Sanskrit

Compiled by: Trisha Lamb Last Revised: April 27, 2006

International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) 2005

International Association of Yoga Therapists

P.O. Box 2513 Prescott AZ 86302 Phone: 928-541-0004 E-mail: mail@iayt.org URL: www.iayt.org
The contents of this bibliography do not provide medical advice and should not be so interpreted. Before beginning any exercise program, see your physician for clearance.

NOTE: This bibliography cites overview articles, introductory courses, and Internet resources on Sanskrit.

Aja. Sanskrit course. The ATMA Institute, 10235 NW Cornelius Pass Road, Portland, Oregon 97231, tel.: Phone: 503-690-9513, email: atma@atmainstitute.org, URL: www.atmainstitute.org. Course description: Sanskrit is not mysterious or impenetrable. But in order to really learn it, you need to let go of old conditioning and expectations, and surrender into the sights and sounds of this ancient la nguage. In this 14-hour class we will start by looking at the old conditioning (vrittis) that hinders our pure experience of Sanskrit, and utilizing a Yoga approach to learning you . . . will learn how to chant Sanskrit with precision and power, and to read the original Sanskrit Devanagari script, opening the doors to sutras, scriptures, mantras, and a whole new world of Yoga understanding. Aja has been studying Sanskrit for 30 years. He completed the Sanskrit Teacher Training with the American Sanskrit Institute in 1990 and [was] given the title Sanskrit Adhyapaka (Teacher of Sanskrit). He was senior staff teacher for ASI and also helped to develop the Sanskrit Support Network. He has taught Sanskrit, mantra and self- inquiry throughout the United States and Europe . . . In 2003, he was also given the title acarya (spiritual teacher) by Sri Rajendra Acarya of the Vallabha Lineage in Vrndavana, India. Aklujkar, Ashok. Sanskrit: An Enchanting Language. Vancouver, B.C., Canada: University of British Columbia, 1990. (Audiotapes and workbooks.) Glen Bell recommends the book cited below by Robert and Susan Goldman as a good elementary academic text for learning Sanskrit, followed by Prof. Aklujkars book. After only three semesters of study, Mr. Bells class was able to read the Bhagavad-Gita and portions of the Kumarasambhava in Sanskrit. He is told this is very rapid progress for academic Sanskrit. ___________. Sanskrit: an Easy Introduction to an Enchanting Language or SEL. Vancouver, B.C., Canada: University of British Columbia, 1995. (Audiotapes and workbooks.) Bachman, Nicolai. 108 Sanskrit Flash Cards w/CD. Sanskrit Sounds. Available for purchase online: http://www.sanskritsounds.com/ProductList.html. Learn how to read, write and pronounce the Sanskrit alphabet. 108 color-coded cards with accompanying audio CD specifically designed to organically step you through the letters in alphabetical order leading up to words. ___________. Asana Names and the Language of Yoga. Sanskrit Sounds. Available for purchase online: http://www.sanskritsounds.com/ProductList.html.

Learn how to read, write and pronounce over 200 asana names and over 300 Sanskrit terms relating to yoga. Includes 7 chants, asana names in alphabetical order and separate tracks for Ashtanga sequences. This is a wonderful resource. ___________. Sanskrit classes. URL: http://www.sanskritsounds.com/ClassDescr.html. Braun, Margret. Why teach Sanskrit names [for asanas]? My Yoga Mentor, Dec 2004, no. 13. Article available online: http://www.yogajournal.com/teacher/1415_1.cfm. Its a central debate among teachers in the Westshould we use the Sanskrit names for poses when we teach? If youre on the fence, you may be surprised to learn just how many reasons there are to do so. Chornik, Ana. El Sanscrito [Sanskrit]. Yoga: Arte y Ciencia de Vida, 2(7):4. [In Spanish.] Churchill, Cynthia. Devanagari: Gateway to Sanskrit video or CD. Columbus, Ohio: Mindflow Learning, 2002. Tel.: 1-888-MINDFLO, URL: www.mindflowlearning.com. From the publisher: Mindflow Learning works with your minds natural abilities. No memorization. No grammar. There are 14 chapters, less than 10 minutes each. You cover just one chapter per day . . . The tape is narrated by Professor Brian Joseph of Ohio State University, who has taught Sanskrit for over 20 years. Included is a Devanagari reference card with a review of each chapter and the ABCs of Sanskrit. Devanagari OCR. Software can be downloaded at http://www.cedar.buffalo.edu/ILT. Summary of an article in The New York Times, 15 May 2003 (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/15/technology/circuits/15jott.html): Sanskrit is among the worlds oldest recorded language, but putting works created over the last 3,000 years onto the Web has not been easy. Documents written in Devanagiri, a compound word whose literal translation means city of immortals and whose script is used for Sanskrit and other South Asian languages, can be scanned as images. However, optical character recognition, O.C.R., software for turning Devanagiri texts into digital information that can be searched and reformatted has not been commercially available. In an effort to accelerate the development of O.C.R. software for Devanagiri, the Center of Excellence in Document Analysis and Recognition, or CEDAR, at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and the Indian Statistical Institute are distributing a script-recognition tool that they hope will become the international standard for software that can recognize Devanagiri. Their script-recognition software can separate

