In a bid to enhance the learning process, a school in New Zealand will teach Sanskrit as a "base of study" and as a "road map for understanding English."
Ficino School in Mt. Eden area of Auckland has offered education for children aged one to eight, saying Sanskrit "has a wonderful system of sound and grammar, which gives the child an excellent base for the study of any language. Children love its order and beauty."
"Sanskrit with its almost perfect grammatical system...provides children with a roadmap for understanding English," said Peter Crompton Principal of the Ficino School.
Sanskrit not only gives young learners a clear understanding of the structure of language, it also heightens their awareness of the process of speech, creating a greater understanding of and the ability to, enunciate words clearly, Crompton adds.
He also reveals that the school curriculum includes "food for the mind, food for the spirit, food for the body."
Meanwhile, a U.S.-based Hindu organization has applauded the Ficino School for fostering universal virtues and encouraging Sanskrit studies.
"Sanskrit has a close relationship with other classical languages like Latin, Greek, French, German, etc.," said Rajan Zed, President of the Universal Society of Hinduism.
In a statement, he also pointed out that Sanskrit should be restored to its rightful place and needed to be brought to the mainstream. The hidden scientific truths in ancient Sanskrit literature should be brought to light.
However, criticizing the Indian government for not doing enough for Sanskrit promotion, Zed said that "India Government to do much more for the development, propagation, encouragement and promotion of Sanskrit in India and the world, which was essential for the development of India and preservation of its cultural heritage".
Pointing out Mahatma Gandhi and German philologist Max Muller's remark about Sanskrit that "Without the study of Sanskrit, one cannot become a true learned man" and "Sanskrit is the greatest language of the world," respectively, Zed claimed in a statement that Sanskrit also provided the theoretical foundation of ancient sciences.
Besides Hindu scriptures, a large number of Buddhist and Jain scriptures were also written in Sanskrit, which is known as "the language of the gods." According to tradition, a self-born God created Sanskrit, which is everlasting and divine. The oldest scripture of mankind still in common use, Rig-Veda, was written in Sanskrit, he added.
