National Languages

Human beings are predominantly sentimental by nature. They establish some kind of relationship with many objects of this world through day-to-day activities.

If the sentiment for a particular favourite object is adjusted with the collective sentiment, then that sentiment can be utilized for establishing unity in the human society.

Sometimes, the human sentiment for many objects runs counter to the collective sentiment and as such creates greater disunity. Hence, those sentiments which are conducive to human unity should be encouraged, rejecting the sentiments which create a rift in human society.

Take the case of the national language.

There is a group of people who are very vocal about the national language. But is it the proper time to fight over the language issue?

Thousands of Indian people still live precariously below the subsistence level suffering from hunger, famine, disease and financial hardship. This is the time to fight against socio-economic exploitation.

Sanskrit Language

Each and every Indian has a common universal love for Sanskrit because it is the origin of most of the Indian languages.

There was a time when human feelings were exchanged and official activities were conducted in Sanskrit, from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin. The influence of Sanskrit on all modern Indian languages is easily discernible as words have come from Sanskrit:

Language	Part taken directly from Sanskrit vocabulary
Bengali	92%
Oriya	90%
Maethilii	85%
Malayalam	75%
Tamil	3%

Had national solidarity been the main purpose, then the leaders could have tried to establish national unity by advocating Sanskrit as the national language of India.

Besides language, people have a natural weakness for their glorious national heritage.

Every person loves and respects the past national prosperity and the nation’s glorious traditions. This love for one’s glorious heritage is clearly a psychic sentiment.

This psychic sentiment can be utilized to consolidate the national unity. Take for instance the Mohangedaro and Harappan civilizations. The glorious heritage of a country should not be kept confined to school curricula or research scholars. Rather, it should be presented to the public. This will create a sense of confidence and glory in the people’s minds and thus strengthen the bonds of fraternity.

Likewise, the glorious history of a country strengthens the sense of unity among the population. The Sanskrit term “Itihása” and the English word “history” are not synonymous.

History means Itikathá, a chronological record of past events.

Itihása means the description of past events to inculcate moral teachings in people’s minds.

• It is not a mere chronological record, but a work of immense educative value.

For instance, the Mahábhárata is Itihása as it has been a source of inspiration for people since its creation.

Even today village people, sitting around a kerosene lamp in the evening, read and discuss the Mahábhárata, each one cherishing a universal attitude of love for the book.

The propagation of the Mahábhárata will have a beneficial influence on people’s minds. Many of its passages may be quoted to enlighten people about their glorious past, and offer solutions to their worldly problems. Biographies of great saints, sages and personalities of the past should also be presented to the common people to foster unity in them.

There is a subterranean flow of love and devotion in people’s minds for those sages and saints, as those saints rose above narrow sentiments to propagate the ideals of unity and fraternity. Their writings create a stir in people’s minds. So the popularisation of these personalities is essential to inspire unity among the masses.

The contemporary leaders do not try to give a practical shape to any of the aforementioned human qualities. They merely deliver high-sounding lectures.

Those great personalities of the past provide good opportunities for them to organize bicentennial and anniversary celebrations. They consider that by merely uttering a few well-rehearsed sentences, they are paying a wonderful tribute to those great personalities. These leaders do not realize what an important contribution the great personalities can still give to further the country’s welfare. Thus the great ideals are disappearing from social life and disunity is increasing among the people.

To establish lasting unity in human society, besides the above two sentiments, the spiritual sentiment is indispensable. The unity that grows from the collective psychology in the social, psychic and economic spheres, is the first step towards a greater unity. This can lead to the formation of a nation or greater internal unity in a country.

But once the problem out of which the sentiment grew is solved, the common link is broken. That is why for permanent unity a spiritual outlook is necessary. Every human being has a spiritual thirst. Knowingly or unknowingly, human beings are searching for the Supreme Entity.