lines and individual characters written in the flowing script. It then offers an on-screen transliteration in Roman characters for proofreading. Devi Bhavanani, Yogacharini Meenakshi. Sanskrit: Cosmic sounds with transformational powers. Yoga Life, Nov 2000, 31(11):30-34. Filliozat, Pierre -Syvain. The Sanskrit Language: An Overview. Translated from French by T. K. Gopalan. Varanasi, India: Indica Books, 2001. Reviewed by Saroja Bhate, Ph.D., in Prabuddha Bharata, Nov 2001, 106:48-51. Freitas, Graham Anthony de. A case study of Maharishi Mahesh Yogis program for reading Vedic literature: Revealing the effect of Vedic sounds on growth towards higher states of consciousness, enhanced intuition, and increasingly refined poetic expression. Ph.D. dissertation. Maharishi University of Management, 2002. Dissertation Abstracts International, Nov 2002, B 63/05, p. 2619. UMI #3053341. Abstract: This case study examined the premise that reading aloud the Sanskrit literature from the Vedic Tradition of India would have beneficial effects on the mind, body and behavior of the reader. In Maharishi Vedic Science, a unique science of consciousness, His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi identifies the Veda and Vedic Literature as vibrational modes of pure consciousness and the sounds of these texts as the frequencies of Natural Law governing the evolution of creation. If the Vedic Literature is read aloud regularly after practice of the Transcendental Meditation program, the predicted effect is growth towards higher states of consciousness. The researcher, who was trained to pronounce Devanagari Sanskrit text but not to understand the meaning, read 35 areas of Vedic Literature over three years, kept a journal and wrote poetry about his experiences. During the reading sessions, the researcher observed two particular indicators of growth of Cosmic Consciousness: witnessing and spontaneous life-supporting activity. The witnessing occurred when the reading proceeded automatically and effortlessly while he simultaneously experienced silence and expansion inside. The life-supporting activity came in the form of intuitive prompts to correct mistakes in the sequence of sounds. Since Maharishi Vedic Science considers safeguarding the sequence of sounds equivalent to protecting the basic sequence of the evolution of nature, these spontaneous intuitions had the property of being fundamentally life-supporting. Experiences after reading included increased reverence, greater acceptance of death and dying, more ease in life and other markers of growth towards higher states of consciousness. Analysis of the poems written over the three years, according to a model of communication based on Maharis hi Vedic Science, showed improved effectiveness in using images and avoiding interpretation in the poems. The researcher argues that practiced innocence reduced subject/researcher bias and that his observations are intrinsically no less reliable than objective measurements. Though this study replicated other case studies, it contributes original results for reading Vedic literature and is part of an original doctoral program which trains scholars while profoundly enhancing self-development. Several new directions for research on reading Vedic Literature are recommended.

