Why the Ban on Sanskrit Prayers in Kendriya Vidyalayas?

Why a Ban on Sanskrit Prayers in Kendriya Vidyalayas?

असतो मा सदगमय ॥ तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ॥ मृत्योर्मामृतम् गमय ॥

Lead us from falsehood to truth ॥ Lead us from darkness to light ॥ Lead us from death to immortality ॥

Lead me from falsehood to truth, Lead me from darkness to light, Lead me from death to the immortality.

Countless people like me have unceasingly recited these Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) quoted from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad since childhood, yet till this day it was never apparent that there was any religious angle to them. For we were always told, and we understood, that these are invocations addressed to the Almighty for the elevation of all humanity, rising far above distinctions such as religion, sect, caste, and gender. In the ancient texts of Sanatana culture—which ingrained the core mantra of vasudhaiva kutumbakam (the world is one family) into its living practice—such Sanskrit prayers appear time and again, because this culture has been one that never asked for anything merely for itself; whenever it prayed, it prayed for the welfare of the entire animate and inanimate cosmos. Yet now, 70 years after Independence, we are being told that these sutras, which form the bedrock of our philosophy of life, strike at the nation’s secularism simply because they are drawn from the ancient text of a specific faith.

It is no surprise that some scoundrel conceived the idea of filing such a petition in the Supreme Court; after all, there are scores of people who bear Hindu names but do the bidding of alien creeds, toiling night and day to inflict harm on this land's ancient cultural heritage, its values, traditions, and everything rooted in Sanatana culture. The wonder is rather at the self-proclaimed gods presiding in that so-called temple of justice, for whom Hinduism was once merely “a way of life,” but who today find offense with anything and everything linked to Hindus. Otherwise, what explains why in a Supreme Court where, as per data of 1 November 2017, 55,259 cases lie pending—where generations pass before a man can obtain justice, where people holding legitimate grievances and hoping for redressal do not even get 2 minutes to plead their case—petitions filed by individuals consumed by un-Indianness and Hindu hatred not only come up for hearing with utter ease, but this apex court even demands answers from governments on them?

These so-called gods of justice sitting in the Supreme Court ought to know that if a Sanskrit mantra like 'असतो मा सद्गमय' (asato mā sadgamaya — lead me from falsehood to truth) is deemed an assault on the nation's secular character merely because it is part of a text of Sanatana culture and is composed in Sanskrit, and if its inclusion in the prayers of Kendriya Vidyalayas is called into question, then a ban will have to be imposed on the Government of Kerala, Berhampur University (Odisha), Osmania University (Andhra Pradesh), Kannur University (Kerala), National Institute of Technology Calicut (Kerala), National Institute of Technology Srinagar, IIT Kanpur, and the CBSE—for the motto of each of these institutions is drawn from one or another of the above Sanskrit verses of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

Then so much else in this country will have to be altered, for such sutra-aphorisms permeate everything from the nation's national motto to its very veins. Just how much will you destroy, your Injustices? How many will you ban?

On the Republic of India and its States-----

Republic of India--सत्यमेव जयते (“Truth alone triumphs”)--Mundaka Upanishad
Government of Kerala--तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय (“Lead me from darkness to light”)--Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Government of Goa--सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्‌भवेत् (“May all behold what is auspicious; may none suffer”)-- Garuda Purana

On India’s Military, Strategic, and Police Power----

Indian Navy--शं नो वरुणः (“May Varuna be auspicious unto us”)--Taittiriya Upanishad
Indian Air Force--नभः स्पृशं दीप्तम् (“Touch the sky with glory”)-- Bhagavad Gita
Indian Coast Guard--वयं रक्षामः (“We protect”)--Valmiki Ramayana
Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)--धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः (“Dharma protects those who protect it”)--Manusmriti
Uttar Pradesh Police--परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् (“For the protection of the virtuous and the destruction of evildoers”)--Bhagavad Gita

On the Educational Institutions of India----

University of Mysore--ना हि ज्ञानेन इति सदृशं (“Verily, there is nothing that purifies like knowledge”)--Bhagavad Gita
Gujarat National Law University--आ नो भद्राः क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वतः (“May auspicious thoughts come to us from all sides”)--Rigveda
Kendriya Vidyalaya--तत् त्वं पूषन्नपावृणु (“Unveil that, O Pushan”)--Isha Upanishad
National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University--धर्मे सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम् (“Everything is established in dharma”)--Mahanarayana Upanishad

On the Institutions of the Indian Republic----

Life Insurance Corporation of India--योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् (“I ensure their security and well-being”)--Bhagavad Gita
India Tourism Development Corporation--अतिथि देवो भवः (“May the guest be unto you as a deity”)--Taittiriya Upanishad
Reserve Bank of India (Bankers Training College)--बुद्धौ शरणमन्विच्छ (“Seek refuge in wisdom”)--Bhagavad Gita
India Meteorological Department--आदित्यात् जायते वृष्टिः (“From the Sun is born rain”)--Manusmriti

These are merely a few examples; there are countless other institutions and organizations that constitute a “threat” to India's secularism. So go ahead, “gods” of “in”justice—shut them all down to trumpet your secularism! But before that, shut down that so-called temple of yours as well, within which you sit committing these misdeeds. After all, its motto too—'यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः' (“Where there is dharma, there is victory”)—is taken right out of the Mahabharata, a Sanskrit text belonging to Hindus!

– Vishal Agarwal (The author is a discerning scholar of Indian history and culture, an educationist, and a voice for national interests. The author’s Rashtra Aradhak series on great Indian personalities is essential reading.)

Also read,

The Conspiracy to Strangle and Murder India's Historical Consciousness in the Civil Services Examination

Pardon Me, But Your Filmi Dance Is Not Art, It Is a Dark Stain

The History of Christianity's Assault on India

“The City of God” – Augustine’s Attack on Pagans