It would be wrong to differentiate Sanskrit from English, because numerous words in English have come through the Sanskrit language. If you explore the etymology of English words, you will eventually find that Sanskrit goes through every nook and cranny of the English language.
It is true that written English obviously looks different, but nevertheless the essential part of any language is not the words but what these words stand for: the meaning. It is difficult to describe how meaning is passed through these words which I am speaking to you now and you understand. But that’s where our unity, Advaita, takes place.
I am talking of this present age in which the Sanskrit language has been given a place of respect in the West. You can communicate nearly anywhere if you know English language – not otherwise. Britain is the home of English language. It holds the possibility of speaking to the world. You can’t speak to the world with the Sanskrit language. You have to learn English, the only language in the world today which we can communicate anywhere in depth. So we ought to appreciate the hard work, the tremendous work, done by those who created English language. It has bought together almost the whole world, except, say, China and Russia.
Those who know English language can understand Sanskrit language. So we are very fortunate. Somehow it happened that Sanskrit language came to the West, and the West is spreading it everywhere. How much we are going to understand and absorb it will be seen in the next generation. How much we pass on to the new generation is our job. We can’t say definitely how things are going to take shape, because apart from much good work on Sanskrit language there are other forces all over the world which are trying to influence the