Goldman, Robert, and Sally J Sutherland Goldman. Devavanipravesika: An Introduction to the Sanskrit Language. 3d ed. Berkeley, Calif: Center for South and Southeast Asia Studies, University of California, 1999. In An Introduction to the Sanskrit Language, Robert P. Goldman and Sally J. Sutherla nd Goldman provide a self-contained primer, workbook, and reader for teaching first-year Sanskrit to students with no previous linguistic training. The book provides clear explanations and examples of Sanskrit grammar, reinforcing the students learning with graded drills, exercises, and readings. Students grasp of the grammar and many of the fundamentals of traditional Indian culture is enhanced through study and memorization of the readings and verse, including a continuous graded retelling of the Ramayana. The book emphasizes the forms, rules, and lexical items most commonly encountered in the major texts. The third edition has been thoroughly revised and enlarged. It features new and expanded grammatical explanations and enhanced exercises. New features include an English to Sanskrit glossary in addition to a Sankrit to English glossary and a general index. Recommended by Glen Bell as a good elementary academic text for learning Sanskrit, followed by Prof. Aklujkars book. After only three semesters of study, Mr. Bells class was able to read the Bhagavad-Gita and portions of the Kumarasambhava in Sanskrit. He is told this is very rapid progress for academic Sanskrit. Gonda, Jan. A Concise Elementary Grammar of the Sanskrit Language with Exercises, Reading Selections, and a Glossary. Translated from the German by Gordon B. Ford, Jr. Alabama Linguistics and Philological Series No. 11. University, Ala.: University of Alabama Press, 1966, 1981. From the publisher: The primary objective of both Gonda and Ford is to make it possible for Anglo-American students of linguistics to acquire a command of Sanskrit in as short a time as possible. To this end they have provided twenty translation exercises and thirteen well-chosen readings, with a glossary of all words used, thereby making this text suitable for either classroom use or private study. Houston, Vyaas. The American Sanskrit Institute. URL: http://www.americansanskrit.com. Utilizing learning technology based on the theory and practice of yoga, ASI courses emphasize the ease and joy of learning Sanskrit through an immersion experience, the enjoyment of making the sounds, fluently reading the original Devanagari script, and directly reading, chanting, and understanding sacred literature. Onsite intensives and home-study courses available.

___________. Sanskrit: A sacred model of language. The Journal of The International Association of Yoga Therapists, 1994, no. 5, pp. 24-30. Article available online: http://www.americansanskrit.com/articles/a_sacred.html. ___________. Sanskrit and the technological age: Mathematics, music, and Sanskrit. Article available online: http://www.americansanskrit.com/articles/a_techage.html. ___________. Sanskrit and the Yoga Sutras: Certainty of freedom. The Journal of The International Association of Yoga Therapists, 1996, no. 7, pp. 15-18. Article available online: http://www.americansanskrit.com/articles/a_sut ras.html. ___________. Sanskrit and the Yoga Sutras: Sanskrit, sattva, and purusha. Article available online: http://www.americansanskrit.com/articles/a_sutras2.html. ___________. Sanskrit and the Yoga Sutras: Sanskrit, the language of meditation. Article available online: http://www.americansanskrit.com/articles/a_sutras3.html. Integral Yoga Literature Sanskrit Glossary. URL: http://www.miraura.org/lit/skgl.html. IITS - Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon. Available online: http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil- fak/indologie/tamil/mwd_search.html. An Introduction to Sanskrit audiotape. The British Wheel of Yoga in conjunction with the Patanjali Yoga Centre, 1981. 60 minutes. Email for British Wheel of Yoga: office@bwy.org.uk. Side 1 provides instructions on the meaning and pronunciation of some of the most widely used Sanskrit terms: e.g., names of postures in the BWY syllabus, mudras and kriyas, yamas and niyamas, ashtanga and other paths of Yoga, the cakras, gunas, etc. Indar Nath enunciates in Sanskrit and Pat Chittananda provides the English equivalent. The accompanying booklet provides full explanations to follow while listening to the tape. On side 2 is the chanting of the surya- namaskar mantras with their English equivalent, following by readings from the Upanishads, Bhagavad-Gita, and YogaVasistha. Iyengar, Geeta S. Religious and lingual barriers to yoga. Yoga Rahasya, 2003, 10(2):910. Some teachers had inquired with Geetaji about the reservations of many individuals to learn yoga because they associated yoga with the Hindu religion. There were also apprehensions about the use of the Sanskrit language during yoga teachings . . . her response to this query [is provided]. Yoga is not Hindiuism, or any other ism . It is something eternal . . .

