Many important things in life cannot be understood by reading and listening and seeing and thinking. It does not cover enough distance from the journey that is needed to know, however hard you think. Experience is the only way in these areas. So experimentation and sadhana become essential methods to know and understand.
Interestingly in Sanskrit, some of the meanings of some writing can only be understood when you had experienced it yourself. Otherwise, the writings will be interpreted in the wrong ways. That’s what happened to Sanskrit book translations so far. Lots of misunderstanding. The translator’s misunderstanding caused a lot of damage to the world population in general. They made them form prejudice and led to wrong conclusions.
For example, sometimes it’s challenging to explain the meaning of a Sanskrit word in English. You don’t find any matching words in the English vocabulary, so you associate to near approximation word and the nuances are lost in the process.
Some cultures do not have a word for waste. Their mind does not see anything as waste. So they treat everything around in a different way. The vocabulary impacts the way we think and behave and live.
When the words and speech of languages are designed such that when you read it, it will make your breath pattern in a way that enhances your life. Such intricate details are considered in designing languages like Sanskrit. Just think of these two questions in the context of languages that you can speak.
First, why are the alphabets in that order?
Second, why is a specific word chosen for a given object?
Try to find out the answers for them in languages like English, Sanskrit and your mother tongue. In this exploration, you will surely come across the systematic and scientific manner of designing different languages.
I might be wrong in making these conclusions. But in my opinion, non-phonetic language designers are lazy people. They started with a few sets of alphabets and in-order to create words for different sounds, they try to fit in some new rules—something like a patchwork in software. You have to learn about the constraints used in the patchwork, to know the mapping between words and sound. How many generations suffer to remember these constrains of the patchwork and the people who could master them are awarded as spelling bees. It’s like having a design problem and training everyone to cope up with the problem for centuries. Spellings do not have a cognitive load when you design a phonetic language.
I will go further and say the people who designed these non-phonetic languages are not experienced enough in life. And did not have the scientific basics at the time they were developing the language. They were primitive. But the generations that came after that did not dare to design a new language or do a proper design fix of the language. Or maybe they have not yet realized the power of sound on life. They were still using the means of reading, seeing, listening, and thinking to understand things around. They don’t have the intention to explore the experiential ways and bring them into their language. They don’t have the minds to connect the things, which they found in the speech research area into the language. I don’t know. It’s not good to belittle them.
Ok, they are not doing. What can we do? We can educate our children in the languages built over systematic and scientific and experiential observation of the effects of the sound on the person who generates it. We are so enamored by the languages which provide a better economic means. What about in the long term? What are you doing to the life that you are? How much do you care about your life?
Side note, I am not using life by the popular definition that you find around on the internet. Search for Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev and find out the definition of life. That is my reference when I say life.
Today is Pournami and I am doing sadhana to experience and understand. Pournami creates a conducive environment to experience.