SANSKRIT

Sanskrit saṃskṛtā vāk or Sanskrta, means, “well put together” or “language brought to formal perfection” (Devavani, Houston 3). This definition does not merely express some form of ethnocentrism, or I might call it linguacentrism, but it refers to the language as a cultivated “technology of sound that was systematically applied to language and phonetics.” It bears close resemblance to the Greek and Latin in its roots of verbs and grammatical forms (Paul 48). Sanskrit is the closest thing to a derivative language from which the major modern language groups in the West have developed—

what linguists call Proto-Indo-European (Paul 46).

Although primarily a “language of prayer”—one that comprises words describing spiritual experiences and concepts that no other language does—it has been chosen as the “perfect language” transferable to computer comprehension, hence used for Artificial Intelligence. With its case and tense endings, it is “the only unambiguous spoken language on the planet” in terms of its mathematical precision. “By the endings added onto nouns or verbs, there is an obvious determination of the precise interrelationship of words describing activity of persons and things in time and space, regardless of word order” (Houston 6). NASA researcher, Rick Briggs wrote an article in AI Magazine stating that the syntax and semantics of Sanskrit is compatible with the essence and form necessary for “transmitting logical data” in Artificial Intelligence and computer processing (Houston 3).

The Sanskrit alphabet consists of 49 basic sounds. Each letter is individually distinguished by the tongue position and the location and degree of resonance in the mouth and body. The “key component [to speaking Sanskrit] is pronunciation” and the “use of the whole mouth” (Paul 49). There are five distinct mouth positions: (1) guttural (throat); (2) palatal (hard palate); (3) cerebral (where the arch rising behind the upper teeth reaches the roof); (4) dental (behind the upper teeth) and (5) labial (lips). These become important when we discuss the physiological effects of stimulating these locations. In comparison to other languages, Sanskrit is unique in that it requires the speaker to pay special attention to articulating sound and direction of breath in a way that stimulates clear thinking and practice in speaking deliberately. “It is arranged on a thoroughly scientific method, the simple vowels (short and long) coming first, then the complex vowels (dipthongs), followed by the consonants in uniform groups according to the organs of speech with which they are pronounced (Houston 6). The combinations and linking of sounds are produced under strict grammatical laws that prevent the flow from interruption so that the fusion of words and verse becomes euphonic. For example, to greet another person, asking “How are you?” in Spanish, one might say “¿Cómo está?” whereas in Tagalog—a main language of the Philippines greatly influenced by the Spanish—one would say “Kumusta ka?” in which the sounds are similar, but merge to create a rolling effect. In the French, it is similar to the function of a liaison. In Sanskrit, when word boundaries seal together, the term for this is sandhi, where the pronunciation will alter depending on what sounds most harmonious. For instance, Namah te “I bow to you,” becomes Namaste.

In Saṃskṛtā vāk, vāk, more or less translates to “word” in English, but in Sanskrit it refers to the Goddess Vāk or Saraswati. Vāk distinguishes the word as “the power of command” and Saraswati (sr – “to go, “to flow” swati – “auspicious,” also a river in India) is “the Goddess of the endless stream of wisdom” (Frawley 14). Saraswati also represents beginnings and inspiration, which I will use interchangeably as a synonym for inhalation. In a language where words are thought to carry creative capacity, it suits it to be named after this deity because speaking and living require inspiration. Essentially, speakers of the Sanskrit language view it as a powerful and graceful vital force.

The syllable om is considered by some to be the most universal sound and similar sounds form cadences for various prayers, greetings or blessings like amen for Christians or As-Salāmu `Alaykum for Muslims. The sound om is divided into three (or four) parts in a cycle, each represented by the trimurti (three most important gods of Hindu mythology): “A” - Brahma, the creator; “U” - Vishnu, the preserver; and “M” - Shiva, the destroyer; lastly there is an essential silence that indicates the space (akasha) from which all things emerge and to which they dissolve and return. Each god is usually depicted with their respective consorts: Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Kali. Without the consort, the god is powerless as their feminine counterparts awaken their energies or potential.

The practice of Nada Yoga is complementary to this idea of sound as a flow of currents. The word nada means “a loud sounding or droning or rushing,” or “currents of sound” and refers to linguistic or nonlinguistic sounds “that exist in the human body and in the universe. Nada Yoga offers an internal experience of sound frequencies by means of meditation, induced by the external experience sound of vocal and instrumental music” (Paul 118).

“According to Yoga and Sankhya (branch of Indian philosophy) systems, sound is the root of all other sensory potentials.” The sound of the language is meant to “take us back from our gross sounds to their idea content” then “to the perception they represent.” Potentially, if the speaker energizes the sound appropriately over time, then the sound becomes the meaning. This makes more sense when we discuss verbal mimicry as onomatopoeia and frequencies. This is what the Tibetan man at the market was talking about. He could have given me an English translation such as the one I have provided here, but the meaning is not understood until it is physically felt when uttered. Hence the only ones who know the meaning of the words are the ones who repeat it as mantra.

I choose Sanskrit as a topic of discussion, not only because it is the “oldest” traceable language, but also it is a poetic language—inherently embodying elements of rhythm in the meter it is spoken, rhyme, repetition, assonance and so forth. It is as though it were mathematically devised for something beyond Artificial Intelligence. It is ideal for expressing beauty and has an ability to convey and move through its use of poetry.