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Ramakrishna
04 March 2010, 08:06 PM
One of my friends is Irish, and he is taking it upon himself to learn how to speak Irish. He enjoys singing and is able to sing several songs in Irish. That got me thinking that I should start learning either Hindi or Sanskrit so I can sing some bhajans and aarti.

However I am not sure which language I want to learn. I know that the Vedic hymns are in Sanskrit, but from what I've heard those are more like mantras that are to be chanted rather than actual songs that are to be sung. My favorite aarti that I would love to learn to sing is 'Om Jai Jagdish Hare'. It is in Hindi. I know that the two languages are very similar, as Hindi is based off of Sanskrit and the two languages have the same writing.

I'm thinking that if I learn Sanskrit it would pretty much only be useful for the Vedic hymns. Meanwhile there are literally thousands of aarti and bhajan songs in Hindi. But then again, aren't the Vedic hymns the most sacred of all? Hindi would also help me out whenever I visit India, as Sanskrit is a dead language and is no longer spoken.

I'm not really planning on doing an in depth study of the language and becoming fluent in it, although it would be great if one day I am. I'm just looking to learn the basics so I can sing some sacred hymns. So, which language should I learn?

sanjaya
04 March 2010, 11:06 PM
I guess it all comes down to whether you're learning the language in order to increase your ability to communicate, or to study religious Scriptures. Hindi is one of the most widely used languages in India, so it's helpful to know it when getting around (then again, neither of my parents speak even a word of Hindi, so maybe it's not quite as helpful as one might think). On the other hand, no one learns Sanskrit in order to increase his ability to communicate with people. It's basically the Eastern version of Latin. It's not the vernacular anywhere, and it's largely useful for reading ancient religious texts.

Now what follows is just my opinion, but I feel that English is widely used enough in India that I'm already fairly well-prepared to get around if I visit. And if I were to learn a (vernacular) Indian language, I think I would want to learn Tamil, since my family is Tamilian. Personally I would very much like to learn Sanskrit so as to be able to participate more fully in pujas and other Hindu rituals. Sanskrit is the language of India's rishis and saints. It's the language of the Vedas. One might even say that it's the language of God. I know that it's a difficult task, but I would like to one day learn Sanskrit, if time allows.

Of course, what I would like to do and what you should do may very well be different things.

ScottMalaysia
15 March 2010, 06:06 AM
One of my friends is Irish, and he is taking it upon himself to learn how to speak Irish. He enjoys singing and is able to sing several songs in Irish. That got me thinking that I should start learning either Hindi or Sanskrit so I can sing some bhajans and aarti.

However I am not sure which language I want to learn. I know that the Vedic hymns are in Sanskrit, but from what I've heard those are more like mantras that are to be chanted rather than actual songs that are to be sung. My favorite aarti that I would love to learn to sing is 'Om Jai Jagdish Hare'. It is in Hindi. I know that the two languages are very similar, as Hindi is based off of Sanskrit and the two languages have the same writing.

I'm thinking that if I learn Sanskrit it would pretty much only be useful for the Vedic hymns. Meanwhile there are literally thousands of aarti and bhajan songs in Hindi. But then again, aren't the Vedic hymns the most sacred of all? Hindi would also help me out whenever I visit India, as Sanskrit is a dead language and is no longer spoken.

I'm not really planning on doing an in depth study of the language and becoming fluent in it, although it would be great if one day I am. I'm just looking to learn the basics so I can sing some sacred hymns. So, which language should I learn?

Most mantras in Hinduism are in Sanskrit, as are the Scriptures. Therefore, if you're planning an in-depth study of Hinduism at some point in the future, then Sanskrit is the way to go. If you're interested in learning it, I've scanned and uploaded some of a book that I got in Malaysia for learning Sanskrit. It's written like the old Latin primers in school - it's basically rote learning and translating phrases into Sanskrit. The one in the same series for learning Tamil is atrocious - it includes a whole pile of individual Tamil words, followed by hardly any grammar (and it's formal Tamil, not spoken Tamil) However, this book does introduce the grammar, and gives you a working vocabulary of basic Sanskrit words. You can find the book here (http://www.esnips.com/doc/c148d685-716a-49a5-b5c5-3d27b709913a/Learn-Sanskrit-in-30-Days-%28INCOMPLETE%29) (download it rather than viewing it on the site - it's easier). Let me know when you've finished the material there - I'll scan and upload the next part.

