changing beyond recognition. They change because they are
defective. The changes are in fact corruptions. They are born and die after
seven or eight hundred years ?about the lifetime of a Giant Redwood Tree-
because after so much corruption they have no life left in them.
Surprisingly there is one language in the world that does not have this
short lifespan. Sanskrit is the only exception. It is a never-dying
constant. The reason for the constancy in Sanskrit is that it is completely
structured and thought out. There is not a word that has been left out in
its grammar or etymology, which means every word can be traced back to where
it came from originally. This does not mean there is no room for new words
either. Just as in English we use older concepts from Greek and Latin to
express modern inventions like a television: ?tele [far] ? vision [seeing]?
or ?compute ?er?. Sanskrit in fact specializes in making up compound words
from smaller words and parts. The word ?Sams - krita? itself means
?completely ? made?.
So what advantages are there to a fundamentally unchanging language? What is
advantageous about an unchanging friend, say? Are they reliable? What
happens if you look at a text in Sanskrit from thousands of years ago?
The exceptional features of Sanskrit have been recognised for a few
centuries all over the world, so you will find universities from many
countries having a Sanskrit faculty. Whether you go to Hawai, Cambridge or
Harvard and even Trinity College Dublin has a seat for Sanskrit ?although it
is vacant at present. May be one of your children will in time fill this
position again?
Although India has been its custodian, Sanskrit has had universal appeal for
centuries. The wisdom carried by this language appeals to the West as we can
see from Yoga and Ayurvedic Medicine as well as meditation techniques, and
practical philosophies like Buddhism and most of what we use in the School
of Philosophy. It supports, expands and enlightens rather than conflicts
with local traditions and religions.
The precision of Sanskrit stems from the unparalleled detail on how the
actual sounds of the alphabet are structured and defined. The sounds have a
particular place in the mouth, nose and throat that can be defined and will
never change. This is why in Sanskrit the letters are called the
?Indestructibles? [akshar?ni]. Sanskrit is the only language that has
consciously laid out its sounds from first principles. So the five
mouth-positions for all Indestructibles [letters] are defined and with a few
clearly described mental and physical efforts all are systematically
planned: [point out chart]
Throat
Soft palate
Roof of the mouth
Top teeth
Lips
Vowels
a
i
ri
lri
u
consonants
Hard
Little air
Ka
Cha
Ta
ta
Pa
Much air
Kha
Chha
Tha
tha
Pha
Soft
Little air
Ga
Ja
Da
da
Ba
Much air
Gha
Jha
Dha
dha
Bha
Nascal
ma
Nja
Na
na
Ma
Semi-vowels
Ha
Ya
Ra
La
Va
sibilants
sha
Sha
Sa
After this description, what structure can we find in a, b, c, d, e, f ,
g...? There isn?t any, except perhaps that it starts with ?a?, and goes
downhill from there ...
Then there is the sheer beauty of the Sanskrit script as we learn it today.
[Some examples on the board]
You may well say: ?Fine, but so why should my son or daughter have yet
another subject and another script to learn in their already busy
school-day?? In what way will he or she benefit from the study of Sanskrit
in 2010 in the Western world?
The qualities of Sanskrit will become the qualities of your child- that is
the mind and heart of your child will become beautiful, precise and
reliable.
Sanskrit automatically teaches your child and anybody else studying it to
pay FINE attention due to its uncanny precision. When the precision is there
the experience is, that it feels uplifting. It makes you happy. It is not
difficult even for a beginner to experience this. All you have to do is
fine-tune your attention and like music you are drawn in and uplifted. This
precision of attention serves all subjects, areas and activities of life
both while in school and for the rest of life. This will give your child a
competitive advantage over any other children. They will be able to attend
more fully, easily and naturally. Thus in terms of relationships, work,
sport? in fact all aspects of life, they will perform better and gain more
satisfaction. Whatever you attend to fully, you excel in and you enjoy more.
By studying Sanskrit, other languages can be learnt more easily; this being
the language all others borrow from fractionally. The Sanskrit grammar is
reflected in part in Irish or Greek, Latin or English. They all have a part
of the complete Sanskrit grammar. Some being more developed than others, but
always only a part of the Sanskrit grammar, which is complete in itself.
What Sanskrit teaches us that there is a language that is ordered, following
laws unfailingly and as they are applied your child gets uplifted, not only
when they grow up, but as they are saying it! This means they get an unusual
but precise, definite and clear insight into language while they are
enjoying themselves.
