You can learn Sanskrit quite easily in India.
Sanskrit is a language that is so beautiful, however the teaching approaches in many books etc are very dry and academic. They also require a lot of memorization.
So it helps to find books which explain the language not from a grammar perspective but in terms of beautiful things created using the language.
One such book, you may want to get hold of is 'The Wonder That is Sanskrit' by Sri Aurobindo Society. It can be ordered from their website by sending DD.
Book: 'The Wonder That is Sanskrit' (Paperback)
Authors : Sampadananda Mishra & Vijay
Publishing House : Sri Aurobindo Society and MapInLit (MapIn Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Ahmedabad)
Pages : 210
Price: Rs. 275
Amazing information on Sanskrit as a unique scientific language.
Encoding/Encryption features of the language using chitrakavyas etc.
Link to excerpt from the book:
https://who.rocq.inria.fr/Ramakrishna.Upadrasta/Sanskrit/14339015-The-wonder-that-is-Sanskrit.pdf
Ordering Info:
a) Audio CD Set :
http://www.products.aurosociety.org/Products/Multimedia-Indian-Culture/Sri-Aurobindo-Society/The-Wonder-that-is-Sanskrit/pid-1033983.aspx
b) Order Book online:
http://sabda.sriaurobindoashram.org/catalog/bookinfo.php?websec=ENGD-EA-145
c) Research into Bhagvad Gita : Rs. 995 CD:
http://www.products.aurosociety.org/Products/Multimedia-Indian-Culture/Sri-Aurobindo-Society/Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita/pid-1033981.aspx
d) Chandas/Meters in Sanskrit : Rs. 495 CD :
http://www.products.aurosociety.org/Products/Multimedia-Indian-Culture/Sri-Aurobindo-Society/Chandovallari/pid-1033982.aspx
An online yahoo group called "14 Vidya 64 Kala" :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/14vidya_64kala
========
0) Vedas: Aurobindo Society has brought out an Audio CD on 'Channdas' which describes the various metres used for singing slokas or vedas correctly.
1) Bhagvad Gita:
a) Aurobindo Society have brought out Audio CDs with detailed interpretation of 'Bhagvad Gita' with in-depth explanation of each word and references to other interesting works.
b) Vagish Shastri has a set of mp3 files which describe the meaning of Bhagvad Gita.
2) Grammatical Sanskrit :
There are a number of books written on the matter.
All belong to Paninian school.
===============
Persian and Sanskrit are very closely related.
Persians used 'H' instead of 'Sa' as in Hindu vs. Sindhu.
So Hu-Mata = Su-Mata (Good Mind/Thoughts),
Hukhta = Sa-Ukta (Good Utterances),
Hvareshta = Sa-Vareshta (Good Higher (deeds) )
Note: If anybody can give better translations please do so.
==============
Differences in Pronounciation in Indian Regional Languages :
Given the list of syllables:
Ta, Tha, Da, Dha....
As per my knowledge I use the 3rd syllable in Dil, where as many (other) pure southerners use the 4th syllable.
As I already pointed out the same thing happens in Tukaram vs. Thukaram.
The 1st syllable in list replaced by second syllable in list.
Bharat becomes Bharath... or even Baarath.... (spoken)
Actually many times people even "write" in Telugu etc properly but pronounce it "wrongly".
So Shrek, I think the phonetics you're used to are as per Telugu and not as per Hindi...
but this is among the main clearly visible differences in Northy/Southy accents...
The book - "The Vedas" by Shri Chandrashekarananda Saraswati (former Shankaracharya of Kanchi peetham)
gives an interesting story why this happened historically....
This same pattern is repeated across North/South, East/West....
People in Bengal pronounce 'Va' as 'Ba' - Vanga Desh becomes Banga-Desh etc...
Recitation of Vedas etc was divided into 4+ families across India....
each family used a slightly different letter in pronounciation
Ta OR Tha,
Da OR Dha and so on....
(if you see above this is like a left/right shift in the list of syllables - Ta, Tha, Da, Dha.... )
Soon this spread into common usage at all levels in societies...
this is why we see this kind of difference across North/South and East/West....
India is more united than it seems....
==========
Context of Words and Meaning:
Sanskrit was designed to be a song-based language and also an experiential language.
Each word has roots based on 'akshara's which have their own 'range of meanings'/shades of meanings.
Since each word has so many meanings, you need to be selective as to which particular meaning fits into the given context.
Why did the author select this word here why not a more commonly used word. There was a reason for selecting that particular word for that context.
