Many of the universal chants sung in the Integral Yoga Institutes, as well as the ancient Yogic scriptures, are in the Sanskrit language.
”He who knows my grammar knows God,” said Panini, the great Sanskrit grammarian and philosopher of ancient India. ”He who would track Sanskrit to its lair must indeed end as omniscient, said Paramahansa Yogananda.
The word Sanskrit itself means ”polished” or ”complete”. Sanskrit is the most perfect of all languages; it is the mother of all Indo-European languages.
Its alphabetical script is called Devanagari, which literally means “divine abode” or the language spoken by the divine people. It is said that Sanskrit was revealed to the ancient rishis, or wise men, of India by God. Panini said that his grammar was revealed to him by Siva.
The Sanskrit alphabet, ideally constructed, consists of fifty letters, each carrying a fixed invariable pronunciation. Correct pronunciation is crucial to Sanskrit learning. Sanskrit is the science of vibrations, and to create the right vibration we have to give the right pronunciation.
By Devendra Chowla
Source: “A Introduction to Sanskrit—Lesson II,” Integral Yoga Magazine archives (1972)
