Italians turn Sanskrit
students
Sanskrit scholar A. Raja Sastrigal performs
Kalasa Theertha on Italian couple Flavio and his wife who underwent training in
Sanskrit hymns and mantras at a Veda Patashala in Karuvadikuppam in Puducherry
on Saturday. —DC
Influenced
by the spirituality and Hindu way of life, 23 Italians, including a couple from
the Vatican, underwent a crash course in learning Sanskrit hymns and mantras at
the Veda Patashala in Karuvadikuppam on Sunday. Amid vedic chants, A. Raja
Sastrigal gave diksha to the Italians.
Raja
Sastrigal, who conducted the coaching lasting three hours, said the team had
come to Puducherry after undergoing basic coaching at the Vatican during his
visit in 2009. Italians Flavio and his wife Spanio came to me several years ago
after visiting my website, Raja Sastrigal told Deccan Chronicle, adding that
the couple was eager to learn Sanskrit hymns and the Vedas. They felt that
India is a karmabhoomi where alone they could have the efficacy of learning
ancient Sanskrit hymns and mantras.
Inclined towards
Hindu tradition and beliefs, the couple underwent a crash course in Puducherry
after undergoing basic coaching in Italy during his visit. The team, comprising
doctors, engineers and teachers, came to Puducherry referred by Flavio. Today,
the team underwent practices in reciting Sri Rudra Chamakam, Rudrajapam,
Srisuktham and the Upanishads. The team would visit Puducherry again a few
months later for more intensive practices.
Raja
Sastrigal said he was impressed by the correct pronunciation, phonetics and ebb
and flow of the trainees in uttering the mantras like an Indian scholar would,
adding that all of them also got sacred Hindu names. The training today lasted
three hours and was imparted to the team eager to learn the deva basha (God’s
language).
He also
performed kalasa theertha ritual (sprinkling of holy water) on the trainees as
per the rituals of Hindu religion at the end of the practice. The Veda
Patashala was charged with spiritual ambience and the participation of the
foreigners drew the attention of everyone.