On the other hand, if you are living in the West (which I assume you are; forgive me if I'm wrong), then you may want to learn the langauge of the majority Hindu community in your area (this may also be the language that the local temple service is conducted in). For example, in Britain and New Zealand, the majority of Hindus speak Gujarati, while in Malaysia and Singapore, the majority speak Tamil. If you're planning on visiting Northern India, then Hindi is your best bet.

My advice to you would be, if you can, learn bothSanskrit and Hindi. However, the process of learning each is very different. Sanskrit is a dead language, which means you'll mainly be studying texts and doing translations. Nobody is going to have a conversation with you in Sanskrit, so you don't need to worry about oral skills. On the other hand, Hindi is a living language, which will require practice in both speaking and writing. After you have learnt a little Hindi, practice with Hindi speakers that you know. From my experience, Hindi speakers are very impressed when you ask "ap kaise hai?" (how are you?). Same goes for Bengali speakers when I say "tumi kemon acho?" and Gujarati speakers when I say "kem cho?"

ScottMalaysia
15 March 2010, 06:17 AM
My favorite aarti that I would love to learn to sing is 'Om Jai Jagdish Hare'. It is in Hindi.

The lyrics are provided on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jai_Jagdish_Hare), as well as a translation into English. You can sing along and read the English translation - you don't need to have learnt Hindi first.

Before 1969, the Catholic Mass was conducted in Latin. The average Catholic in the pew didn't spend years studying Latin - he or she had a book called a missal which contained the prayers of the Mass and a translation into his or her native language. As the priest prayed the Mass in Latin, the average Catholic read the English translation in order to understand what was going on. They didn't need to know Latin in order to understand the Mass. Many Catholics also prayed private devotions such as the Rosary in Latin (some still do).

Sahasranama
14 January 2011, 12:59 AM
Ramakrishna, have you been thinking about this decision? Sanskrit is the better choice, but a lot of the Hindu tradition and culture is communicated in vernacular languages. This is what many westerners miss out on when they only look at classical Sanskrit texts. Sanskrit is always the best choice, but depending on how much time you have, it's advisable to become familiar with more Indian languages, especially Hindi which is popular and has a wide variety of books, bhajans, lectures and movies on Hinduism.

Ramakrishna
16 January 2011, 09:56 PM
Ramakrishna, have you been thinking about this decision? Sanskrit is the better choice, but a lot of the Hindu tradition and culture is communicated in vernacular languages. This is what many westerners miss out on when they only look at classical Sanskrit texts. Sanskrit is always the best choice, but depending on how much time you have, it's advisable to become familiar with more Indian languages, especially Hindi which is popular and has a wide variety of books, bhajans, lectures and movies on Hinduism.

Namaste Sahasranama,

Really I have not thought much about this from the time I posted. I've realized that currently being a full-time college student doesn't leave me much time at all to undertake this endeavor. But it is still definitely something I would be interested in learning.

Before, I was thinking that I could learn at least some basic Hindi from my grandparents. But they moved back to Guyana to spend the rest of their lives there, so that is not likely to happen now.

Whenever I do begin, I will try to learn at least some of both Hindi and Sanskrit. The thing is that when I was originally thinking about this, I was ignorant of the fact that English is spoken by a good amount of Indians (at least more than I originally thought) and that there is such a wide multitude of languages in India besides Hindi. Although Hindi still is the most popular language, and it is very widely spoken in the part of India that my ancestors are from, Uttar Pradesh. This would still be helpful whenever I visit the land of my forefathers.

Of course Sanskrit will also be helpful when it comes to learning scriptures and mantras.

Jai Sri Ram

jasdir
19 January 2011, 02:48 AM
Which language should I learn?
English.

