Shiban Khaibri
Why is it that we prefer distaste for our own things to an adornment for an alien one? How much ridiculous and silly does it look that we are alright calling a person imparting education in schools, colleges and other allied institutions as “Teacher” but not as “Guru” because the latter is a Sanskrit word and we hate Sanskrit because we tend to love English.
In college days, this writer had chanced to read an essay,”Sir William Jones nay Sanskrit kaise seekhi” or how did Sir William Jones learn Sanskrit? Before that is touched, at the outset, let it be mentioned what that great person, a philologist, jurist and a scholar of ancient India (1746- 1794) had to say about Sanskrit, “The Sanscrit language , whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of Grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident, so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three ………..they had the same origin with the Sanscrit…….” He was fascinated and impressed by the richness in every sphere of the Sanskrit language and put it on the top, after having deeply studied languages like Greek, Latin, Persian, Hebrew, Arabic and the Chinese, of course in addition to his own English. It is worth noting that the philological prowess of this great man lies in proving by his extensive works that even classical languages like Greek and Latin have been derived from the Sanskrit language. He was not the only foreigner to have demonstrated the supremacy of the Sanskrit language and its relationship, a close one with many European languages but before him, Van Boxhorn in 1653, a French jurist who spent his entire life in India studying Sanskrit, G. L. Couredoux, and similarly many others had amply demonstrated the existing analogy between Sanskrit and European languages. Sir Jones has also found scientific revelations in ancient Vedanta philosophy.
This writer is no authority, not in the least, on matters of linguistics but having made some elementary things known about Sir Jones following how many humps and impediments and even humiliations he had to face for learning Sanskrit in India should make a true Indian feel ashamed as well as indignantly shocked over some of our Indian political leaders disrespecting and abjuring ab- initio Sanskrit, not only Hindi – to the extent even not just to “tolerate” a Sanskrit word like “Guru” for “Teacher” that also for an event. Octogenarian DMK leader Karunanidhi has termed using the word Guru for Teacher as “Trying to destroy Tamil culture” and an educated, a physician himself, Ex- Union Minister Rom Doss saying, “Cannot accept tacit imposition of Sanskrit…”.Let the topic be reverted to the difficulties which Sir Jones encountered while learning and then mastering the “imposed Sanskrit” language in the year 1770 and many years more in India. The teachers of Sanskrit would not enroll Williams for even learning the basics of the language, not even allowing him to join other students in learning for reasons of his being a foreigner. The usual perception those days was that foreigners were non vegetarians and hence could not be allowed to “pollute” the virgin, pure and neat environment of the teaching practice that was forbidden for meat eaters especially for those who had consumed beef or had any relation with beef eaters. Many an imploring by Williams bore no fruit and his prospective teachers, read Gurus, would not budge an inch from their stand which modern day pseudo – secularists would term as orthodoxy but that tag for political expediency cannot but be condemned. He, on the other hand, also made up his mind to learn this great language and lo ! He turned out to be a staunch vegetarian, a teetotaler and adopted a simple living in matters of even attiring himself in Indian way. He also resorted to keeping fasts on some auspicious days exactly the same way as any staunch Hindu would only to impress his would be “Gurus”. This melted the rigid stand of those who could impart the knowledge about the basics of Sanskrit, its grammar and its usage and he won the battle to be admitted as a student. Within a short period of two to three years, he could progressively jump from the basics to the advanced stage of learning and his findings and writings about the richness and about the supremacy of and the link or the source many languages had in one way or the other, with Sanskrit was made known by this great person to the entire world.
We can also remember with reverence the iconic figure known as Max Muller who was a superb Sanskrit scholar. His German culture did not get endangered like Karunanidhi who only for political reasons feels Tamil culture threatened by just pronouncing or writing (even in Tamil) the one word “Guru”. Max Muller says, ” if I was asked under what sky, the human mind has most fully developed, pondered over the greatest problems, and found solution to some of them, even those who might have studied Plato and Kant, I must point to India.” May it be known to us Indians that Muller traced the common roots of Indo – European civilizations to the ancient Vedic culture of India? He has translated Upnishads , Vedas and other scriptures around 1860AD. His translation of Rigved, authoring “History of ancient Sanskrit literature”, “India – what it can teach us” and many books including research of 30 years in comparative theology and philology has indeed immortalized him in the world of Philology, studying ancient Sanskrit literature and scriptures especially the Holy Vedas. His contribution towards Sanskrit is legendary.
May it be known to Karunanidhi that Sanskrit is getting popularity and prominence globally, why it cannot be accepted in a well known part of our country from where it has originated? Courses are available and taught in colleges and universities in Australia, North America, Belgium, Denmark, Britain, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Russia, Norway, Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan and Thailand. In China, Sanskrit is being taught and is getting popularized. Beijing’s Peking University has launched an ambitious programme to teach Sanskrit and to create researchers to read and translate ancient Indian Sanskrit scripts. Says a renowned Delhi based Sanskrit scholar Satyavrat Shastri, “I was struck by the interest, of both teachers and scholars (in China) such as getting the pronunciation perfect, they recited the Bhagwad Gita with me with astonishing pronunciation and metric recitation of the holy verses.”
The cultural and linguistic rigidity has “worked” all these six decades and we had enough of it . We must develop an intense liking for our own rich languages which can unite the country and present us before the world as one entity. The mother tongue, the regional tongue must flourish side by side and equally when Hindi and Sanskrit are owned by us, loved by us and their infinite richness felt like by Sir Williams Jones, Max Muller and thousands of our Japenese, Chinese, American, British students who study these languages , the pride of India. Karunanidhi and others must not play cheap politics in it as that leads to intellectual slavery by taking pride by some of us even in “ispeaking wrang wards in Hinglish like “return-back”, “Repeat again” , “Kampany” , “members of the commission” and as an Hon’ble MP said in the Parliament in the recently concluded budget session, “I belongs to so and so state” but not speak in Hindi. And look the inspiring, innovative address on the “Teachers Day” on 5th instant by the Prime Minister to the children across the country via the internet in schools? Why a fuss is created about the issue and how come it is termed as “interference in the Federal structure”? The enthusiasm especially in the children in Tamil Nadu was phenomenal like in other states. They felt on the top even freely interacting with him, asking questions etc. Why could Dr. Manmohan Singh do it not even once in 10 years? Criticizing Modi’s novel approach to reach out to millions of young students is cheap politics, retrograde, negative and ridiculous in the same way as some of the political leaders who have lost power or fear shortly to lose, resort to questioning state’s accession or question central government’s foreign policy, play caste politics, language politics, or play the card of “samprayadakta”. Let India and Indians march ahead, bothering not for any sort of elusive threat to any language, region, faith, custom or culture etc.
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