Yet, ignorant of the right path, they remain confused. One of life’s great tragedies is that so many people do not find the object of their search. Their entire life is spent searching everywhere, but in vain. If people are shown the right way, the entire humanity will converge on the same path.

As fellow travellers on the same journey, they will move towards the same supreme goal with unison, with a single rhythm. So for the unity of the entire humanity, the indispensable factor is spirituality. This supreme treasure teaches human beings that Parama Puruśa is the Supreme Father, Parama Prakrti [[the Supreme Operative Principle]] is their Supreme Mother, and the entire universe is their homeland.

The reason is that this cosmic ideology is based on the absolute truth, which is not confined to time, space and person. When the limited mind accepts that unlimited entity as its object, the mind goes on expanding to a full 360 degrees. The method that brings about psycho-spiritual progress is called spiritual practice. When human beings bring the entire universe within the range of their minds through spiritual practice, the result will be one universe, one universal society.

As long as nationalism remains alive, mutual conflicts are inevitable.

Human welfare depends on the degree of psychic expansion. When nationalism cannot embrace every human being, that nation cannot attain perfect well-being. When the welfare of some individuals remains outside the scope of the limited mind of the nationalists, their sorrows will never be felt. That is why a group of nationalists may attack another group of national ists just to establish their national ego. Not only nationalism, no “ism”, not even internationalism, attains the highest degree of psychic expansion.

Who can say that human civilization has not been established on other planets of the universe. The thought of other planetary civilizations remains outside the minds of those who only think about the various nations of this planet. It is not possible for such internationalists to establish universalism.

When inter-planetary conflict begins, then internationalism will assume the same role as nationalism does today. The only way to establish universalism is to bring about mental expansion through spiritual practice. The inculcation of the spiritual outlook will not strengthen the boundaries between nations but will lead to the establishment of a universal state, a global nation, with a common thread of unity and aspiration. That nation will be known as the human nation.

With the help of the previously mentioned factors it would be easy to unite the human race.

At the same time, however, it should be remembered that there are certain differences in the society which should be taken into proper consideration.

These differences are usually removed through natural fusion. It is not possible to eradicate them by force. When human beings come close to each other with a genuine feeling of unity, when they share the common joys and sorrows of life, those external differences gradually vanish as a matter of course. In the human society there are four main types of external differences: food, dress, language and religion.

Around the world, people eat different types of food.

There are many differences between the dietary habits of East and West for example, due to different environments and food production.

People become accustomed to eating the particular type of food grown in their own countries. In India, for example, there are four food zones each with its own distinctive food production and resultant dietary habits.

In one zone mustard oil is used, in another coconut oil, in another rapeseed oil, and in the fourth, ghee. The people of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in Northwest India are accustomed to eating bread, whereas the people of eastern and southern India mainly eat rice. Thus, people’s staple food is determined by variations in climatic conditions. The different dietary habits of the people of the world should never be made uniform by force.

It would be unreasonable to declare a certain food as the national food and then force everyone to eat it. Besides that, everyone has his or her own likes and dislikes. In those countries where the commune system prevails, everyone is forced to eat the same type of food in the name of collectivism. People do not dare to speak out against such imposition out of fear, but internally they are not happy. Food is the most important of the primary necessities of human life. If people are not satisfied with their food there will be a simmering discontent in their minds which will seek an opportunity for an explosive expression.

Like food, there is a great diversity in the dressing habits of the people of the world. This is also a result of environmental differences.

For instance, many people in Arab countries live in deserts. In the scorching heat of the midday sun the burning sand is blown up by the harsh winds.

To protect themselves they wear clothes which cover their entire bodies from head to foot, even their face and ears. They live underground to protect themselves from the hostile elements.

If the people of northern Bihar in India were to wear such clothes they would be greatly inconvenienced.

Due to excessive rain there is an abundance of rivers and lakes in this area. In such an environment to wear clothes covering the entire body would be extremely impractical.

