About Sanskrit Language - Ministry - http://maxpages.com/globalnetwork/Sanskrit

I. INTRODUCTION
II. CHARACTERISTICS AND HISTORY
III. IMPACT ON EUROPE
IV. BRAMA - The Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra

I. Introduction

Sanskrit Language (from Sanskrit samskrta,"adorned, cultivated, perfected"), the classical sacred
and literary language of the Hindus of India, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the
Indo-Iranian languages, a subfamily of the Indo-European languages. Since roughly the beginning
of the Christian era, Sanskrit has been more or less artificially maintained as the literary language
of the priestly, learned, and cultivated castes of India, and it retains this position in the
20th century. During its early centuries, and increasingly later, Sanskrit came to mean the language
as "perfected" by the rules of the Indian grammarian Panini (flourished about 400 BC). His work forms
the basis for modern Sanskrit grammars and is considered the most scientific grammar produced
before the 19th century. Sanskrit is written in the Devanagari alphabet.

II. Characteristics and History

Sanskrit is distinguishable from the oldest preserved forms of Indian speech, in the Vedic religious
scriptures, the Brahmanas, Vedas, and Upanishads. Collectively referred to as Vedic
(or as Vedic Sanskrit in contrast to classical Sanskrit), these forms of speech show dialectical,
stylistic, and chronological differences from one work to another. Vedic, however, like Sanskrit,
was a more or less artificial "high tongue" based on popular idioms but handed down through
generations of priestly singers. Vedic (flourished about 1500 BC-c. 200 BC) and Sanskrit
(classically considered to begin with Panini's grammar) are both dialects of the
Old Indo-Aryan speech, which also existed in many nonliterary vernacular dialects.
These vernaculars, over time, underwent modifications, some of which are observable
in the differences between Vedic and Sanskrit. Other ancient vernaculars evolved into
the Prakrits, or Middle Indo-Aryan languages (the best known of which is Pali). In a
loose sense, the Prakrits (flourished about 3rd century BC- c. AD 12th century) are
related to Sanskrit somewhat as the Romance languages are related to Latin.

Vedic differs from classical Sanskrit about as much as the Greek of Homer differs
from classical Greek. In grammatical forms, Vedic was richer and less settled than
Sanskrit, which gave up much of the early grammar without, as a rule, supplying
substitutes; in nouns, for example, separate case endings for each of the eight
Sanskrit cases are found only in the singular of the most common noun declension.
The Vedic subjunctive was lost, and about a dozen Vedic infinitives were reduced
to a single one in Sanskrit. By the Middle Ages, Sanskrit had also lost the Vedic
system of pitch or tonal accent, which was still in full force in Panini's time.
Notwithstanding these losses, Sanskrit is a complex language, not only highly
inflected but also subject to certain alternations of vowels and context-influenced
modifications of sounds. It has three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter) and
three numbers (singular, dual, and plural). Sanskrit has, on the whole, preserved the
linguistic conditions of the supposed Indo-European speech better than any other
Indo-European language, except possibly ancient Greek.

III. Impact on Europe

After the 16th century, European missionaries acquired some familiarity with the Sanskrit language
and literature. The first Sanskrit grammar was published in Europe in 1790. The discovery by
Western scholars of the existence of Sanskrit, and of Indian methods of teaching it, led both
to the identification of the Indo-European language family and, under the stimulation of Panini's
methodology, to the establishment of the science of comparative linguistics or comparative
philology. Sanskrit writings profoundly influenced the study of comparative mythology and
religion and that of comparative jurisprudence.

Contributed By:
Mario Pei, Ph.D.
Late Professor Emeritus of Romance Philology, Columbia University

IV. BRAMA - The Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra

Brahma
A Selection from the Special Supplement to the Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra and Ceremony

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The creative principle of the universe is called Brahma in Sanskrit. Brahma, who is depicted as emerging from the navel lotus of Narayana, is a metaphor for all of creation: its laws, its inherent intelligence, and its consciously manifested potencies which operate as sages, saints, rishis, devas, celestials, and divine beings of all kinds of nature, temperament and description. Narayana is the Sanskrit name given in the Upanishads to that which is the sum and substance of all the manifested and unmanifested realms. Narayana is that which is neither created nor destroyed but transcends the creation, life and destruction of the universe. Brahma creates, operates in the form of this universe for trillions of years, then dissolves back into Narayana. Narayana, however, is neither created nor destroyed. Later, another Brahma appears to begin the process again.