_/\_Jasdir

BryonMorrigan
19 January 2011, 08:16 AM
The lyrics are provided on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jai_Jagdish_Hare), as well as a translation into English. You can sing along and read the English translation - you don't need to have learnt Hindi first.

Before 1969, the Catholic Mass was conducted in Latin. The average Catholic in the pew didn't spend years studying Latin - he or she had a book called a missal which contained the prayers of the Mass and a translation into his or her native language. As the priest prayed the Mass in Latin, the average Catholic read the English translation in order to understand what was going on. They didn't need to know Latin in order to understand the Mass. Many Catholics also prayed private devotions such as the Rosary in Latin (some still do).

However, the Latin that is used by the Catholic Church is called "Ecclesiastical Latin," and is as "similar" to the Classical Latin of Rome as Hindi is to Sanskrit. For example, compare the name of the Roman dictator "Julius Caesar" in the two languages:

1. Ecclesiastical Latin: Julius Caesar; pronounced "JOO-Lee-Uss SEEZ-Ur"
2. Classical Latin: Ivlivs Cæsar; pronounced "Yoo-LEE-Oos KIGH-Zahr"

Furthermore, Classical Latin has a kind of "rhythm" that is very similar to modern Italian...as opposed to the very "harsh" sound of Ecclesiastical Latin.

Personally, I'm learning Hindi, and paying attention to where the Hindi and Sanskrit converge and diverge as I do so. Of course, I have plans to spend a lot of time in India (and possibly even relocate there at some point), so learning Hindi will be of a lot of use to me.

But there are a lot of other advantages to learning Hindi...in that I can put on Bollywood movies and use them to further keep my translation and pronunciation skills "sharp." I've learned a lot of languages in my life (I speak English, Spanish, German, Latin, and Ancient Greek) and being able to watch movies in the language is an enormously helpful tool. (Trust me...the only movie with Classical Latin pronounced correctly in it is Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ." Uck!)

PARAM
19 January 2011, 10:45 AM
Learn Sanskrit, it is the best choice for Hinduism, and when you learn Sanskrit well, don't forget to translate in your native language.



But there are a lot of other advantages to learning Hindi...in that I can put on Bollywood movies and use them to further keep my translation and pronunciation skills "sharp." I've learned a lot of languages in my life (I speak English, Spanish, German, Latin, and Ancient Greek) and being able to watch movies in the language is an enormously helpful tool. (Trust me...the only movie with Classical Latin pronounced correctly in it is Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ." Uck!)

I was thinking about a good documentary or movie on Maharshi Ashtavakra, to promote in Handicaps, CM make handicaps a personal sympathy mongers and Jihadi use them for wrong works. Maharshi Ashtavakra can teach right path.

Ramakrishna
19 January 2011, 11:09 PM
However, the Latin that is used by the Catholic Church is called "Ecclesiastical Latin," and is as "similar" to the Classical Latin of Rome as Hindi is to Sanskrit. For example, compare the name of the Roman dictator "Julius Caesar" in the two languages:

1. Ecclesiastical Latin: Julius Caesar; pronounced "JOO-Lee-Uss SEEZ-Ur"
2. Classical Latin: Ivlivs Cæsar; pronounced "Yoo-LEE-Oos KIGH-Zahr"

Furthermore, Classical Latin has a kind of "rhythm" that is very similar to modern Italian...as opposed to the very "harsh" sound of Ecclesiastical Latin.

Personally, I'm learning Hindi, and paying attention to where the Hindi and Sanskrit converge and diverge as I do so. Of course, I have plans to spend a lot of time in India (and possibly even relocate there at some point), so learning Hindi will be of a lot of use to me.

But there are a lot of other advantages to learning Hindi...in that I can put on Bollywood movies and use them to further keep my translation and pronunciation skills "sharp." I've learned a lot of languages in my life (I speak English, Spanish, German, Latin, and Ancient Greek) and being able to watch movies in the language is an enormously helpful tool. (Trust me...the only movie with Classical Latin pronounced correctly in it is Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ." Uck!)

Namaste Bryon,

That's a good point. Learning Hindi will definitely be more practical outside of the specific context of Sanatana Dharma, where learning Sanskrit is seemingly confined to scriptures. But you can do so much more with Hindi, especially somebody like you with your career.

