Page 2 - November_2024

and terminologies that they are using today have different
connotations in their minds. It is the same with Sanskrit words.
When we read the translations in English, we interpret them in
today’s language and meaning.
However, it is important for teachers to be familiar with
modern terms and their usage as students understand according
to their own vocabulary. For example, in old English, the word
bosom refers to one’s heart. Therefore, the sentence: when you
look into your bosom, you will find God – makes perfect sense.
It had nothing to do with today’s meaning that describes bosom as
a ‘woman’s chest’.
I did not realize this change in meaning until a child read
his grandfather’s Gita with Gurudev’s commentary and asked, “Why
does Gurudev use the word bosom?”

As a public speaker, I speak to many teenagers and youth and
I have to think about the words they’re using. Occasionally, I
sprinkle a few when I am talking to them – just to get them
interested. But other than that, try to understand what some
words mean to them. For example, the words selfish and selfless
are common for us. We never felt that selfless meant being
deprived of something. It didn’t mean being taken advantage of.
But today it has become completely distorted. Being selfless
is understood as sacrificing yourself to the point of being
annihilated! That is certainly not the meaning of the word.
But because it is misunderstood, I had to change the vocabulary.
I refer to selfless as self-inclusiveness. Selfless refers to doing
things for others because they are very much a part of your life.

CHINMAYA MISSION OF
COLUMBUS He who reigns supreme as
Chinmaya Archana master of himself becomes the
servant of light unto others.
5302 Liberty Road North
Powell, Ohio 43065 Swami Chinmayananda
U.S.A.

Tapovan Prasad 23 November 2024