Here's why Sanskrit is not a dead language & should be at the core of school curricul

[swaich]

Translating Sanskrit, Hindi words into English is difficult.

They often lose their meanings. An exact translation is not always possible.

Thus Dharam does not = Religion.

The Indic term Dharam, has a wide meaning,.

It is basically a philosophy, a way of life, the goal of which is self enlightenment, moksha, to eventually become one with the param-athma.( again a difficult concept to translate.


The Religion term comes primarily from the Abrahamic Religions,( Christianity, Islam and Judaism).

In these Religions there a “ God’, and this God gives his diktat in the form of a book, the Bible, The Koran.


This book and its allied texts, are Scriptures. This Scripture rules the followers lives. Original sin, being punished for it, Revelation, Prophets, Son of God, Redemption, End of the world are concepts that are enshrined in the Scripture and the Religion

In contrast, the Indic Dharam ( Vedic/ Buddhist/ Sikh/Jain/Hindu), do not have a book

NO scriptures.

There are no Prophets, no messengers of God.

There are at best Gurus who act as a guide to guide the student on the path of Righteousness, the goal being self – enlightenment.

Could I suggest we pause before using Christian terms to define our culture and Dharm

Sikhism has a book/scripture but yes its different from the Abrahamic faiths that in captures the teachings of the Gurus rather than chronicle their lives.

 

[ravichaudhary]

Sikhism has a book/scripture but yes its different from the Abrahamic faiths that in captures the teachings of the Gurus rather than chronicle their lives.

This is exactly what we are trying to separate concepts, which get lost in translation.

The Guru Granth Sahib, is a collection of various pieces of knowledge- the authors are many.

The Gurus do not project themselves as Prophets, preaching a ' follow me or else" as the Abrahamic Religions do.

They are Gurus, teachers, guides, coaches at best.

They follow Dharm, the path to righteousness, not a Scripture.


Hence my comment that the term Scripture does not apply to the Dharmic collections of Vidhya( knowledge).

They are not complete, as a "BOOK" is.

The Guru Granth Sahib, is what it shoudl be, a guide for the individual.

The individual has to make the effort to gain enlightenment.

The Guru granth Sahib, or the Vedas, or the Gita, cannot do it for him/her.


That is one important difference between a Scripture and works of philosophy , as the granths are.

 

[abhikrana]

I understand where you are coming from.

However, my point remains - there is no need to translate the Sanskrit texts if we know Sanskrit. I do not subscribe to the viewpoint that Sanskrit should no be encouraged because it is difficult/impossible to translate to Hindi/English.

If we know what these texts mean, we do not need to translate them either to English or Hindi.

Let us see if this helps/

The discussion here is in English.

The premise I have suggested is that Sanskrit/Hindi terms do not translate well into English.



e.g. Dharm does NOT = Religion.

It does not equate to Religion.

Religion is an English term for the type of Religions that Christianity/Islam represent.

They have set structures ; A GOD, set rules, set axioms, rewards and punishments in the afterlife.

They have Scriptures, which are the word of that GOD.


They are not ways of life.

Dharm OTOH is simply a path of righteousness. It is a way of life. The goal being self enlightenment.

The duty of the flower of Dharam is not to follow a "Scripture", set of Rules, but to embark on the path of self enlightenment. The Corpii on Knowledge- Veds, Gita, etc are simply a guide to help the person along the path.

The individual must choose and seek out the path by himself/herself.
Dhram has no Prophet, no Son of God.

It has only Gurus, who can coach the student along the path of righteousness.

I hope this gives, at least as I see it, a better idea of why Sanskrit terms do not translate well into English.

 

[abhikrana]

With some people it is better to bang one's head against the wall rather than engage with them in any discussion. Such people are compulsively ARGUMENTATIVE. You may derive any further meaning (escapist) as you please because you are good at it.

Good excuse for an easy escape when you run out of arguments. "You don't have a right to speak on this issue!" Lol.

 

[swaich]

With some people it is better to bang one's head against the wall rather than engage with them in any discussion. Such people are compulsively ARGUMENTATIVE. You may derive any further meaning (escapist) as you please because you are good at it.

I haven't heard that excuse the first time from you but still you continue to reply and engage in verbal jousting with me. Either you are not a man of your words or you yourself don't believe what you say.

 

[abhikrana]

I do not need to prove anything to you.

But everyone knows what you stand for - Thook bilona.

I haven't heard that excuse the first time from you but still you continue to reply and engage in verbal jousting with me. Either you are not a man of your words or you yourself don't believe what you say.

 

[swaich]

^^I didn't know you are the designated spokesperson for everyone on JL. Who appointed you? And what other statements do you wish to make on behalf of everyone?

 

[abhikrana]

Well, I was about to say the same for you considering your penchant for poking your nose into every other discussion as a subject matter expert.

^^I didn't know you are the designated spokesperson for everyone on JL. Who appointed you? And what other statements do you wish to make on behalf of everyone?

 

[vdhillon]

@ Abhik Rana and Swaich

Then its confession time, that also means you (we all) enjoy each other's online company very much, agree?

Agar jhoot bole kawwa kate Lage rho, lekin bhaiyo mada sa pyar te

PS: agar ghane bore hon lag r so to nya interesting sa tagga shuru kar loya karo, bina baat ki bahas karan ki ke jaroort

Cheers!