Regarding Sanskrit, Have a broad mind. Do not think that this is my language and that is your language . . . let there be no lingual barrier. Yoga teaches . . . maturity irrespective of the religion you belong to or the language you speak. Yoga teaches us to be friendly, compassionate, kind and happy. It gives us the maturity to be indifferent and unattached when there is a wrong approach like dishonesty, mistrust, etc. So, do not let religion and language act as barriers to your learning yoga. Lowitz, Le za, and Reema Datta. Sacred Sanskrit Words: For Yoga, Chant and Meditation. Stone Bridge Press, 2004. From the publisher: This book introduces over 160 spiritually significant Sanskrit words (including chakra, karma, om, namaste, veda, nirvana) with Deva ngari scripts, pronunciations, chants, and brief cultural and historical explanations. Macdonell, Arthur Anthony. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press, 1929. McArthur, Tom. The use of Sanskrit terms in yoga. Yoga and Life, no. 4. (Correction brought in issue no. 5.) Palkhivala, Aadil. 201 Sanskrit Pronunciations audiotape. Available for purchase online: www.toolsforyoga.net. Prajnanananda Giri, Swami. Root meaning of the Sanskrit alphabet. Article available online: http://www.storytellingmonk.org/downloads/root_meaning_sanskrit_alphabet.pdf. Satyananda Saraswati, Swami. Sanskrit language. In Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Bhakti Yoga Sagar. Vol. 3. Munger, Bihar: Sivananda Math, 1997, pp. 165-166. Travis, F., T. Olson, T. Egenes, and H. K. Gupta. Physiological patterns during practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique compared with patterns while reading Sanskrit and a modern language. International Journal of Neuroscience, Jul. 2001, 109(1-2):71-80. PMID: 11699342. Abstract: This study tested the prediction that reading Vedic Sanskrit texts, without knowledge of their meaning, produces a distinct physiological state. We measured EEG, breath rate, heart rate, and skin conductance during: (1) 15-min Transcendental Meditation (TM) practice; (2) 15-min reading verses of the Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit; and (3) 15- min reading the same verses translated in German, Spanish, or French. The two reading conditions were randomly counterbalanced, and subjects filled out experience forms between each block to reduce carryover effects. Skin conductance levels significantly decreased during both reading Sanskrit and TM practice, and increased slightly during reading a modern language. Alpha power and coherence were significantly higher when reading Sanskrit and during TM practice, compared to reading

modern languages. Similar physiological patterns when reading Sanskrit and during practice of the TM technique suggests that the state gained during TM practice may be integrated with active mental processes by reading Sanskrit. Tyberg, Judith. Language of the Gods. Los Angeles, Calif.: East-West Cultural Centre, 1970. Written for the authors students after spending three years at the Sanskrit University in Benares. An excellent and comprehensive ]introduction to] the gamut of important Sanskrit terms, presenting them against the backdrop of the historical, social, cultural, and philosophic atmosphere of their usage. Starting with an introduction to the mantric power of Sanskrit, this book takes us through the message and terms of the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, the Philosophical Schools, their exponents and Literature, the Systems of Yoga, an outline of Sanatana Dharma, the different Indian religions, their practices and essential terms and Buddhism with Buddhist terms in Sanskrit and Pali. A number of indexes at the end of the book enlarge upon the material of the text, adding extensive terminology with meaningful interpretations. [The author](now deceased) was a direct disciple of Sri Aurobindo, who gave her the spiritual name Jyotipriya, and her book is definitely informed by the spiritual clarity and all- inclusive comprehensiveness that characterizes her master. What is Sanskrits Status Today? Hindu Press International, 9 Aug 2002. A recent BBC report by their correspondent, Sanjeev Srivastava, begins, One of the oldest languages in the world, Sanskrit, is in danger of becoming extinct in India, the country of its origin . . . Wilkner, Charles. A practical Sanskrit introductory. Available online: http://sanskrit.gde.to/learning_tutorial_wikner/. Yoga Sanskrit Glossary. Available online: http://www.sivananda.org/teachings/glossary/glossary.html. Yoga Society of San Francisco. Sanskrit Language Intensive for Yoga Teachers and Students. Offered in San Francisco. Call 415-285-5537 or email yoga@artnetwork.com.