Since the term "Brahma" does not appear in the Vedas, its creation stems from the Sanskrit work "Brih" which means "'to grow" or "to expand." In this way, it became synonymous with Hiranyagharba: The Golden Egg of Creation. Growing from the Navel Lotus of Narayana, Brahma is the name for the principle which creates all of the manifest realms. Since the Vedas proclaim in the Purusha Suktam that "three quarters of this universe are in indestructible realms above," then clearly Brahma, with his finite duration, is connected to the realms of the universe which we inhabit which are subject to creation and dissolution.

Brahma was endowed with his "spouse" (Saraswati) and consciousness at the time of creation. Brahma made certain "beings" solely by the power of his mind and thought. These beings are called the mind-born sons of Brahma. The state of their consciousness is summarized by the title Brahma Rishi: Seer with the Understanding of Brahma. Brahma Rishis, in turn, can confer this state of consciousness upon others who prove themselves capable and worthy. For an example of the conferring of the state of Brahma Rishi upon one being by another, see the Story of Vishwamitra in the Chapter on the Gayatri Mantra.

To further understand the concept of Brahma and his relation to the universe as we know it, it is helpful to view the cosmos through the lens of the Vedic descriptions of the life of the universe as interpreted in human years. Here are cycles of time as recorded in the Vedas and Upanishads.

Small Yuga: 2,000 years. The axis of the earth spends 2,000 years in an astrological sign and the moves on to the next sign, going backwards through the signs of the zodiac. Since we are finishing the Pisceaen cycle, we are ready to enter the Aquarian cycle for the next 2,000 years. We commonly refer to entering Aquarius as the "dawning of the age of Aquarius."

Complete Cycle of Small Yugas: 24,000 years. This is the amount of time needed for the earth to spend 2,000 years in each sign of the zodiac.

The Great Cycle
In addition to the earth's axis moving in an arc as it travels through the signs of the zodiac, there is another cycle. This is a cycle which involves the revolution of the entire solar system around the Central Sun of the Galaxy. The orbit is elliptical rather than circular. To make the elliptical movement of the solar system around a great central point more understandable, the analogy of "seasons" is used. This is a useful analogy because changes in overall states of consciousness are represented as "seasons" through which the solar system passes on its journey.

When consciousness is in a high state, it is summer. At this time, 90% of the inhabitants of the earth are enlightened. This is called Satya Yuga, or the Age of Truth. When Fall or Spring are in full swing, the numbers of enlightened beings drops to less than 10%. When Winter comes, far less than 1% of the people on earth are enlightened. However, there are trade offs.

First, it is easier to make progress in the "'winter of consciousness." The analogy is often used that if one tries to row one's boat in air, very little progress will be achieved. But when the oars are placed in water, much more rapid progress can be made. This is because compared to air, the resistance of water is much higher enabling the work of the oars to bear fruit. It is the resistance itself which provides a route to rapid progress. Similarly, in spiritual winter our efforts to achieve spiritual growth produce much faster results than they would in any other age of consciousness because of the great general resistance to things spiritual.

There is no disagreement among all the sages, pundits, gurus and swamis that Kali Yuga, the present spiritual winter, affords an opportunity for more rapid spiritual progress than any other age. Further, the medium for rapid growth is almost universally prescribed by these same classes of spiritual teachers as divine sound through the medium of mantra. Here are the various seasons and ages of the universe as measured in human years.

Winter (Kali Yuga):* 432,000 years

* The year 1998 is 5,090 years from the beginning of Kali Yuga of the long cycle. For the short cycle, winter is ending with the entrance of the planetary axis into Aquarius, which begins the season of Spring for the shorter, 24,000 year cycle.

Spring: (Treta Yuga) 1,296,000 years

Summer (Satya or Krita Yuga) 1,728,000 years

Autumn (Dwapara Yuga) 864,000 years

Total Time for One Cycle or Manvantara: 4,320,000,000 years

This is called "A Day of Brahma" and is followed by a night of equal length.

