India A Kaleidoscope. Will Be Wonderful If All Can Speak 5 Languages

All children should learn to read and write two languages, and an additional two to three languages can be introduced as speaking languages, Sadhguru writes.

Source : Special Arrangement

Sadhguru: Recently, I was talking to someone important in the US State Department. I asked him, "What is your fetish with Pakistan? In spite of knowing everything that the country does, you keep providing them with more and more but you have troubled us quite a bit historically.”  

He said, “Sadhguru, the problem is not of today's leadership. In 1947 when you got freedom, we had no real access to the world. Our information and access were only through the British.  They gave us a clear picture that Pakistan will succeed because it has one religion, one focus. India will kill itself because it has too many ingredients.”

People underestimated our complexity; India is on the rise for sure. The beauty of India is that it is not a nation formed out of the sameness of anything. When people make nations, they always look for the sameness of language, religion, race, or ethnicity. They always think it is the sameness which gives strength, but we have defied all that. If you drive 50 kilometers, people look different, talk, dress and eat differently.

India’s Wealth of Languages

Language is one of the most complex things that we do in our neurological system. It takes probably a millennium or more for any language to develop into a full-fledged language. We have over 1300 dialects and spoken languages in this country. No other culture or civilization in the world has produced as many languages as we have. This means that our brains have been that active for a long time. But now we are trying to freeze them.

Being proud of our language is very important, but it should not become a prejudice. But today, the regional language situation is moving from pride to prejudice. There is a Kannada saying which translates to, “When two people fight, the third person will benefit.” We have absolutely complex and fantastic languages in the country, but unfortunately, we are reaching a point where the only solution is to speak in English. A foreign language is benefiting because we cannot come to terms amongst ourselves. 

At the same time, without English language, you will be crippled because almost everything is in English today. So I am recommending to state governments that all children should learn to read and write two languages – one should definitely be the mother tongue and the other should be English language because it is your passport to the world. And an additional two to three languages can be introduced as speaking languages. 

Many people who have studied in local languages in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are afraid of even going to another state in the country because they cannot speak the local language. So it will be very wonderful if all of us can speak at least five languages. This will make the human being much more versatile and capable of travelling outside. It will make us a more integrated nation and at the same time, we will not lose our cultural roots. 

India is a kaleidoscope. It is our responsibility to see how to make the kaleidoscope really attractive and wonderful, and that it is not in conflict. That has always been the nature of the country and we must keep it that way. 

Sadhguru is a Yogi, mystic, visionary and author. 

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