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New Zealand school teaches Sanskrit and claims it helps children understand English
Nevada (US), Jan 25 (ANI):
A school in New Zealand has a 'Sanskrit Language Studies' program and claims that learning Sanskrit accelerates a child's reading ability.
Ficino School in Mt Eden area of Auckland (New Zealand), calls itself a 'values-based academic institution' and offers education for girls and boys from year one to eight. It says about Sanskrit: "It has a wonderful system of sound and grammar, which gives the child an excellent base for the study of any language. Children love its order and beauty."
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed has applauded Ficino School for fostering universal virtues and encouraging Sanskrit studies and adds that Sanskrit has a close relationship with other classical languages like Latin, Greek, French, German, etc.
According to Peter Crompton, principal of this school founded in 1997, where curriculum includes "food for the mind, food for the spirit, food for the body", "Sanskrit with its almost perfect grammatical system...provides children with a roadmap for understanding English." Sanskrit not only gives young learners a clear understanding of the structure of language, it also heightens their awareness of the process of speech, creating a greater understanding of and ability to, enunciate words clearly, Crompton adds.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, pointed out that Sanskrit should be restored to its rightful place. It needed to be brought to the mainstream and hidden scientific truths in ancient Sanskrit literature should be brought to light, he said.
Rajan Zed strongly criticized India Government for not doing enough for Sanskrit language. He asked India Government to do much more for the development, propagation, encouragement and promotion of Sanskrit in India and the world, which was essential for the development of India and preservation of its cultural heritage. Sanskrit also provided the theoretical foundation of ancient sciences.
Besides Hindu scriptures, a vast amount of Buddhist and Jain scriptures were also written in Sanskrit, which is known as "the language of the gods". According to tradition, self-born God created Sanskrit, which is everlasting and divine. The oldest scripture of mankind still in common use, Rig-Veda, was written in Sanskrit, Zed added.
Mahatma Gandhi said, "Without the study of Sanskrit, one cannot become a true learned man." German philologist Max Muller added, "Sanskrit is the greatest language of the world." (ANI)
3 comments:
Sanskrit is a great language.Only while reading Sundara Kandam I could appreciate the richness and difficulty.
You can't read it without focus and concentration.And it feels like your tongue is doing gymnastics sometimes.
Which is probably one reason the reading of Vedas was restricted in past to a single community.
We cant expect any support from govts in India who dont seem to even care for local languages.
The butchering of Tamil at the hands of TV anchors,cine actors and actresses is itself heart rending not to mention singers. I wouldn't want to see Sanskrit, subject to same.
When are we going to get over the colonial hangover and foreign endorsements ? Samskruta Bharathi, started by 4 selfless youngsters 25 years ago, with the objective of reviving the glorious language, has been doing yeomen service tirelessly till date. But no media will cover it or mention about it. Why ? because it is an Indian effort. Therefore not worth it ! We were told that Samskrutam is in our genes. We just have to re-kindle it and it will blossom like a lotus. I believe that because of my own personal experience. I am really surprised that even I could manage to learn the language to an acceptable level of proficiency with very little help from Samskruta Bharathi. Ofcourse I am not talking about scholarly erudition though. But no, this testimony of an Indian will not be covered by the media. A cursory glance at Jyothisha sastram will enlighten the students about the relationship between chakras and aksharas. But no. We will not take congnisance of that because it is unscientific, unless ofcourse a westerner mentions it. While I am indeed happy at the initiative in New Zealand, it is time that we show faith and recognise the glorious virtues and capabilities of this mother of all languages and commit ourselves for learning the same. Yes, without knowing Samskrutam, we cannot fully understand the essential purpose of life on earth. If we care about ourselves, then, let us not simply gloat at the mention of some praise by westerners and leave it at that. Instead let us be consumed by a sense of shame and/or guilt for having ignored such a wonderful language rather carelessly. Samskrutam is our asset. It is time we own it instead of simply chasing virtual assets which are dubiously valued and/or revalued under strange and unethical economic systems the world over.
Hi Jayasree - Firstly, thanks for the wonderful blog. Your writings are amazing and backed with facts.
I came across this article in Sify http://www.sify.com/news/world-s-only-sanskrit-daily-holds-out-against-odds-media-feature-news-national-mhcjEfebijb.html?ref=slideout
which talks about a Sanskrit magazine struggling for survival. Can you please help spreading this message, so that we can restore it? Thanks.
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