Perhaps the most beautiful, intriguing and mostspiritual among all the thousands of languages being spoken on theearth is Sanskrit, called devanagari , meaning "the language ofgods."
Grammarians have identified Sanskrit to be the"mother of most European languages," and traced their developmentthrough the ages back to this fascinating language. Although itswriting system is very intimidating for a Westener, it is not as hardas it appears in the beginning. Unlike English, Sanskrit has a highlyinflected grammatical structure, which contributes to a greatconsciseness of the language. What one can express in Sanskrit in oneword, an English speaker often would need four to six or even morewords to express the same idea.
The greatest works of world literature have beencomposed in Sanskrit, going back thousands of years. The great epicMahabharata is becoming quite widely known in the West, mainly due tothe immense popularity of its tiny segment which forms the BhagavadGita -- The Song of the Lord.
The secret teachings of the ancient Himalayansages, the 108 main Upanishads, are said to had been revealed to themthousands of years ago, and since that time these teachings inSanskrit have been faithfully passed orally from an accomplishedteacher to a deserving student, in a long, uninterrupted lineage ofthe Himalayan masters for thousands of years.
Although there are a number of Sanskrit textbooksavailable to the interested student, one quickly finds out that it isan impossible task to learn this language on one's own: a teacher isabsolutely necessary.
In the past decade there has been a growinginterest among Americans in the science of yoga, meditation, theeastern philosophy, stress management, holistic medicine, etc.Various organizations across the United States are doing much to giveclasses and lectures on these and related topics to the generalpublic. Due to this growing interest in these areas, the number ofpeople in Buffalo and Western New York interested in learningSanskrit has been increasing.
The Rishikesh Foundation is taking reservationsfor a "Learning Sanskrit" class, which will meet on Wednesdays, 7:00pm - 9:00 pm.
Those seriously interested should call JohnZavrel at 759-6078 for more information.
Textbook to be used in thecourse:
Devavanipravesika:An Introduction to the Sanskrit Language,by Robert Goldman
Friends,
If you have practiced yoga meditation for sometime, or are interested in the literature of India, it is veryhelpful for one to be able to read the Sanskrit script.
It is not easy to learn it by oneself from books,and therefore I have prepared an audio tape with several charts tofacilitate the process. Actually, it is not as hard as it seems. Ifyou spend 45 minutes a day learning it, in 2 &endash; 3 weeks youwill have mastered the basic 49 signs and sounds of the Sanskritalphabet.
At the Rishikesh Foundation, we have weeklySanskrit classes for beginners.
If you are unable to attend our classes, but wouldat least like to learn the Sanskrit script, you can now order thetape 'SANSKRIT ALPHABET' by sending a $ 15 donation to:
Rishikesh Foundation
10545 Main Street
Clarence, New York 14031 (USA)
Attn.: John Zavrel
You will find this to be a very rewardingexperience, which may be also helpful in your future meditationpractice.
Yours,
In service of the guru lineage
May we recommend somebooks?
Mantraand Meditation, by Dr. UsharbudhArya
Livingwith the Himalayan Masters, by SwamiRama