So it's more like having many boxes of different jig-saw puzzles being mixed together.
I remember hearing in Vagyoga that in Vedas each sentence can have 3 meanings - Gross, Fine, Subtle.
At a finer level - understanding the different shades of meaning is important to correctly understand which word is being used from a range of options.
Why was one word chosen over another is also important as it indicates the intention of the author. Otherwise you end up with intention of the reader.
In fact the old name for Sanskrit is Chanddas/'Play' as in Geet/Songs.
The ancient Rishis gave lot of attention to 'laya'/beats and 'ucchaar'/pronounciation.
The language was also designed to be such that the same word could convey immense number of meanings - depending on the way you interpreted the words based on audience's context.
So it was very much dependant on the audience what they meaning they took based on their own context. A householder, a disciple, a Rishi would read the same sentences and come up with totally different meanings.
Each context decodes the word/sentence using a set of concepts which are totally different. So same word has different meanings on different planes. So unless you read a lot of explanations on a particular plane you don't have the vocabulary to decode the word in the context of that plane.
Example : Kabir's dohas
a) A doha gives wise homegrown sayings for a worldly person.
b) The same doha shows different intellectual meaning to a disciple.
c) The same doha describes a experiential meaning to an adept.
So you can come up with all kinds of meanings based on how you interpret/decode the text.
In fact this is just the tip of the iceberg. Sanskrit is not an ordinary language it is meant for understanding the very foundation of life.
The very aksharas denote different energies within us and the universe. Something like the periodic table but very much more energy-based.
Sanskrit as a language requires no dictionary. Since knowing the roots of the language is enough to ascertain the meaning of even a newly invented word.
Spiritually speaking each akshara denotes a subtle energy/vibrational form seen by different rishis. In fact most mantras derive their subtle energy from their root akshara.
===========
Treasure of Sanskrit:
There are still classic sanskrit texts that are undeciphered or unread.
In fact each Sanskrit stotra gives different meaning when decoded with a different key.
The ebook version of "The Wonder that is Sanskrit": http://www.scribd.com/doc/14339015/The-wonder-that-is-Sanskrit
The book 'The Wonder that is Sanskrit' talks about amazing encoding schemes which are known only to people initiated in the lineages of different groups.
There are other encoding schemes which can be deciphered. Vedic Mathematics in fact was started by one holy person from Bhagvad-Gita stanzas.
Sanskrit was designed to be used in poetic form. So words in a sentence could take any place.
English sentence : "The boy hit the red ball with the blue bat".
In Sanskrit you could mix the words in any order and still have the same meaning.
In English you'd end up with nonsense like " The ball hit the blue boy with the bat red"
We already know a lot of Sanskrit without knowing it. In fact if you visit Samskrita Bharati they talk to you in Sanskrit.
And the beauty is that you can understand quite a lot.
http://who.rocq.inria.fr/Ramakrishna.Upadrasta/Sanskrit/14339015-The-wonder-that-is-Sanskrit.pdf
Kannada, Telugu, Hindi are all derived from Sanskrit. Even Tamil has lot of Sanskrit words in it.
Mapping letters to numerals : Katapayadi System :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katapayadi_system
Sanskrit allows you to create text which has different meanings for different audiences and contexts. Multiplexing and Encoding combined.
Names for these in computer science would be compression, encryption, multiplexing and communication.
Katapayadi Sankhya is used in naming of Carnatic Ragas.
For example pi/10 is concerned...
There is a "standard" way of decoding some of the verses.... (note the quotes on standard)
its based on diagram encryption known as "chitra-kavya", "svara-kavya".
It uses techniques involving palindromes and mapping of paths in tables to decode a verse.
Refer : a) "The wonder that is sanskrit" a book written by Aurobindo Ashram beautifully brings out this and other mind-boggling encryption schemes.
1) We had this knowledge and we lost access to it, except for few instances.
2) Seems like the "closed-source"/encryption worked too well...
restriction of knowledge leads to its eventual stagnation and loss.
Maintaining high barriers to knowledge leads to expert-systems.
Knock-off enough experts (or prevent new experts from coming up) and there is no system anymore.
3) The British and Mughal rule too was quite successful in ensuring that the "chain-of-command" was broken.
The system which was responsible for passing on knowledge no longer had bright, intelligent new recruits to carry it forward.
The book "Daas Dongari Raahato" talks about this happening from before the time of Shivaji itself.
4) Today jobs are totally linked to knowing western culture,
What is the value of knowing chitra-kavyas in "dollar" terms vs. the value of knowing "Karnaugh-Maps" in dollar terms??
