Touring Samskrita Bharati USA

Back in 2015 I took a tour of USA/Indian Sanskrit School, Samskrita Bharati.  Our bus arrived at 267-09 Hillside Ave in Queens New York, right in front of the building’s sign advertising the institutes Sanskrit training.  It’s a little ironic that while in India there is debate whether or not students should be learning the language of the gods, on the other side of the world the sacred language of Hinduism is making inroads in American urban centers.  Entering the building, I was given a tour of the institute’s facilities and learned a little about their program and philosophy.

Outside view of Samskrita Bharati, Qeens NY

Once inside the facility I met with directer Srinivas Mahankali and his associate Madhu Pillai.  Mr. Mahankali and Pillai took some time to speak to us about Samskrita Bharati and their vision.  The organization’s goal is to make the Sanskrit language an integral part of our daily lives.  Being the chosen language of the oldest religion on earth, Sanskirt provides a unique opportunity to understand the rich and diverse cultural heritage of Hinduism and allows us to grow spiritually and intellectually.  2015 marks a special year for Samskrita Bharati as the group will be celebrating 20 years in the United States.  The “Spoken Samskritam Movement” was first initiated in the United States in 1995, when Shri Chamu Krishna Shastry, a founding member of the organization from India, toured and conducted Spoken Sanskrit Workshops in various US cities. Since then, Samkrita Bharati has grown steadily and has introduced several programs including residential retreats, annual youth camps, Sanskrit As A Foreign Language (SAFL) for high school students, weekly classes for children, lecture series by scholars, formation of Sanskrit groups on college campuses, distance learning programs, Masters programs in collaboration with an India University and the publication of Sanskrit books.

Mr. Mahankali and Pillai explained to me how their program works. At Samskrita Bharati , Sanskrit is taught as its own language, meaning no intermediary language is used.  So when you take classes at the facility you are spoken to and speak in Sanskrit only.  Samskrita Bharati  works on the “known to unknown” principle, instructors give you a simple phrase or word that you come to know, and then slowly add unknown words or phrases which eventually become known through conversational context.  For example, our first lesson in Sanskrit started as such:

Mr. Pillai [pointing to himself]: “mama nama Madhu Pillai”

Mr. Pillai [pointing to Mr. Srinivas Mahankali]: “Bhavataha nama kim?” 

Mr. Mahankali [pointing to himself]: “mama nama Srinivas Mahankali”

Mr. Mahankali [pointing to Vincent]: “Bhavataha nama kim?” 

Vincent: mama nama Vincent.

Vincent [pointing at Sucheta (female)]: “Bhavathyaaha nama kim?”

Sucheta [pointing to herself]: “mama nama Sucheta”

Do you understand what was being said?  Mr. Pillai started the conversation by stating “my name is”, he then asked “what is your name?”.  By the context of the conversation we were able to quickly pick up the meaning of his words and could respond and ask questions on our own.  This is how the Samskrita Bharati method works, its called the “Natural Progression Method”.

Goddess Saraswati (Goddess of Knowledge) patrons the institute

Mr. Mahankali and Pillai explained the “Natural Progression Method” like this, as children we learn our native language in four stages, these are the stages which Samkrita Bharti mimics in their curriculum:

Stage 1, Mananam (thinking/digesting): Intake into the mind through the environment (listening)

Stage 2, Vadanam (speaking): Speaking one to two words at a time followed by short sentences; doesn’t need to be grammatically correct, but understandable.

Stage 3, Pathanam (reading/study) : This stage correlates to the age of around 5-6 years old.  During this phase one learns structured sentences, grammar, and alphabets.

Stage 4, Lekhanam (writing): Writing essay and stories

We were brought over to the onsite workshop area where many of the institute’s programs are delivered in house and online.  Mr. Mahankali and Pallai briefly described some of their workshops and how they function.  The first workshop is a basic crash course on Sanskrit called “Shibriam” which means “theory”. The 16-20 hour course can be completed in one weekend for a nominal fee (approx $30.00).  It is a Mananam (listening) and Vadaman (beginning speaking) workshop where one will learn basic conversational Sanskrit [classes start January].  This course can then be supplemented by a 36 week course which elaborates on conversational Sanskrit.   Samskrita Bharati also offers a course in Sanskrit which can be used to fulfill some high school foreign language requirements and finally the institute has agreements with both American and Indian universities to offer BA/MA certificates in the Sanskrit language. But most interesting of all, Samskrit Bharati offers a free weekly Gita Class in Sanskrit every Wednesday from 7:30pm-9:30pm  which can be attended in person or online.

After seeing the classroom where they hold worskhops, Mr. Mahankali and Pillai took us into their bookstore/conference room where the conversation about their institute and its workshops continued. Samskrita Bharati publishes its own books.  Some are entry and higher level sanskrit learning texts, but they also have several books they have published dealing with the science and other advanced knowledge which was published in ancient Sanskrit.

 I was very excited to learn about this great organization and will consult them as a resource on the general agenda to bring Hindi and Sanskrit classes to college campuses and high schools internationally.  Maybe one day I hope to attend their weekly Sanskrit Gita class and encourage others to take advantage of their programs.  To learn more about Samskrita Bharati, please visithttp://www.samskritabharatiusa.org/.