pleasant piece on Sanskrit Craze

[Guest guest]

Thanks Barbara for this delightful piece.

 

I share your enthusiasm for the necessity of dispassionate, critical inquiry as

the best avenue for enhancing our understanding this vast, complex subject.

 

Chris

 

 

-

Barbara Pijan Lama

valist

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 10:45 PM

pleasant piece on "Sanskrit Craze"

Namaste:

 

In context of the list's discussion regarding competence of western Sanskritists

and reliance on English translations, I thought the list might enjoy this short

article on the "Sanskrit Craze" in western universities.

 

It's a light-hearted piece which briefly describes the extent of modern

US/British university Sanskrit study (so brief that it does not mention

important university Sanskrit centres in Canada, Holland, Italy & elsewhere in

Europe). Note that the roster of top contemporary western academic

Sanskritists [page 2] includes persons of both eastern and western birth; and

has, for the past 100 years.

 

Those not familiar with the western - particularly British/American - university

system might presume that outside of India, Indologists and other specialists in

Indian studies would rely on English translations of Sanskrit texts -- or would

have such weak translation/interpretation skills that their understanding would

be severely compromised by lack of Indian cultural information.

 

As this article reveals, the top western universities have been producing

competent readers and researchers in Sanskrit (and related Indic languages)

within both "Classics" and "South Asian" departments, for over a century. This

body of highly-trained poets, linguists, religionists, and pedagogues are well

aware of translation issues and are certainly capable of reading original

Sanskrit texts in context of traditional Vedic values.

 

http://www.samskrita-bharati.org/news/ie061001_page1.html

 

The particular issues involved in translating and interpreting Jyotisha texts

are very complex as we know. Obviously a broad background in Vedic studies is

required to attempt the task; as well as an intuitive personality; and true

vocation in Jyotisha either by character or by lineage.

 

However, when Buddhism spread from India into Tibet, Mongolia, and China, its

sacred texts and commentaries were translated into the languages of the the

host peoples. When the Byzantine Church spread into northern Europe, its

missionaries translated the Greek Bible into Russian. As Jyotisha spreads into

the west, its Sanskrit literature is being translated into European languages.

This process is well advanced and will continue.

 

Those who would denounce translations and/or critical inquiry as sacrilegious or

semantically impossible are quite likely singing in the wind. The Dharma has

its own mind, and it goes where it wants to go! It also goes where it is

needed. Right now it is needed, and it has arrived, in the rationalized,

English-dominated West. West-bashing and academic-bashing serve only to hinder

this inevitable *healing* expansion of wisdom, and to hurt feelings on both

sides. It seems much more helpful to understand that there are competent

scholars and intuitives in both cultures who are beginning to form a

cooperative and respectful international Jyotisha community.

 

Sincerely,

Barbara Pijan Lama

bpijanlamajyotisha (AT) msn (DOT) com