Thus these Biharis wear a Dhoti which can easily be lifted up while crossing a river. People living in cold countries use woollen clothes, which the inhabitants of hot countries would never use.

As with food, the differences in dress cannot be removed by force.

There is an almost unending number of languages in the world. Not only do people of different countries speak different languages, but people within the same country use different tongues, too.

These linguistic differences are due to raciocultural influences. The different cultures of the world have been responsible for the creation of different languages. Human beings formulate words with various types of sound. This sound is produced by exhaled air which flows over the vocal cord and emerges through the mouth and nose. The sound is modified with changes made in the shape of the mouth, lips and nose.

Generally, these linguistic differences are due to the cumulative effect of six main factors: blood, nose, hair, skin, eyes and body height. Differences in these characteristics are also reflected in the four main races of the world: Aryan, Austric, Mongolian, and Negro.

Aryans have a reddish white complexion and hair, warm blood, eyes like a cat, an aquiline nose, and tall bodies. Negroes have black skin, slightly colder blood, curly hair, blackish eyes, thick lips and tall bodies. There are also remarkable differences in the physical structure of the Mongolians and Austrics.

There are 3 branches of Aryans:

1. Nordic
2. Alpine
3. Mediterranean

In physical appearances, the Nordic Aryans have the same characteristics as mentioned above.

The Alpine Aryans have a reddish complexion, black hair, blue eyes, and slightly colder blood.

The Mediterranean Aryans have yellowy-white complexion, black hair, dark eyes, ordinary noses, slightly colder blood, are of medium stature.

People living in southern France, northern Africa and the Balkan states belong to this category.

There has been a lot of admixture of blood amongst the different races scattered throughout the many countries of the world.

But the physiological characteristics of those groups who have been living in a particular climate since their beginning are more discernible than in the case of those who have migrated to different countries. These differences have also resulted in differences in linguistic expression.

The main races in India are:

• the Mongolo-Tibetans
  • Ladhaki
  • Kinnari
  • Gaŕhwali
  • Nepali
  • Sikhimi
  • Newari (including the Misoes and Garoes)
  • Bhutani
• the Mediterranean Aryans
  • Brahmins
  • Kashmiris whose complexion is reddish white.
• the Dravidians
  • Andhra
  • Karnataka
  • Kerala
  • Tamil Nadu

The present North India is the area north of the Bindu mountains to Tibet. It was underwater in the prehistoric past.

The area south of the Bindu mountains which now includes South India, the present Arabian sea, the Polynesian Islands, the Malaysian archipelago and southern Africa formed a vast region which was known as Gondowanaland.

Austrics inhabited the north of Gondowanaland. The Negroes inhabited the south.

The central part was inhabited by both Austrics and Negroes.

The present Dravidians are the descendants of that Austrico-Negroid population.

Not only different races; different languages also blended together on the soil of India.

The Indo-Aryan languages include:

• Márát́hii
• Rajasthanii
• Gujrátii
• Punjabii
• Kashmirii
• Kharáhivalii
• Brajabhásá
• Bundelkhandii
• Avadhii
• Chattrisgarii
• Bhojpurii
• Angika
• Maghadhii
• Maethilii
• Bengali
• Oriya
• Assamese
• Gáŕhowalii
• Kumáyanii
• Gorkhalii.

The Austric languages are:

• Muńd́á
• Ho
• Santhal
• Khaŕhia
• Momkhám.

The Tibeto-Burmese languages include all the languages of Assam except Assamese, Mańipurii and Naga.

The Tibeto-Chinese languages include:

• Ladhakii
• Kinnarii
• Kirátii
• Lepcá
• Yiáru
• Gáro
• Khaśiya
• Mizo
• Newari.

Languages are also influenced by culture.

The culture of one community influences the culture of another community. The rule is that the culture with the greatest vitality has the strongest influence.

Sometimes, the weaker culture is even absorbed by the more powerful one.