Plus, it would be nice for me to one day be able to watch Bollywood movies in Hindi without the subtitles!

Jai Sri Ram

Ramakrishna
19 January 2011, 11:11 PM
English.

_/\_Jasdir

Namaste Jasdir,

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Please expand. I have been studying and speaking English my entire life. Are you suggesting that I just stay confined to the English language?

Jai Sri Ram

jasdir
20 January 2011, 01:06 AM
Namaste Jasdir,

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Please expand. I have been studying and speaking English my entire life. Are you suggesting that I just stay confined to the English language?

Jai Sri Ram

As this is very famously known by the members of H D F, that i am week in English,

So simply want to pass the message that one should learn the language in which He/She is week :)

As i belive, Languages are made for the Man, Man is not made for the languages.

Ramakrishna ji, _/\_ Jai Sri Ram by Jasdir.

sunyata07
22 January 2011, 06:04 PM
Namaste Ramakrishna,

Why not learn both? I'm currently studying Sanskrit (it's slow going, but I knew that before I undertook the project), and I'm hoping to learn either Hindi or Tamil later to understand the more vernacular prayers and contemporary bhajans. If you're a linguaphile like me, you'll find it fascinating stuff rather than a necessary bore. Just as Latin has leant some of its root meanings to modern English, so too is Hindi supposed to be originally derived from Sanskrit. That might make things a bit easier, maybe, or in any case you will be able to appreciate semantics and etymology just that little more than if they were completely unrelated.

In any case, whatever language you pick, you'll need to begin by learning the Devanagari script so I'd recommend printing out a table of the syllables for you to post up in your bedroom to learn whenever you've got free time. You can download them virtually anywhere on the net, and here's a neat little website I've come across that shows you how to write each of the letters (the first one includes a voice which sounds each syllable out):

http://www.anu.edu.au/asianstudies/hindi/alphabet/index.html
http://acharya.iitm.ac.in/sanskrit/lessons/lesson0/java_anim/san_anim.php

Good luck with your learning.

Om namah Shivaya

Ramakrishna
25 January 2011, 11:49 PM
As this is very famously known by the members of H D F, that i am week in English,

So simply want to pass the message that one should learn the language in which He/She is week :)

As i belive, Languages are made for the Man, Man is not made for the languages.

Ramakrishna ji, _/\_ Jai Sri Ram by Jasdir.

Namaste Jasdir,

Yes, that's a good point. Thanks for explaining. Best of luck to you with your English studies.

Jai Sri Ram

Ramakrishna
25 January 2011, 11:53 PM
Namaste Ramakrishna,

Why not learn both? I'm currently studying Sanskrit (it's slow going, but I knew that before I undertook the project), and I'm hoping to learn either Hindi or Tamil later to understand the more vernacular prayers and contemporary bhajans. If you're a linguaphile like me, you'll find it fascinating stuff rather than a necessary bore. Just as Latin has leant some of its root meanings to modern English, so too is Hindi supposed to be originally derived from Sanskrit. That might make things a bit easier, maybe, or in any case you will be able to appreciate semantics and etymology just that little more than if they were completely unrelated.

In any case, whatever language you pick, you'll need to begin by learning the Devanagari script so I'd recommend printing out a table of the syllables for you to post up in your bedroom to learn whenever you've got free time. You can download them virtually anywhere on the net, and here's a neat little website I've come across that shows you how to write each of the letters (the first one includes a voice which sounds each syllable out):

http://www.anu.edu.au/asianstudies/hindi/alphabet/index.html
http://acharya.iitm.ac.in/sanskrit/lessons/lesson0/java_anim/san_anim.php

Good luck with your learning.

Om namah Shivaya

Namaste Sunyata,

Yeah, by now I've pretty much decided to learn both languages. Especially since the languages are similar and use the same alphabet, it will make it a bit easier. And both Hindi and Sanskrit will come in handy and be very useful for a variety of purposes, from learning mantras and reading scriptures in their original language, to learning bhajans and communicating more effectively when I visit India. Plus for me it just has that added benefit of knowing the language of your ancestors.

