New Delhi, Apr 20: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday made a strong pitch for the greater promotion of Sanskrit in the country, saying increase in its prevalence will not only enrich all other Indian languages and serve as a bridge between them, but also connect people with ancient thoughts and culture of Bharat.
Addressing an event organised here to inaugurate newly constructed central office of the Sanskrit Bharati, Bhagwat said the essence of the name ‘Bharat’ is not merely geographical; nor is it solely a political-economic entity.
“Bharat is a tradition, a foundation upon which life continues to flow. It is a tradition that sustains life across the entire cosmos, encompassing all its animate and inanimate constituents. The world remains in constant need of this tradition; and fulfilling this need is the duty of those who identify themselves as Indians,” he said.
For this, Bhagwat said that one has to “know and comprehend Bharat” alongside the entirety of its “wealth of knowledge” to keep it alive and carry it forward.
“And if all these have to happen, then understanding Sanskrit is essential to understanding India. India is home to numerous languages. Every language of India is, in its own right, a national language. But what is the link that connects these diverse national languages? It is Sanskrit,” he added.
Bhagwat called upon the Sanskrit Bharati to make efforts for greater promotion of Sanskrit in the country, saying the work in this regard should progress to such an extent that every individual in India is able to converse in Sanskrit.
“Sanskrit is not merely a language. In India, Sanskrit is the very ‘prana’ (life force) of the nation. For the most ancient tradition still in existence today—of thought, of life, and of culture—is India,” he said.
The RSS chief further said that the increase in the prevalence of Sanskrit will enrich all other languages of India for the underlying “stream of sentiment is one and the same”. It serves as the “vehicle for emotion”, he added.
Bhagwat said Sanskrit doesn’t establish itself by replacing any other language. “This is its virtue. Sanskrit continues to thrive in India. Sometimes its flow was weak, sometimes it was strong. Sanskrit continues to thrive today. There are families and villages that speak Sanskrit,” he said.
It has never thrived at the expense of other Indian languages, preventing their development, and will never ever do so in the future, Bhagwat said. “The Sanskrit language is a unifier. It is the mother of languages. Moreover, it serves as a bridge language. Sanskrit is the link that connects all the languages of India. In every language, at least 30 to 40 per cent of the vocabulary consists of words derived from Sanskrit or their ‘tadbhav’ (words came out of Sanskrit)” he added.
The Sanskrit Bharati is an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
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