On Saturday, 1st February, in the presence of guests and lovers of the language which belongs to one of the most widely spread language families in the world, the ambassador of India in Serbia, His Excellence Subrata Bhattacharjee opened the Course of Sanskrit in Belgrade, on 1st February 2020, organized by the Himalayan School of Traditional Languages.
Speaking about the similarities between history and language and the way the form various links, the ambassador Bhattacharjee pointed out that the way one people affects the other throughout history is similar to the way languages affect each other.
“Knowing the history and the way things happened in the past is relevant for us so we could learn something from it and improve ourselves. It is also important to know the ancestry of our language, to know our language’s family. In India, there are more than 15 languages. Majority of them originate from Sanskrit, so knowing the history of a language can help us face the challenges of the modern world”, said the ambassador, adding that Sanskrit is very important for India in modern society as it connects India with other countries. “I can’t say with certainty how many people in India speak Sanskrit fluently, is it 5000 or 20000, but as long as Sanskrit is a point of interest and discussions in places so far away from India, such as Serbia, this language continues to live, because it still draws interest in people”.
Mirjana Petrović, a translator and a teacher of this ancient language, encouraged all the participants of the course by the information there is great similarity between Serbian and Sanskrit, and that is will be easy for them to learn it, especially because the grammars of the two languages are virtually the same. “For me, learning Sanskrit meant a great return to the Serbian language”, Mirjana pointed out, adding that she sees this course as a renaissance of Sanskrit in Serbia.
Himalayan School of Traditional Languages, inspired by the spiritual master and philanthropist Mohanji, following his directions, offers the possibility to all interested people to learn the basics of Sanskrit though this program. In this way the knowledge of Sanskrit is being spread through the world, making it available to more people, and adjusted to the modern way of life.
“This course also serves a much higher purpose, the building of cultural bridges between Serbia and India. It is inspired by Mohanji, who is himself invested in uniting the world through love, kindness and compassion, and who even built his personal family bridge with Serbia”, said the president of the Mohanji Serbia Association, Monika Balenović, on behalf of the Himalayan School of Traditional Languages.