They learn to speak well, starting from Sanskrit, the mother language of all
languages. Those who speak well run the world. Barack Obama makes a
difference because he can speak well. Mahatma Gandhi could move huge crowds
with well-balanced words. Mother Theresa could express herself with simple
words which uplift us even now. The language of the great Master Teachers of
mankind from times past is all we have got after centuries and millennia,
but they make all the difference. We can enter the remarkable mind of Plato
through his words. If your daughter or son can express themselves well
through conscious language they will be the leaders of the next generation.
Sanskrit has the most comprehensive writings in the world expressed through
the Vedas and the G?t?. The Upanishads ?translated by William Butler Yeats
have given people from all over the world an insight into universal
religious feelings for more than one century now. To know these well
expressed simple words of wisdom in the original is better than dealing with
copies or translations as copies are always inferior to originals. We really
need clear knowledge on universal religion in an age faced with remarkable
levels of religious bigotry and terrorism arising from poorly understood and
half-baked religious ideas.
Vivekananda, a great spiritual leader from India revered by all in the World
Religious Conference of 1880 said:
You can put a mass of knowledge into the world, but that will not do it much
good. There must come some culture into the blood. We all know in modern
times of nations which have masses of knowledge, but what of them? They are
like tigers; they are like savages, because culture is not there. Knowledge
is only skin-deep, as civilization is, and a little scratch brings out the
old savage. Such things happen; this is the danger. Teach the masses in the
vernaculars, give them ideas; they will get information, but something more
is necessary; give them culture.
Sanskrit can help your child to express universal, harmonious and simple
truths better. As a result you will really have done your duty as a parent
and the world will reap the benefits in a more humane, harmonious and united
society. Sanskrit can do this as it is the only language that is based in
knowledge all the way. Nothing is left to chance.
Just think for the moment how confusing it is for a child to learn to say
?rough? , but ?dough?. And why does the ?o? in ?woman? sound like an ?e? in
?women?? How come the ?ci? in ?special? is different from the ?ci? in
?cinema?? Teachers may well say ?Just learn it? as there is no logical
explanation, but it only demonstrates to a child that it is all a bit of a
hit-and-miss affair. What else does this randomness in the fundamental
building-blocks of language teach a child about the world? That it?s just a
confusing, random chance-event? How can this give anyone any confidence?
Now go to a language where everything is following rules. Where nothing is
left to chance from the humble origin of a letter to the most sophisticated
philosophical idea. How will that child meet the world? Surely with
confidence, clarity and the ability to express itself?
I have seen myself and others growing in such qualities, because of our
contact with Sanskrit. I have just spent a year in India. Though it felt a
bit like camping in a tent for a year, it was well worth it. For many years,
we taught Sanskrit like zealots i.e. with high levels of enthusiasm and low
levels of understanding, to both adults in the School of Philosophy and
children in John Scottus School. We did not perhaps inspire a lot of our
students and may have put a number of them off the study of Sanskrit. It
felt to me like we needed to go to the source. Sanskrit teachers worth their
salt need to live with people whose daily means of communication is in
Sanskrit. I had already spent three summers near Bangalore doing just that
and becoming less of an amateur, but it really needed a more thorough study.
So I moved into a traditional gurukulam for the year. This meant living on
campus, eating lots of rice and putting up with a few power-cuts and water
shortages, but by December 2009, I made up my mind that I would step down as
vice-principal of the Senior School and dedicate myself to Sanskrit for the
rest of my teaching life. It felt like a promotion to me as quite a few
could be vice-principal but right now which other teacher could forge ahead
in Sanskrit in Ireland? [Hopefully this will change before I pop off to the
next world.] With Sanskrit I?m expecting my mind to improve with age even if
my body slows down a little. Sanskrit is often compared to the full-time
teacher, who is there for you 24/7 whereas the other languages are more like
part-timers. The effects of studying Sanskrit on me have been first and
foremost a realistic confidence. Secondly, it meant I had to become more
precise and speak weighing my words more carefully. It also taught me to
express myself with less waffle and therefore speak more briefly. My power
of attention and retention has undoubtedly increased.
Now, let me explain for a few minutes, HOW Sanskrit is taught. To my
surprise it is not taught well in most places in India. Pupils have to learn
it from when they are around age 9 to 11 and then they give it up, because
it is taught so badly! Only a few die-hards stick with it, in time teaching
the same old endings endlessly to the next generation. This is partly due to
India having adopted a craving to copy the West and their tradition having
been systematically rooted out by colonialism.
For learning grammar and the wisdom of the East, I was well-placed in a
traditional gurukulam, but for spoken Sanskrit I felt a modern approach was
missing.
