To: K-list
Recieved: 2002/09/02 06:05
Subject: [K-list] Regarding the Language and Grammar of Teachers
From: Bhavin Desai

[Just "thinking aloud". (Or should it be "writing aloud"?)]

Clearly, some Teachers, Masters, Gurus, Swamis, Yogis, etc do not have
English as their first language. This gives rise to some confusion at
times regarding the meaning and semantics of their teachings.

My Yoga teachers' teacher speaks Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, Sanskrit, German,
English, French, Italian, and possibly other languages. This allows him to
provide instruction in Yoga to a wide variety of people inside and outside
India.

Although it could be claimed that his spoken teaching is not always
grammatically correct, it is usually difficult to find a better way of
stating the same information in a grammatically correct fashion. What he
says in one sentence might require several paragraphs to state in correct
English, due to the way the information is structured and presented. The
single sentence format is also easier to remember (even years later,
without written notes). He also uses words from several languages within
his teaching when this suits his intended purpose and audience.

In addition to the above, the very nature of the subject of Yoga is such
that even someone with an erudite mastery of a language cannot easily,
effectively or adequately describe many of the high level concepts of Yoga
(being beyond merely verbal communication).

We can also consider another point of view. Very often, the Teachers who
know a language very well, are often intentionally vague, imprecise,
indirect, devious, etc, initially, even though they could provide clear
teachings. (This even applies to Gods/Goddesses, for example in the
classical/traditional literature.) This is to help the students think for
themselves. Teachers are extremely pleased when a student achieves
understanding of a topic/concept by their own efforts and merits (with
minimal assistance from the Teachers). The quality of the learning is also
deeper than with the "spoon-fed" style.

Hari Om.

Bhavin.

pt6YBB/NXiEAA/MVfIAA/AtTslB/TM

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