Thanks for the links.

Jai Sri Ram

kichigai
27 January 2011, 03:31 PM
Namaste Sunyata,

Yeah, by now I've pretty much decided to learn both languages. Especially since the languages are similar and use the same alphabet, it will make it a bit easier. And both Hindi and Sanskrit will come in handy and be very useful for a variety of purposes, from learning mantras and reading scriptures in their original language, to learning bhajans and communicating more effectively when I visit India. Plus for me it just has that added benefit of knowing the language of your ancestors.

Thanks for the links.

Jai Sri Ram

some years ago i started to learn both, hindi and sanskrit. but after i year i decided to not continue hindi and focus more on sanskrit. first of all i got told that hindi is not this much a common language in india as i thought it is and only people who went to school learned and speak hindi and those speak very good english as well. so i can either communicate in english or not at all.
for the scriptures i found it a good idea to know sanskrit. all the vedic scriptures, the vedas themselves with all their samhitas, upanishats and aranyakas but also the puranas and the itihasas are in sanskrit. and even though i'm using translations for the most part it is good to have the original sanskrit when in doubt about a translation.

but recently i started to teach myself tamil. a little bit more difficult than i expected it to be...

so anyway, may goddess sarasvati be mercyful with you and you will learn the languages easily and will find them as usefull as you hoped to.

Sahasranama
12 February 2011, 07:13 PM
Interesting map of geographical locations where Indian languages are spoken:

http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/india-map-languages.jpg

sunyata07
13 February 2011, 06:19 AM
Cheers for the pic, Sahasranama! I had been looking all over for a chart or diagram indicating what language was spoken where in India. I assume the diagram is a rough guide as to what language is spoken in what state, and that there's a lot of crossover as to where one begins and one ends, but it's better than nothing.

Om namah Shivaya

SinghSunita
31 December 2012, 12:08 AM
One of my friends is Irish, and he is taking it upon himself to learn how to speak Irish. He enjoys singing and is able to sing several songs in Irish. That got me thinking that I should start learning either Hindi or Sanskrit so I can sing some bhajans and aarti.

However I am not sure which language I want to learn. I know that the Vedic hymns are in Sanskrit, but from what I've heard those are more like mantras that are to be chanted rather than actual songs that are to be sung. My favorite aarti that I would love to learn to sing is 'Om Jai Jagdish Hare'. It is in Hindi. I know that the two languages are very similar, as Hindi is based off of Sanskrit and the two languages have the same writing.

I'm thinking that if I learn Sanskrit it would pretty much only be useful for the Vedic hymns. Meanwhile there are literally thousands of aarti and bhajan songs in Hindi. But then again, aren't the Vedic hymns the most sacred of all? Hindi would also help me out whenever I visit India, as Sanskrit is a dead language and is no longer spoken.

I'm not really planning on doing an in depth study of the language and becoming fluent in it, although it would be great if one day I am. I'm just looking to learn the basics so I can sing some sacred hymns. So, which language should I learn?

If you just want to able to communicate with Hindi speakers and learn few aarti and bhajans, you can just learn basic Hindi and practice with some Hindi speaker. If you are not in touch with any Hindi speaker you can take help of Hindi Interactive Audio Courses having Roman text as well as Hindi text with related pictures so that its easy to understand and learn to speak like Sunosunao Hindi learning site.

Abhinavagupta
23 June 2014, 06:00 AM
Does anyone have any recommendation on books that teach Hindi? Any sites that teach the basics also?

Thanks

Samraat Bhismadeva Maurya
30 June 2014, 03:09 AM
Hindi is quite easy to learn
Sanskrit is a little harder and requires more effort.

If you learn Sanskrit, Hindi will be easy.

Believer
07 July 2014, 04:24 PM
Namaste,

OP asked for our opinion on March 4 2010. People coming out with their advice now are probably too late as the OP must have already learned and mastered one or both languages. :)

Pranam.

Samraat Bhismadeva Maurya
07 July 2014, 10:11 PM
Hari Bol!

I recently found out he's been viewing this thread for 4 years straight! J/K.

