Ram Vakkalanka

Did you know that Sanskrit is taught in some schools in Ireland? I didn’t, until my friend and a great Sanskrit scholar Vamshi Krishna Ghanapathi posted this on his blog (as well as Facebook). This blog captures the talk by Rutger Kortenhorst, Sanskrit teacher at John Scottus school in Dublin, Ireland and is entitled “What does my child do with Sanskrit?”.

Just to recap some of the things Rutger points out about 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

*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 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’ [aksharáni]

*Sanskrit is the only language that has consciously laid out its sounds from first principles

*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.

*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.

*Sanskrit has the most comprehensive writings in the world expressed through the Vedas and the Gítá. 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.

You can check out the entire blog here

In spite of being arguably the oldest language of the world, Sanskrit is very much alive. Several universities, not only in India but all over the globe, offer courses in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is one of the 18 plus official languages of India. Films are still made in India in Sanskrit.

News are broadcast in Sanskrit both on Radio and TV in India. Books are published totally in Sanskrit. There are some places in India where nothing but Sanskrit is spoken. There are musicians/song writers who compose songs spontaneously in Sanskrit – such as my spiritual Guru Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji. Poetry is still written in Sanskrit.

Lots of Yogis and Yoginis, living in various countries, learn Sanskrit to improve their understanding of the science and art of Yoga. I live in Canada but I teach Sanskrit over internet to people living in other countries….

So, is Sanskrit a dead language….far from it!!!

Sanskrit is called “Samskrutam” in, well, Sanskrit. “Suskriyate Anena Iti Samskrutam”- that which has been purified is Sanskrit – is one of the definitions of Sanskrit or Samskrutam.

Just like Yoga improves/purifies our bodies, Sanskrit purifies our speech. In fact, some of the advanced yogic breathing techniques (kriyas) are in-built into Sanskrit so that just by speaking the language, we are automatically practising Yoga.
“Samyak Krutam Samskrutam” – “that which is well-done” is the other definition of Samskrutam.

I often get asked the question as to what are the most ancient texts where Yoga was propounded. The simple answer is what are called “Upanishads’, which form part of Vedas. At one time there were as many as 1080 Upanishads but currently only 108 of these are available. Out of the 108, 20 Upanishads deal directly with Yoga. Some of these Upanishads are: Darshana Upanishat, Yoga Tattva Upanishat, Yoga Shikha Upanishat and Yoga Kundali Upanishat.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are the essence of the principles contained in these Upanishats and Bhagavadgita.

Patanjali was a great yogi who codified the principles of Yoga in a monumental work called “Yoga Sutras”. Patanjali’s father’s name is Atreya and mother Gaunika. Patanjali was also known as Aatreya. He composed three great works for the betterment of the mankind….Yoga Sutras for the development/purification of Mind, Charaka Samhita – a great work on Ayurveda – for purification of Body and Maha Bhashya – a great commentary on the Sanskrit Grammar – for the purification of speech.

Are you curious about who are some of the ancient Yoga Philosophers, apart from Patanjali,  who contributed to the vast repertoire Yoga Philosophy? Well, here is a list of some of the ancient Yoga philosophers and some of their principal works:
*Dattatreya – predates Patanjali, taught the eight limbs of Yoga in what is known as the Darshanopanishat
*Vyasa – wrote the commentary on Yoga Sutras and helped us understand the Sutras better
*Adi Shankara – authored Yoga Taravali and many other texts on Yoga
*Yogi Gorakhnath – wrote Goraksha Samhita
*Gheranda – the author of Gheranda Samhita
*Yogi Swatmarama – authored Hatha Yoga Pradipika
*Srinivasabhatta Mahayogindra – wrote Hatharatnavali
*Narada – author of Bhakti Sutras, contributed greatly to Bhakti Yoga
All these great Yogis contributed immensely to the Yoga Philosophy