Veda means knowledge, which is necessary for the fulfilment of spiritual and physical activities in the material creation. Vedic knowledge is eternal and equally beneficial for human beings. Vedic knowledge is divine and universal knowledge.
· Study and purpose of Europe in Sanskrit literature
There was no interest in Sanskrit literature in Europe till the 16th century. In the middle of 17th, Henderith Roth, a German priest, comes to India and after learning Sanskrit for missionary work, writes a book on Sanskrit grammar in 1662. By the late 18th and early 19th centuries, interest in European culture arose in India for religious and political reasons. Charles Wilkins was the first English official who learned Sanskrit in Banaras and translated the Srimad Bhagavad Gita in 1785, the Hitopadesha in 1787, and the Shakuntalopakhyana of the Mahabharata in 1795 into English. William Jones translated the great poet Kalidasa’s Abhijnana Shakuntalam in 1789 and Manusmriti in 1794 into English.
Wilhelm Schlegel was appointed the first Sanskrit professor at Bonn University, Germany. Both the Schlegel brothers were great admirers of Indian philosophy and literature and their view about Indian philosophy was that reading the Upanishads is extremely satisfying and inspiring in life. It is a consolation to me in life and will be a consolation in death also.
· Various objectives of Sanskrit study
After reading the inspiring articles of Shehgal brothers on Sanskrit language and Indian philosophy, many scholars of 19th century from countries like Germany, France, Britain etc. spent their entire lives in the study and research of ancient Sanskrit literature of India. But the objectives of study and writing of all these scholars were different.
1. Impartial inquirer into Indian philosophy, theology and literature
People of this class looked at Indian literature objectively and scientifically through linguistics and considered the philosophical ideas inspiring. The main ones in this class were Schlegel brothers, Herman Brookhas, William Jones etc.
2. Class inspired by religion and politics
Inspired by the missionary spirit, the scholars of this class wrote a huge literature by doing a comparative, biased translation of Vedas into evolution and creation of human history. Which included Frederick Rosen, Otto Van Bottlingham, Frederick Max Muller, H.H. Wilson etc.
All western scholars knew that Vedas are the basic element of Indian religious philosophy and culture and their proper interpretation can be done only on the basis of Nirukta and Panini grammar, but no western scholar adopted the Indian Veda commentary method which was used by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati. He had presented an example by using it in his Vedic translation.
· Establishment and objectives of the Boden Chair in England for Sanskrit education
There was no system of Sanskrit education in England till 1810. The first person to make arrangements for teaching Sanskrit language at Oxford University in England in 1811 was Joseph Boden, who was a lieutenant colonel in the East India Company’s army.
After his retirement, he donated his entire estate, a bequest of approximately £25,000, to establish a Professorship of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford, naming it the Boden Chair of Sanskrit.
The main objective of the Boden Chair was not to study Sanskrit language only in literary terms like the Gurukuls in India, but to serve the political and religious interests of Britain so that the people of Britain could acquire proper knowledge of Sanskrit language and read the scriptures of the natives of India, so that they Could convert them by understanding their philosophy.
The first person to be awarded the Boden Chair was H H. Wilson (1786–1860). He came to India in 1808 as a member of the medical profession in India and stayed here till 1832. During this period of his stay in India, he learned Sanskrit language and with this knowledge of the language, he helped in understanding the Hindu religious scriptures and when necessary, in interpreting them distortedly and converting Indians. In 1832, he was made the first chairperson of the Borden Chair of Sanskrit in the University of Oxford, where he first presented his poisonous ideas to the society in a book titled ‘The Religion and Philosophical System of the Hindus’.
After being elected the chairperson of Boden Chair in 1860, he wrote on page 262 in his book ‘The Study of Sanskrit in Relation to Missionary Work in India’ –
When the walls of the strong forts of Hindu religion will be surrounded, tunnels will be laid on them and finally the soldiers of the Crusade will attack them and the final victory will be achieved by converting the Indians.
· Selection and qualification of Vedic commentator
According to its policies and plans, on 15 April 1847, the East India Company decided to get the Rigveda interpreted in English by Max Muller. The British government, believing this, gave the responsibility of translating the Vedic language to German resident Frederick Max Muller at the age of just 24. That he is a scholar of Sanskrit language. But in reality he neither knew Vedic culture nor English. Max Muller volunteered that when he was living in Paris in 1845, before coming to England, he visited Dwarkanath Tagore, the grandfather of the Indian scholar Rabindranath Tagore, every day to improve his English.
In 1800, an Indian named Neelkanth Gorah met Max Muller in Oxford and asked some questions on vedic culture in Sanskrit which Max Muller could not understand and asked in English, which language are you speaking? After this incident, the truth about Muller’s sanskrit expert came to light and according to Max Muller, Sanskrit language is used only for writing and reading, but not for speaking. Such a low-level scholar was selected by the British government as a Vedic commentator.
· Max Muller’s real face
Undoubtedly, Max Muller was a master of pen and master in making friends, hence despite being a foreigner (German), he had deep influence among the influential people and politicians of Britain, for which Max Muller had to use many types of deceptions. .
On one hand, he gives prominence to the political and religious interests of the British, while on the other hand, he increases the importance of the Indian Vedic languages, religion and philosophy, by calling them the ancient literature of the world. Max Muller continued trying to convert Indian religious leaders in the name of reformism till the end of his life. Max Müller was a fanatic preacher, who took the help of linguistics, science and Vedic language in his fight for religion.
On 16 December 1868, Max Muller wrote a letter to the Duke of Argyl, Secretary of State for India:
My main work for the last 20 years has focused on the ancient literature of India. Having visited India, I have deep and genuine sympathy for the welfare of the people of this country, although I have never been to India. I have sometimes regretted that I was not an Englishman who could have assisted more actively in the great work of improving and educating the native people of India. India has been conquered once but India must be conquered again by British religion. Much has been done for education recently, but if this amount is quadrupled then Anglicisation of India will not be difficult.
· Summary
The meaning of religious texts, the pillars of Indian culture, is their soul, but in order to establish administration by the British Government, the work of interpreting the Vedas of these religious texts was done by a young man who was not proficient in any language. The main objective of getting Veda translation done was to convert the cultural soul of India by corrupting the Vedic knowledge and weakening the Indian culture. The British, who claimed to be the protectors and reformers of Indian society, were actually ill-conceived and fanatic propagandists who invested in Indian land under the influence of some ideology.
Even after 75 years of independence, the situation is such that Indians have to resort to wrong literature written by foreign historians and scholars to read and understand the history of India, due to which even in the present situation Indians are unaware of their golden history. Due to which the Indian society is without efforts, without goals and without knowledge, as a result of which national brotherhood and social harmony is being attacked by spreading various types of prejudices.