I didn't realize.

Jai Sri Radhe-Syam

renuka
11 July 2014, 10:20 PM
Learn Sanskrit..its much easier than most regional languages..the grammar of Sanskrit is very organized.

Samskrita Bharati and Rasthriya Sanskrit Sansthan has self study books...in fact one does not even need a Guru for study of Sanskrit..most of us who reside abroad have no access to a Sanskrit Guru and dont even know Hindi or any regional language yet self study was really 100% possible.

I have no idea why many people think Sanskrit is hard..if you ask me I am a person who self studied Sanskrit and I found it so systematic and so scientific that you brain will crave for more.

You can also approach Samskrita Bharati to join up for spoken Sanskrit camps and also to sit for their 2 years correspondence self study course(but that course is actually not for an absolute beginner..so meanwhile get self study books from Rasthriya Sanskrit Sansthan New Delhi study that for a while then sign up for the correspondence course by Samskrita Bharati.

Also we actually learn a language faster if we speak it..so try to get someone to speak with you just some simple word and later you can actually progress into a full conversation..its not that hard..in fact I like speaking in Sanskrit to my best friend these days cos others might not understand and we can actually Gossip!LOL

Samraat Bhismadeva Maurya
12 July 2014, 02:23 AM
Hari Bol!

Does anyone know any site where i can learn sanskrit

Jai Sri Radhe-Syam!

deafAncient
12 February 2015, 01:10 PM
Namaste!

A heads up...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/14/AR2008061400892.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-30446917

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/people/Youngsters-forming-Sanskrit-speaking-communities/articleshow/8196379.cms

Is Sanskrit really a dead language?

deafAncient
12 February 2015, 05:01 PM
I ought to add here that I see unintentional signs of Sanskrit phobia that we need to examine. I have to self-examine that myself, coming from European ancestry. Here's a great article from Rajivji that details that (yes, I will eventually read all 74 of his articles in his archive).

http://rajivmalhotra.com/library/articles/geopolitics-sanskrit-phobia/

Believer
12 February 2015, 10:54 PM
Namaste,

Thank you for providing those links.

Is Sanskrit really a dead language?

Sanskrit is not a dead language but a dormant language. With the dedication that some people are showing in learning it per the links, it might some day make a comeback and become the Indian national language.

It is interesting to note that in the Washington Post article, the language is very presumptuous and harsh. The comment, 'Such camps, run by volunteers from Hindu nationalist groups, are designed to promote a language long dismissed as dead, and to instill in Hindus religious and cultural pride' makes you feel that the only people who promote and teach are some kind of evil 'nationalist groups'. The second thing that stood out and bothered me was the comment, 'The scholars warn against exploiting Indians' reverence for Sanskrit to promote the supremacy of Hindu thought in a country that, while predominantly Hindu, is also home to a large Muslim population and other religious minorities.' These self professed scholars sound more like the Hindu bashing idiots who would demean and degrade everything Hindu. If India is a Hindu nation, what is wrong with the Hindu culture and the Hindu thought being the dominant fabric of everyday life? How is that threatening to anyone? People educated in missionary schools are in the name of secularism, turned into Hindu bashers and are termed as 'the scholars'. That is the curse that India has to live with and prosper in spite of.

Pranam.

deafAncient
15 February 2015, 07:05 AM
Namaste Believer,

I noticed that about the Washington Post article. You have to remember that especially in this news outlet, there are connections between them and academia (at least there was at the time of publication of "Invading the Sacred").

Reading here, especially in Part 1 - http://rajivmalhotra.com/library/articles/axis-neocolonialism/ - I finally came to the realization as to "who stole MY world." I've been angry, wondering who stole my world, for years. The answer in Part 1 towards the end before Part 2 didn't jump out at me the first time I read it.

I realized this morning that I must learn Sanskrit to the best of my ability in order to restore as much of my world as possible. I feel like because I "let it go" somewhere in a previous life, I was made to experience what it is like to be a westerner, to devolve karmically in order to understand why I must return to the Dharmic path, as it were, before I can evolve further in my reawakening.