When different cultural groups live side-by-side there is a lot of mutual exchange. The members of the weaker cultural group accept everything inherent in the dominating group, including its language. In spite of the tremendous differences between the Aryans and the non-Aryans, the non-Aryans accepted the Sanskrit language of the Aryans, and the Aryans assimilated the introversial spiritual practice of the non-Aryans into their religion.

Sanskrit has influenced all the languages of northeast India. Even the southern Indian languages were influenced to a certain degree. Of all the southern languages, Málayálam has been most affected by Sanskrit. This is because many people migrated from the north through Madras to Kerala. That’s why the root-verbs of Málayálam are of Tamil origin while its vocabulary is by-and-large of Sanskrit origin. 75% of Málayálam is Sanskrit based.

The Aryan influence was felt as much in the lower stratum of life as in the upper stratum. In some places this influence was so dominating that people are reluctant to speak their own languages outside their family environment. The Saha community of the Austric group, for example, speak their own dialect [[in their homes, but speak Bhojpurii outside. In the same way the Singmund́á and the Sharan people and the Tipras of Tripura state speak Bengali and not their own ancestral tongue. The Garhwaliis have long stopped speaking their own Tibeto-Chinese dialect]] and have adopted Indo-Aryan languages.

Thus, there are differences in language due to racial traits and cultural influence. These linguistic differences cannot be forcibly suppressed. But a close analysis of history will reveal that many attempts have been made to suppress various languages of the world.

Each of the many languages of the world is equally important. No language should ever be discarded for being inferior. The very idea to suppress one language in favour of another should never be supported. But in modern and ancient India, and in some countries of the West, attempts have been made to suppress language. Such attempts have never proven beneficial.

For example, in ancient India Sanskrit scholars tried to suppress the Prakrta languages, and Vedic Sanskrit scholars tried to overwhelm the Dravidian and Austric languages. When Lord Buddha started propagating his new philosophy in Pali, the language of the people, the scholars tried to pressurize him into using Sanskrit.

But, ignoring their demands, Buddha continued to use Pali. In medieval India Sanskrit persistently exerted its influence on other languages. The people’s language was derisively called “bhákhá”. The saint Kabir, objecting to this maltreatment, said:

Nor did the Sanskrit scholars give any importance to Bengali: it was considered nothing short of blasphemy to translate the religious scriptures from Sanskrit into Bengali. The Nabab Hussein Shah personally tried to develop the Bengali language. With his active support Krttivása Ojah translated the Ramayana, Káshii Ram Dash translated the Mahabharata and Máladhra Vasu translated the Bhágavata from Sanskrit to Bengali.

This caused a furore among the community of scholars. They tried to brand Hussein Shah as a saboteur of the Hindu religion because, according to them, to translate the holy scriptures into Bengali was to defile the Hindu religion. Máládhra Vasu had to bear the stigma of being a Moslem convert and was widely ridiculed as Guńaranjiṋa Khan. So incensed were the Sanskrit scholars over the translations of Krttivása Ojah that he was declared an outcaste for committing an act of sacrilege. All this took place only 450 years ago.

In Europe Latin scholars tried their best to suppress other languages. The Arabic scholars of the Middle East wanted to suppress Persian. And in recent years the people of Wales and Quebec in Canada have protested against the imposition of the English language. They preferred to use their own languages as the medium of expression.

In modern India, due to selfish political influences, important languages such as Bhojpurii, Maethilii, Mágadhii, Chattrisgaŕhii, Avadhii, Bunddkháńd́ii and Marwarii are being suppressed.

Their speakers will certainly not accept this silently, but will surely protect against this unjust domination. Recently there was an open revolt against the imposition of Hindi as the national language of India. That’s why, it is better to brings people speaking different languages closer to one another than to suppress their languages. As a result, people will feel inspired to speak other languages. The arbitrary imposition of any language invites trouble.