Ex-President
A P J Abdul Kalam onc Thursday termed Guru Raghavendraswamy of
Mantralayam as a 'divine soul' and recalled the rich cultural
heritage of Sanskrit in Indian history.
Dr
Kalam interacted with the students of Sree Guru Sarvabhouma Sanskrit
Vidyapeetam at Mantralayam in Kurnool district. Reciting the Moola Mantram of Raghavendraswamigal, he said "We worship Guru Raghavendraswamy, the divine soul who practiced and taught truth and dharma (the right conduct). We chant his name as Kalpavrisha (the giver of limitless material wealth) and bow before him as Kamadenu (the giver of spiritual knowledge)."
"Though I am not an expert in Sanskrit, I have many friends who
are proficient in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a beautiful language. It
has enriched our society from time immemorial. Today many nations are
trying to research Sanskrit writings which are there in our ancient
scriptures. I understand that there is a wealth of knowledge available
in Sanskrit which scientists and technologists are finding today," he
said.
"There
is a need to carry out research on our Vedas, particularly Atharvana
Veda, for eliciting valuable information in science and technology
relating to medicine, flight sciences, material sciences and many other
related fields. Cryptology is another area where Sanskrit language is
liberally used," he added.
He
suggested that the Sanskrit Vidyapeetam, apart from their academic
activity,
should take up the task of locating missing literature in Sanskrit
available on palm leaves spread in different parts of the country so
that these could be documented and preserved. He suggested that they
should avail the help of digital technology for documenting those
scriptures both in audio and video form which can be preserved as long
term wealth for use by many generations.
He asked the Sanskrit
Vidyapeetam to should go into details of lives of great scholars, poets,
epic creators like Valmiki, Veda Vyasa, Kalidasa and Panini. He wanted
the Vidyapeetam to invite well-known Sanskrit scholars so that they can
stay and interact with the students for a certain period. "This will
provide an opportunity for students to interact and get enriched in
Sanskrit and Vedas," he noted.