I'm now seeing the urgency in learning Indian Classics and the language of sanskriti land. Only 1% of millions of Sanskrit works have been translated out to a non-Indian language. How much knowledge is missing??? How much is lost as a result of past invasions? How far ahead was Ayurveda of western medicine at the time of encounter? Did these invasions set back India thousands of years??

It's becoming clearer to me just how backwards the juxtaposition of Indic and Western ways of life is.

deafAncient
16 February 2015, 12:26 PM
Namaste, Believer:

Reading your last post more carefully (as I work on the weekends), I agree with several things. Indeed, Sanskrit is merely dormant, because as soon as it becomes alive again, as it is already being used again in the communities, new concepts and ideas are explored until finally they are understood to have existed before and became forgotten as a result of the foreign invasions; that they are merely bringing back what was before, plus the language or vocabulary may undergo changes to fit the current needs and environments of the times (for instance, was there a Sanskrit word for computer, IC chip, math coprocessor, laser surgery, computer keyboard, mouse in the distant past? The speakers would have to come up with such terminology to adapt to the changing surroundings, keeping the language alive and current). What bothers me about the "dead language" designation is the idea that a given people, with their language and culture, were conquered and wiped out, so they should not "come back" under the power and strength of the western conquerors. I am glad that you brought up the idea of a language being dormant, not dead, as there will be a time when the western way of life comes to pass, and the Dharmic way of life returns somehow, and Sanskrit comes back. It already has come back. My hope is that it is now on a rising trajectory of awareness.

Again, I see now more clearly that I must learn Sanskrit among other things, even though I'm not trained to learn languages well because of my deafness and lack of resources to help me learn the best way to acquire a second language. My second language is American Sign Language, and it is very weak, as I only use it when I have the opportunity to use it. I'm not able to converse fluently in anything else at this time except Galeh Yuvo, which is what it looks like in my avatar to the left of my username. It is a language I created 30 years ago for some reason... All I know is that it is based on a form of an abugida writing system, like Sanskrit and Hindi are, and the vocabulary is generated via a translation method (that's not what it is, but I cannot reveal exactly how the vocabulary is generated). Imagine my surprise when I learned about the writing system of Hindi and Sanskrit! Somehow I knew about it before I had access to computers and language books. The differences have to do with the use of inherent vowels and what to do with them in particular situations within my language. https://www.facebook.com/galeh.yuvo - Here, you can see more of it and what it looks like in written form.

The various statements in the article shows the western-centric way of thinking that gives away their position on such matters. Also, you see that they look at SD from a history-centric, Abrahamic perspective, which is not at all how SD is positioned and constructed to be.

"Supremacy of Hindu thought..." This is what I mean by the above paragraph. They don't understand that this is not how Sanaatanis see themselves. This is the divide between pluralism and exclusivism. While they don't see (hopefully not) that all religions are the same, they see a need to acknowledge the differences in the religions from an equal footing as opposed to the supreme footing as experienced in the Christian/Muslim mindsets.

On your last comment about Hindu culture; the idea behind colonization was to "rescue" primitive peoples from themselves and remake them as civilized westerners, to stamp out SD from every aspect of life. I think that the reason westerners feel threatened is because they assume that Sanaatanis think the same as themselves, that if they were given all the money in the world and a high-powered military, that they would naturally go after and attack the west on its own initiative, just as the west had done on non-western countries and regions. This is a failure to understand that there are different ways of being and living besides western civilization, not the only valid way to be.

Now, please understand that I have yet to read the scriptures and the writings of SD, so I may be wrong here, but I seem to think it possible that long before the Vedas and other writings came to be in visible form (writings, carvings, whatever they used to make it visible to learners), that people in ancient times lived with very much the same western-like and Abrahamic-like mindset and found it lacking and destructive, evolved from it, and may have learned to bring forth SD and eventually passed it on in a regular way to ensure peace and survival within our world. Maybe the knowledge of SD comes from experience in the past. Remember that the Yugas happen in an endless cycle, and maybe the knowledge of SD is reinforced by the experience of the previous cycle of the Kali Yuga. Please advise on this paragraph.