THE main aim of Samskrit Bharati is to spread Sanskrit by making it a spoken language of the masses, as the language of everyday dealings, as it was in the days of yore. According to their booklet Samskritam Vadatu (Speak Sanskrit) Sanskrit cannot be promoted by mere appreciation or by speaking about Sanskrit. It will be possible for us to learn Sanskrit by oral practice alone-that is by speaking in Sanskrit in the school (in class), at home, at office, in factory, on road, in market, or playground, at dining table, in transit, on phone-rather by trying to express our feelings emotions, instincts and sentiments in Sanskrit, wherever and whenever an opportunity presents itself to open our mouth. The key to unlock our mouth is in our hands and not with others! You need not be surprised if a Sanskrit missionary emphasises that while the first method to learn Sanskrit is by speaking the language of Sanskrit and declares at the same time that the secrets to the second and the third methods also lie in speaking the soft spoken and magical language of Sanskrit. In the words of the publisher of Samskritam Vadatu, “The best method to learn Sanskrit is to speak in Sanskrit-correct or grammatically faulty, speak Sanskrit with patience and pride.”
The golden rule of Samskrit Bharati is Sambhashnena bhashabhyasaha sheeghram bhavati-that is, “The study of a language becomes rapid by conversation.” Samskrit Bharati is particularly noted for conducting classes for conversational Sanskrit, for ten continuous days, each lasting for two hours a day. While they are handling their classes, using Sanskrit as the medium of instruction, their instructors use simple Sanskrit vocabulary that is readily evident in many Indian languages. Their method of teaching is mostly impressive because of gestures employed, supplemented with hand drawn and printed charts, as well as gorgeous display of articles of daily use and toys in the form of birds, animals and common articles like clock, engine, computer, kitchen utensils, electric bulb and many other articles of daily use. Learners are also helped to identify the Sanskrit names/nomenclatures of the various articles that are displayed.
The unique and unprecedented method evolved by them, (born out of decades of teaching experience) to teach conversational Sanskrit with the simplest approach will enable a learner to converse in Sanskrit within two or three months.
Achievements so far
Hopes and aspirations of Sanskrit protagonists, who were busy working overtime for the past few decades have already started yielding encouraging and perceptible results. The number of people who have learnt conversational Sanskrit has crossed 30 lakh. More than ten thousand Sanskrit teachers have received the benefits of Sanskrit Bharati’s orientation programmes. Publication of books and their readership continues unabated. Our last census figures reveal that more than 2,000 families have declared Sanskrit as their mother tongue. Four villages have already been made as Sanskrit villages-that is villages where the populace speak among themselves in Sanskrit. Conducting Sanskrit classes in slums and correspondence courses in Sanskrit for the benefit of aspirants adds one more dimension to their achievements. A home page in the internet and commencement of the activities of Samskrit Bharati abroad in countries like USA, England, in European countries, as well as in many other countries have already heightened the image of Samskrit Bharati. No Wonder! Samskrit Bharati is marching from success to success!!
To the question, “What is the future of Sanskrit”? It is worth quoting their own booklet Samskritam Vadatu (Speak Sanskrit) which reads as under:
“The future of Sanskrit is bright. The number of Sanskrit learners goes on increasing all over the country. Sanskrit is being studied in 35 countries across the globe. The work of research has been undertaken in 110 scientific research centres. Experts on computer science have started learning Sanskrit, because Sanskrit is now regarded as the fittest language for computers. Today, in India 70 lakh people learn Sanskrit. There are eight Sanskrit universities. The next 5 to 10 years will witness a sweeping change in the position of Sanskrit. The cognizants say that the rise of Sanskrit has already started and the twenty-first century will be a Sanskrit century.”
The fact that Sanskrit is complimentary to Indian languages, that it is the language of the culture of India and that the sentence pattern in Indian languages is also the same as in Sanskrit, makes the study of Sanskrit an ideal instrument of social integrity, thus enabling us to achieve our goal of national integration.
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