World Sanskrit Day Observed

ALIGARH: The Department of Sanskrit, Aligarh Muslim University organized a programme to mark World Sanskrit Day 2023. Delivering a lecture on “Sanskrit for Peace and Harmony”, Prof Kedarnath Sharma, Former ICCR Chair and Former Dean, Faculty of Arts, Jammu University, said that the humanity is marred with several man-made and natural ills and it is essential that the world corrects its course of life to save the forthcoming generations from these ills.

He said that the present global situation is extremely chaotic, and lawlessness, violence and lack of trust have become routine today, peace and harmony are being neglected and the so-called ‘Superpowers’ are competing with each other in accumulating nuclear warheads. Moreover, natural calamities like landslides, floods and earthquakes are frequently occurring in several parts of the world, while incurable diseases are taking a toll on thousands of lives.

He pointed out that the root cause behind all these mishappenings is the imbalance in Dharma(righteousness), Artha (acquisition of wealth) and Kāma (fulfilment of desires). We all are hankering after money (artha) and are busy fulfilling our selfish desires (Kāma). As a result, dharma (righteousness/doing good to others) is left behind. Sanskrit literature teaches us how to strike a balance between these three. It states that if we maintain a balance in the acquisition of Dharma, Artha and Kāma, there would be peace and harmony everywhere.

Prof Sharma underscored that Sanskrit literature spreads the message of universal brotherhood by calling the world “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the whole earth is a single family). He said that the Vedas emphasise the principles of “give and take” and “live and let others live”.

Earlier, Prof H.S. Acharya, Chairman of the department welcomed the guest speaker.