Sunday, 29 April 2012, 01:06 AM
Location: Sannyaas Aaashram', Ville Parle, Mumbai
Event: Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha Second Convention
The second convention of Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha was held at Mumbai a few years back. I came by invitation and was present among the audience. As my aunt was admitted at Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital, I had to cut short my say to two half-days.
During one of the sittings I had the opportunity to listen to Swami Dayananda Saraswati who was presiding the event, and happened to be the Head of the Acharya Sabha. He is considered to be a great Pundit and demonstrated the capability of rattling out Sanskrit shloks by heart.
I would assume that he had studied those Sanskrit texts in Sanskrit script, not their transliteration in English script. If he did not then it would be a shame. And if he did, I can guarantee that he would have never found धर्मा and कर्मा written in any authoritative Sanskrit text. And yet, look what he did.
In his speech he repeatedly pronounced धर्मा / कर्मा and the audience heard an authority speak so. Naturally, they would not dare challenge him. Rather they would find it safer to toe the line and copy the learned. The story did not end here...see how it snowballed...
At Hiranandanis, Powai, Mumbai
One of Swami Dayananda Saraswati's direct disciples was on her trip to USA and Canada. Her flight was scheduled to depart during late night hours [1] as it regularly happened in those day i.r.o. all outward flights without exception. While in transit at Mumbai she spent some time at her relatives place at Powai. She invited me to meet her [2].
During talks I heard her pronounce पापा, पुण्या frequently. I did not comment on her distorted pronunciation of Sanskrit terms because she had read all my books and was fully aware of my stand on this subject. Obviously, the Guru and the disciple both were suffering from Parrot Humanoid Syndrome which happened to be an incurable disease. [7]
Curiously, at some point of time, she had sent me a parcel without an accompanying note as to why she sent it, but the purpose was quite obvious to me. The parcel contained Sanskrit school textbooks from Standard 1 to 10. She wanted me to fall in line with her corrupt pronunciations. Incidentally, those books did not support those distorted spellings in Dev'Naagari script so I did not have to learn her or her Guru's corrupt pronunciation. [8]
Note: On Sanskrit pronunciations what is right and what is wrong has been discussed with detailled reasoning in a series of small articles presented here
Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Annaikatti, TN
It was Swami Dayananda Saraswati's important project. People would come from far-off places to learn वेदान्त [3] and finally to become Swami or Swamini. Some hundred copies of one of my books [4] were ordered by the Acharya of the Gurukulam. At the premises of the Gurukulam, Shruti Seva Trust operated a book store which ordered all my works as and when published. So, it was natural that people at the Gurukulam (besides outsiders) bought some of them and the readers would have noticed that I added one small chapter in my books on Sanskrit terms as written in Sanskrit script vs. as pronounced by people of learning. One day I received a surprise that I would have never thought even in my dreams that any sane person could have done, and this is the story of that.
Arsha Vidya Gurukulam regularly published a monthly newsletter a copy of which I received courtesy some unknown reader who paid for the subscription without my knowledge. I had guessed who it could have been but that hardly matters because that is not central part of this story. Now that I used to receive it in those days regularly, it was quite natural that turned it from beginning till end to see if anything was of interest to me. The newsletter regularly published calendar of upcoming events any where within the spiritual kingdom of Swami Dayananda Saraswati. So, one of such monthly publication, and inside it a prominently displayed full page calendar of a specific event caught my attention for most part of it was in Sanskrit script.
The event was on ShrimadBhagavdGita discourses, chapter by chapter. Title of each chapter was printed in Sanskrit script and dates, venue, etc. in English. Interesting thing was how title of each chapter appeared in print on that page:
| As it appears in any authoritative reprint of श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता | as was printed in Arsha Vidya Gurukulam Newsletter on purpose |
| अर्जुनविषादयोग | अर्जुनविषादयोगा |
| सांख्ययोग | सांख्ययोगा |
| कर्मयोग | कर्मयोगा |
| ज्ञानकर्मसंन्यासयोग | ज्ञानकर्मसंन्यासयोगा |
| कर्मसंन्यासयोग | कर्मसंन्यासयोगा |
| आत्मसंयमयोग | आत्मसंयमयोगा |
| ज्ञानविज्ञानयोग | ज्ञानविज्ञानयोगा |
| अक्षरब्रह्मयोग | अक्षरब्रह्मयोगा |
| राजविद्याराजगुह्ययोग | राजविद्याराजगुह्ययोगा |
| विभूतियोग | विभूतियोगा |
| भक्तियोग | भक्तियोगा |
| गुणत्रयविभागयोग | गुणत्रयविभागयोगा |
| पुरुषोत्तमयोग | पुरुषोत्तमयोगा |
Hindoo Raashtr' cannot be established when the torch-bearers of a society are bent upon corrupting their heritage
So, they went to the extent of changing the original Sanskrit term to justify their action. I never thought some people can go to such an extent to prove themselves right.
Everyone who received a copy, including Swami Dayananda Saraswati, read those deliberate mutilation10 of Sanskrit (a language that held in its fold Hindoo heritage) and also ShrimadBhagavadGita (an extraordinary literature that not only we Hindoos are proud of) but none wrote a word against it in next issue of Arsha Vidya Newsletter.
Such acts are nothing but deliberate suppression of Truth and well-meditated expression of Untruth.
We must understand something very basic, i.e., a true Hindoo Raashtr' cannot be established on such shaky grounds where the flag-bearers are party to promoting untruth.
We must not forget that Truth and Justice had been the pillars of legendary Ancient Hindoo Society [6].