Then I found a teacher from the International School belonging to the Sri
Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. His name is Narendra. He has developed a
novel, inspiring and light method to teach grammar, which doesn?t feel like
you do any grammar at all. At the same time it isn?t diluted for beginners
so you don?t end up with partial knowledge. I also foolowed a few Sanskrit
Conversation camps, which all brought about more familiarity.
Narendra says he owes his method to Sri Aurobindo and his companion ?the
Mother? who inspired him to come up with the course we now follow in Dublin.
This is one of the many things ?the Mother? said to inspire him: ?Teach
logically. Your method should be most natural, efficient and stimulating to
the mind. It should carry one forward at a great pace. You need not cling
there to any past or present manner of teaching.?
This is how I would summarize the principles for teaching Sanskrit as we
carry it out at present:
1. Language learning is not for academics as everyone learns to speak a
language from an early age before they can read and write and know what an
academic is. So why insist in teaching Sanskrit academically?
2. The writing script is not the most fundamental thing to be taught. A
language is firstly made of its sounds, words and spoken sentences. [The
script we use -though very beautiful- is only a few hundred years old.]
3. Always go from what is known to what is new.
4. Understanding works better than memorisation in this Age. Learning by
heart should only take up 10 % of the mental work, rather than the 90 % rote
learning in Sanskrit up to the recent present.
5. Don?t teach words and endings in isolation; teach them in the context of
a sentence as the sentence is the smallest meaningful unit in language.
6. Any tedious memory work which cannot be avoided should be taught in a
song.
7. Do not teach grammatical terms. Just as we don?t need to know about the
carburettor, when we learn to drive a car.
8. The course should be finished in two years by an average student
according to Narendra. This may be a little optimistic given that we are a
little out of the loop not living in India, which is still Sanskrit?s
custodian. At present I would say it is going to be a three-year course.
9. Language learning must be playful. Use drama, song, computer games and
other tricks to make learning enjoyable.
We have started on this course since September and it has certainly put a
smile on our pupils? faces, which makes a pleasant change. I now feel
totally confident that we are providing your children with a thorough,
structured and enjoyable course. Our students should be well prepared for
the International Sanskrit Cambridge exam by the time they finish ?age
14/15- at the end of second year. We will also teach them some of the
timeless wisdom enshrined in various verses. At present we are teaching
them:
?All that lives is full of the Lord. Claim nothing; enjoy! Do not covet His
property?- in the original of course.
The future. Let us look at the 500 ? year cycle of a Renaissance. The last
European Renaissance developed three subjects: Art, Music and Science to
shape the world we live in today. It had its beginning in Florence. The
great Humanist Marsilio Ficino made Plato available to the masses by
translating it from Greek to Latin. We live in exciting times and may well
be at the beginning of a new Renaissance. It also will be based on three new
subjects: Some say that these will be Economics, Law and Language.
Language has to become more universal now as we can connect with each other
globally within seconds. NASA America?s Space Program is actively looking at
Sanskrit in relation to I.T. and artificial intelligence.
Sri Aurobindo said?at once majestic and sweet and flexible, strong and
clearly-formed and full and vibrant and subtle?
What John Scottus pupils have said:
It makes your mind bright, sharp and clear.
It makes you feel peaceful and happy.
It makes you feel BIG.
It cleans and loosens your tongue so you can pronounce any language easily.
What Sanskrit enthusiasts have said:
It gives you access to a vast and liberating literature.
It can describe all aspects of human life from the most abstract
philosophical to the latest scientific discoveries, hinting at further
developments.
Sanskrit and computers are a perfect fit. The precision play of Sanskrit
with computer tools will awaken the capacity in human beings to utilize
their innate higher mental faculty with a momentum that would inevitably
transform the mind. In fact, the mere learning of Sanskrit by large numbers
of people in itself represents a quantum leap in consciousness, not to
mention the rich endowment it will provide in the arena of future
communication. NASA, California
After many thousands of years, Sanskrit still lives with a vitality that can
breathe life, restore unity and inspire peace on our tired and troubled
planet. It is a sacred gift, an opportunity. The future could be very
bright.
Catch the changing security environment Get it now.
knr
--
If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL:
http://mailman.cs.utah.edu/pipermail/sanskrit/attachments/20100519/1e853e86/attachment.html
------------------------------
_______________________________________________
To UNSUBSCRIBE or customize your subscription and email delivery, visit
http://mailman.cs.utah.edu/mailman/options/sanskrit
and follow instructions.
End of sanskrit Digest, Vol 61, Issue 3
***************************************