One complete day and night of Brahma: 8,640,000,000 years

360 of these days is called "One Year of Brahma": 3,110,400,000,000 years

100 of these years constitute the life of Brahma called a Maha Kalpa: 311,040,000,000,000 years

At the end of a "Maha. Kalpa" or cycle of creation, Shiva manifests his destructive influence and the universe is dissolved. [Actually the entire universe becomes spiritualized, see the chapter on Shiva for discussion of this point.] The ancient texts call this the cosmic dissolution. All the levels of the manifest universe disappear. After a great cosmic rest cycle, another creative cycle begins as a new Brahma emerges out of the navel of Narayana and the universe is created anew.

Another item of importance is that one who has achieved the highest level of conscious realization is said to realize and become one with Brahman. At this point, all individuality as we know it disappears. The individual Jiva, Soul or Atman retums to its source from which it will not return of its own volition. However, for reasons known only to itself, certain souls may return for reasons understood only by Narayana.

Story About Brahma and Ego
There is a story in which Brahma and Vishnu were touring the Universe one day and found a pillar of light which extended farther than they could perceive in two directions. They were curious and decided to split up to see if one of them could find an end. Vishnu went in one direction and Brahma the other, After some time, they returned to their staring place. Vishnu said that he was unable to find the beginning, no matter how far he traveled. Brahma said that he found a beginning. He lied. Thereupon, the Pillar of light immediately changed into a form of Shiva who called Brahma a liar and sentenced him to be little observed in the divine ceremonies. This is why you will not find many pujas to him.

The lesson of the story is that the ego always wishes to perpetuate itself. And the act of creation (Brahma is the Great Creator) takes ego... even divine ego... to accomplish things. There is a mantra to achieve understanding of the mysteries of the form of this creation. The secrets of the universe become unraveled. Many traditional gurus give this mantra to their advanced students.

Brahma Mantra
Sat Chid Ekam Brahma

Surface Meaning
Sat = Truth
Chid = Spiritual mind stuff
Ekam = one, without a second
Brahma = This entire cosmos, with all of its contents

Brahma Mantra with Bijas
Here is a longer version of the "Sat Chid Ekam Brahma" mantra.

Om Eim Hrim Shrim Klim Sauh Sat Chid Ekam Brahma

Om is a prefix to many mantras. It represents the energy at the Ajna chakra at the brow center, where the feminine and masculine currents become joined and consciousness becomes unitary and wholistic.

Eim (aim) is a seed sound for the feminine principle known as Saraswati. This principle governs spiritual knowledge as well as the material pursuits of education, science, art, music, and spiritual discipline.

Hrim is a seed sound for "mahamaya" or the veil of creation. It is said that meditation on this seed sound will result in the meditator ultimately being shown the universe "as it is" and not as we see it currently. That is because reality as we see it is really an "agreement" among all of us which is passed on from generation to generation. Babies, if they could talk, would speak of the universe in quite a different way. They ultimately learn what humanity's "agreement" is and start to function in the world. For more about the Hrim bija, see the chapter on Narayana.

Shrim is the seed sound for the principle of abundance. This covers the abundance of food, friends, family, health and a myriad other things. Prosperity is, of course, included.

Klim is a seed with several meanings. In the present context, it is the principle of attraction. In this mantra, it is attracting the fruit of the other principles to speed the process of mantra meditation.

Sauh is a couple of things. It is a spiritual principle which operates through one of the petals in the Ajna chakra. It is also a shakti activating sound.

Sat: Truth

Chid: Spiritual mind stuff

Ekam: One, without a second

Brahma: This entire cosmos, with all of its contents, sometimes also called Brahman, the state of conscious existence which is one with everything.

Longer Brahma Mantra
Om Namo Rajo Jushei Sristau
Sthithou Sattwa Mayayacha
Tamo Mayaya Sam-harinei
VishwaRupayaVedhasei
Om Brahmanyei Namaha

"Om is the name of He who created this cosmos with its three gunas (qualities of nature: positive, negative and quiescent) who brought all things to form and who is universal. He is Brahma whom I salute."

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© 1997, 1998 Thomas Ashley-Farrand

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