Fwd: Article from The Hindu: How Sanskrit should be taught?

[Guest guest]

Namasakarams:

 

This scholarly article on "How Sanskrit should be taught" by ARVIND

SHARMA Birks Professor of Comparative Religion, McGill University

to every reader who has keen interest in the preservation of Vedas and

Vedic Philosophies. By learning Sanskrit we can bring unity

because the most of the thoughts spelled out by the sages and saints

in Sanskrit. If we determine to teach our kids the Sanskrit language

starting from early ages, we can bring unity and we can preserve our

cherished culture and traditions.

 

warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

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This article is emailed to you by Ram Chandran ( rchandran@c... )

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Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com)

 

How Sanskrit should be taught

 

IF ONE assumes that Sanskrit should be taught, as indicated by

some recent moves by the government, then the question arises:

how should it be taught?

 

It is an axiom in some schools of Indian philosophy that a

question can be fully addressed only if it is approached

negatively as well as positively. This means then that a

consideration of how Sanskrit should not be taught is integral to

a discussion of how it should be.

 

My experience suggests that Sanskrit should not be taught as it

is traditionally taught either in India or the West, when

instruction in it is extended to the general curriculum. In the

traditional mode of teaching Sanskrit in India, grammatical

(Panini) and lexical (Amarakosa) learning precede its actual

deployment in conversation (if ever). It is taught as an

`eternal' language rather than as a contemporary language. By

contrast, in the West, it is traditionally taught as a ``dead''

language rendering posthumous service to historical linguistics,

rather than as a living language. But treating Sanskrit as an

eternal or a dead language is really just two ways of killing it!

 

A living language

 

However, I hear the reader object — is Sanskrit a living

language to be treated as such? I offer three responses to this

question: (1) that Sanskrit is a living language inasmuch as it

is recorded as such by the Indian census. It is true that only a

few thousands cite it as their mother tongue — but the fact

remains that some tribal languages, considered living, have even

fewer speakers. (2) More significantly, Sanskrit lives through

the regional languages whose vocabularies, in varying degrees,

overlap with Sanskrit. This means that the teaching of Sanskrit

should proceed in tandem with that of the regional languages. (3)

Just as by treating a language as a dead language one can kill

it, by treating it as a living language one can bring it back to

full life. The resurrection of Hebrew is a case in point. It may

be hard to believe but even as one reads this somebody is

actually reading a Sanskrit newspaper, listening to a Sanskrit

news broadcast and making one's first acquaintance with another

Indian in Sanskrit. This has happened to me twice within the last

week when I met an engineer from Haryana and a social worker from

Kerala through the medium of this language here in the U.S.

 

In the matter of Sanskrit then the assumption cannot be divorced

from the outcome.

 

Sanskrit should be taught as a living language and not merely as

a classical or historical language. Instruction in its grammar

and vocabulary should succeed and not precede its active use by

students. Numerous initiatives have demonstrated the viability of

this approach, e.g. www.samskrita.bharati.org. Volunteers from

such organisations might even enable the government to minimise

its outlay on such a programme.

 

Liberal elements of culture

 

What should be taught is also a crucial part of how Sanskrit

should be taught. The liberal elements of Sanskritic culture

should constitute the examples and the exercises in the

curriculum. Unlikely as it might seem on the face of it, Sanskrit

can spark a social revolution through what is taught. One problem

this culture faces is the negative stereotyping of the position

of women and lower castes in its presentation. I provide below

some samples in English translation of the kind of material which

could form part of the textbook, and which could undo such

unfortunate portrayal:

 

A high caste male should emulate the praiseworthy conduct of a

woman or a person of low caste.

 

(Manusmriti II.223)

 

One should obtain knowledge of supreme dharma even from a dalit.

 

(Manusmriti II.238)

 

All the four yugas result from the conduct of the ruler. The

ruler is (the shaper of the) age.

 

(Manusmriti IX.301)

 

Sudras of good conduct are entitled to the Sacred Thread.

 

(Paraskara Grihya Sutra 2.6)

 

Women should study the Vedic texts.

 

(Gobhila Grihya Sutra 1.2)

 

That spiritual knowledge which nervous men take a year to acquire

confident women acquire in twelve days.

 

(Jayadratha's Commentary on

Abhinavagupta's Tantraloka)

 

There is no differentiation beyond the human race.

 

(Bhavishya Purana 1.40.21)

 

Other citations with a contemporary application could be added on

such themes as terrorism (``One terrorist can intimidate a

hundred intellectuals'', Chandogya Upanishad VII. 8.1) and

charity (``Beings crowd around the fire sacrifice like hungry

children around the mother'', V.24.5)

This is also true of other reading materials such as stories.

People who read the Mahabharata will realise how empowering it

can be for women. In it, not only does Savitri choose her own

husband Swayamvara style, Sakuntala virtually gives herself away

in marriage!

 

Indic tradition

 

One final thought. The question of how Sanskrit should be taught

is also intimately related to who teaches it. Instruction in

Sanskrit should be imparted by women and by men belonging to all

the castes and communities in equal measure. The Indic tradition

has suffered by functioning in a situation in which knowledge of

Sanskrit tended to get confined to an elite circle of first male

members of the higher varnas and then to a priestly circle of

Brahmins who made ritual use of it. The last two aphorisms of the

Apastamba Dharma Sutra identify two constituencies by whom the

tradition may be shaped: (1) by male members of the three higher

varnas or (2) by all the members of the community, male and

female.

 

The Indic tradition has sometimes erred in the past in choosing

the first option. It is now time to try the second, and what

could be a more effective way of doing this than by drawing

Sanskrit instructors from all communities, including all their

male and female members. In this way the Sanskrit language, which

is often perceived as an impediment to social progress, will

become its greatest stimulant.

 

ARVIND SHARMA

 

Birks Professor of Comparative

 

Religion, McGill University

 

Copyrights: 1995 - 2001 The Hindu

 

Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are

expressly

prohibited without the consent of The Hindu

--- End forwarded message ---

[Guest guest]

Namaskarams:

 

I have received several emails asking me to provide homepages related

to Sanskrit Resources. Here are some. Please note that this is by no

means a complete list. Other knowledgeable members may be able to add

more sites with the appropriate information. Such information has

potentials for motivating the list members to learn Sanskrit. Most

important, the members may be able to focus more attention to their

children and facilitate them learning the Divine Language. Educating

our children on our scriptures, our language and culture can bring

long and sustaining dividend for many more generations. It is our

duty to help our children to register in their mind the virtues and

values of our traditions and beliefs at an early age. The very first

step is to teach Sanskrit which will bring peace of mind, unity and

help to sustain our culture and traditions.

 

Warmest regards,

 

Harih Om!

 

Ram Chandran

 

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Samskrita Bharathi Homepage

http://www.samskrita-bharati.org/

 

Sanskrit-related Online Resources

http://www.alkhemy.com/sanskrit/atul/net-resources.html

Sanskrit Homepage

http://www.alkhemy.com/sanskrit/atul/

 

On Line Sanskrit Dictionary:

http://www.alkhemy.com/sanskrit/dict/

 

Sanskrit Goodies

http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sohum/sansk.html

 

A number of other useful links related to Sanskrit literature are

available at:

advaitin/links/Sanskrit_Dictionarie_0009

81587396/