Why Learn Sanskrit?

Understanding the Wisdom of the East

Sanskrit is studied in the School primarily to understand the wisdom contained in the major philosophical works of the East, such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. The philosophy of ‘Advaita Vedanta’ often called ‘monism’ in the West is best expressed in Sanskrit and we borrow many of the words from Sanskrit in our philosophy classes to avoid ambiguity or just because there are no words in the vernacular to express some philosophical concepts. We also practice reflection using Sanskrit phrases as well as mantra meditation.

Sanskrit Classes

The Beauty of Sanskrit

the sound cleanses my heart. It makes me happy and when I sound it, the people that hear it seem happy too.

Gabriella Burnel Why I Learned Sanskrit

The global influence of sanskrit

Abhinav Seetharaman, an undergraduate student at Columbia University, delivered a talk about Sanskrit and its global influence. One of Abinhav’s concerns is why Latin and Ancient Greek are taught much more than Sanskrit, for he explained how all three have had an immense influence on the world in which we live today. He explained and demonstrated how learning Sanskrit has ameliorated his pronunciation, linguistic and cultural understanding, and view of the world.

It makes you smarter

Here is a great article in Scientific American A Neuroscientist Explores the "Sanskrit Effect". The author shows how MRI scans show that memorizing ancient mantras increases the size of brain regions associated with cognitive function.

Sanskrit language links

Here are some links on the Sanskrit language that you may find interesting:

• Link to Spoken Sanskrit
• A Musical Journey Towards The Ultimate Silence
• A History of Sanskrit Literature by Arthur Anthony Macdonell
• Classical Sanskrit literature