Hence a real guru in these arts of decoding our ancient culture is no better off than a shendi-wagging old guy
(at least in the eyes of cultured babus like us who totally depend on the west)
5) I think we've advanced (knowledge-wise) as much as possible on the spiritual path.
It's now more a question of utilising this knowledge in the day-to-day and not-so day-to-day activities.
Example:
Einsteins proposed a theory. Scientists understood it. Engineers applied it. Common man sees its effects/products.
Rishis saw the truth. Swamis understood it. Brahmins applied it.
The scientists were the swamis etc who could guide/teach the vedas Brahmins/Engineers esp. on the fine points.
Brahmins were the engineers who had to apply it in day-to-day life of the community.
Today this is not happenning. There is a crucial break in the training and implementation.
6) If the same were to happen to modern science what would the engineers be doing....
(take away the basic tools, education system, infra-structure (electricity) and technology i.e. put him on an island with amnesia)
most probably rubbing 2 rocks together for fire...
Everything needs a support-system to sustain itself.
You and I were supposed to be that support-system.
Sri Aurobindo Societys Project: "Resurgent India" a set of VCDs and other things to let Indians know what we have in India.
http://www.sriaurobindosociety.org.in/projects/resurge.htm
A good pdf for the meanings of each akshara:
http://www.arcadelamor.org/storytellingmonk/downloads/root_meaning_sanskrit_alphabet.pdf
=========
pdf on "The Secret of Veda" by Sri Aurobindo.
[
http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/downloadpdf.php?id=30 ] OR
[
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3326083/veda-and-tamil-]
2) Also available is the collected works in a single zip file somewhere at the bottom of this page:
[
http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/writings.php]
+ Interpreting the Vedas in multiple ways : http://sanskrityoga.wordpress.com/262-2/
It talks about how there are different meanings in the Vedas for different bents of mind i.e. the ritualistic and the mystic!!
This pdf is more essay type. It's written in a spiralling style slowly converges to the heart of the matter from outside in.
It gives you a feel for what to expect and builds up an anticipation for what is just round the bend of the spiral.
The meanings are entirely symbolic and should not be taken at face value (they are not meant to be).
It targets the intuitive mind working on an engaging and vexing problem.
The one that somehow seems to pop-out the solution to at a very odd moment....
like when you're just about to sleep or in the bathroom. And Eureka!!
It takes years to master Sanskrit. So instead trying a different
tack. Trying to learn via a new Mnemonic method devised by a Pandit from
Varanasi.
Actually before my father passed away I could always ask him my doubts. But now need to learn on my own.
In
fact he developed a love for words and language esp. Sanskrit roots in
us. In a way understanding these things is a way to keep the connection
alive for myself.
Also teaching my son what little I know. In
fact that is my motivation for learning Sanskrit too. Want to read
Bhagvad-Gita by myself. Instead of relying on somebody else's
translation.
Panini made a set of 2000 rules by which words can be derived. But the mnemonic method uses simple and memorable rules instead.
=============
V Rajgopal Bhat:
http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/pandavagita.pdf
+ Superb reader friendly article on Brahmgupta :
http://www.sanskritimagazine.com/vedic_science/brahmaputra-mathematician-par-excellence
+ Video How to Pronounce Sanskrit Aksharas (alphabet) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UfCGrvfmOY
+ Sanskrit mother of all languages : http://www.thevedicfoundation.
org/valuable_resources/
Sanskrit-The_Mother_of_All_
Languages_partII.htm
+ Paninian Grammer in Modern Linguistics : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%81%E1%B9%87ini#Modern_linguistics
+ Ashtadhyayi and Backus Naur Form used in Compiler Design for Programming Languages : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%81%E1%B9%87ini#Ashtadhyayi
+ Sanskrit Vyakarana :
https://sites.google.com/site/samskritavyakaranam/
====
+ Video Sanskrit the Divine Language :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zynGfJv_ElY
+ Online Publishers and Vendors of Vedic Granthas : http://www.vedicgranth.org/home/where-available/Online-Publishers-Vendors
+ Vedanga : http://www.vedicgranth.org/what_are_vedic_granth/vedang
+ Dhanur Veda PDF : https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=dmVkaWNncmFudGgub3JnfHd3d3xneDoxNzc0YjY5OWU2ZTMzM2Zl
+ Stephen Knapp' s Overview of all Vedas and related texts :
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/complete_review_of_vedic_literature.htm
============
