It is really a very sad fact that some of the most erudite scholars and masters in Sanskrit language often fail to receive their rightful place in the pantheon of the most shining stars just because their exposure to the western languages like English are limited.
I have watched with deep reverence in person and also through the video recording of some Vidvat Sabhas conducted by our Guru Sringeri Aacharyaals (the most revered Sri Bharathi Teertha MahaswaminaH) ..
The extensive knowledge of our Master and the most learned participants in such congregations, is simply beyond words..,
And the fact that even the best among the best of the scholars present were often just fumbling for words in the presence of the incisive knowledge of our Acharyaal instills great awe .
It is the digvijayam through jnaanaam too..
Just think, if any of these masters were articulate in English to a very small extent at least in comparison to the much touted authorities and western and some Indian scholar trained through the western curriculum crafted for our own Sanskrit who have written Sanskrit in English or German the reverence they would have attracted universally would be beyond imagination..
Those who have limited knowledge in Sanskrit but who can present whatever they know in English, pass muster and hold the ground as great scholars and teachers but the traditional masters often pale into insignificance..
This is one thing which has baffled me..
The colleges and universities in India permit the use of other Indian languages and English etc to present research papers and earn highest doctorates and academic distinction in Sanskrit.. Why is this so?
One nice thing that has happened these days is that almost all great original texts and manuscripts in Sanskrit are now available for free download in the web..books and papers in millions.. and this was unthinkable for anyone even just ten years ago..
But here again people find more joy in uploading old texts rather than reading even a few pages.. My experience is that after reading some ten or twenty pages, reading Sanskrit is almost as easy.. even more easy.. that reading fiction in English..
But the change is to be born in our minds.
I have watched with deep reverence in person and also through the video recording of some Vidvat Sabhas conducted by our Guru Sringeri Aacharyaals (the most revered Sri Bharathi Teertha MahaswaminaH) ..
The extensive knowledge of our Master and the most learned participants in such congregations, is simply beyond words..,
And the fact that even the best among the best of the scholars present were often just fumbling for words in the presence of the incisive knowledge of our Acharyaal instills great awe .
It is the digvijayam through jnaanaam too..
Just think, if any of these masters were articulate in English to a very small extent at least in comparison to the much touted authorities and western and some Indian scholar trained through the western curriculum crafted for our own Sanskrit who have written Sanskrit in English or German the reverence they would have attracted universally would be beyond imagination..
Those who have limited knowledge in Sanskrit but who can present whatever they know in English, pass muster and hold the ground as great scholars and teachers but the traditional masters often pale into insignificance..
This is one thing which has baffled me..
The colleges and universities in India permit the use of other Indian languages and English etc to present research papers and earn highest doctorates and academic distinction in Sanskrit.. Why is this so?
One nice thing that has happened these days is that almost all great original texts and manuscripts in Sanskrit are now available for free download in the web..books and papers in millions.. and this was unthinkable for anyone even just ten years ago..
But here again people find more joy in uploading old texts rather than reading even a few pages.. My experience is that after reading some ten or twenty pages, reading Sanskrit is almost as easy.. even more easy.. that reading fiction in English..
But the change is to be born in our minds.
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