Came across this intresting analogy on a Website regarding learning the Sanskrit Verbs and Climbing up the mountain:
Ref:
http://www.sanskrit-sanscrito.com.ar/english/sanskrit/sanskrit7verbintrod.html
Strategy to be followed to climb up the mountain
Most people fail to climb up this mountain known as “Sanskrit Verbs” because they do not know how to approach it. There are three kinds of approach:
(1) “I do not need to do any effort because the Lord Himself will give the Sanskrit knowledge to me spontaneously. I do not need to strive to learn all those difficult rules to conjugate Sanskrit verbs. God will open my mind and the knowledge of Sanskrit language will flow into it by itself”.
(2) “My intellect is really powerful and I will not face any trouble to learn this language. I can learn by heart all those rules. I have learnt others languages and it was not difficult at all. The power of my intellect is the only thing I need”.
(3) “I know that my intellect is powerful but I also know that Sanskrit language is an ocean difficult to cross. So many people have gotten lost in it. However, the grace of the Lord along with the force of my intellect will allow me to cross it anyway. Of course, there will be some problems on my way, but I will get to the other side in the end”.
There have been some people with an enormous devotion. Through that devotion they could do whatever they wanted. It is said that the Lord Himself was their slave. Nevertheless, if one ponders over the present state of consciousness of the average person, the conclusion is the following: “The probability of finding that state of devotion in someone is really low”. As a matter of fact, most people are merely waiting for the grace of God out of sheer laziness. And consequently, most people will just keep waiting for the Sanskrit knowledege to flow into their minds. Of course, that knowledge will not come near them even in a millennium. So, the first attitude is “generally” an inadequate one. Laziness of intellect is a bad habit in lots of people.
There are people with a tremendous intellectual power. However they “might” lose sight of the immensity of the ocean right in front of them. Consider this: There are ten houses or ganá-s. A particular verb may belong to one, two or more ganá-s. You will have to learn and remember the ganá/s to which that verb belongs to conjugate it, and since there are many verbs, your problem is really a big one. Then, there is a set of endings for Present tense, another one for Imperfect tense, and so on. Besides, in Sanskrit there is the dual number (apart from singular and plural). So, you have 3 terminations for the singular, 3 for the dual and 3 for the plural. Moreover, a verb may be conjugated in Middle Voice (apart from Active and Passive Voices). The Middle Voice has its own set of terminations, of course. And to make things worse, a particular verb may admit conjugation in both Active Voice and Middle Voice or in just one of them. Therefore, you will have to know all this if you want to conjugate a verb properly. And be sure that this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are many, many, many additional rules. Obviously, no matter how powerful an intellect may be, the ocean of Sanskrit Verbs is a real nightmare. Since many people with strong intellects have failed to cross it, it is really probable that you will fail to do it too if you only rely on the intellect. The second attitude should be given up or you will drown in that ocean, haha!
I think that the third attitude is the right one, because you use both the devotion and the intellect. You develop a devotional attitude to Sanskrit. You think of it as the sound embodiment of God Himself and not as a mere language to be learnt. If you are not able to feel devotion to Sanskrit, the ascent will be “almost” impossible. So, you must study Sanskrit verbs and the rest with love in your heart. If you do not love Sanskrit, you will not understand it. Remember that Sanskrit language is the base of a great and ancient culture. So many sages have used it to write their experiences and pass on their wisdom to us. The powerful Mántra-s themselves are based on Sanskrit language and its rules of pronunciation. Simultaneously, you strive to learn Sanskrit verbs and the rest. You leave your laziness behind and use your intellect to understand how to conjugate verbs. Thus, two Cakrá-s (centers of power) are working together in you: (Anaahatacakra -emotional center- and Aajñaacakra -intellectual center-). Use these two wings to cross that unfathomable ocean and the goal will be yours in the end.
As you see, I have used the analogy of an ocean now. Whether it is an ocean or a mountain or whatever, think of Sanskrit verbs as something really huge that will demand all your love and intellectual strength if you want to conquer it. Thus, Sanskrit learning is quite a spiritual path in itself. When you learn Sanskrit language, you are practicing Jñaanayoga (Yóga of knowledge), Bhaktiyoga (Yóga of devotion), Karmayoga (Yóga of action)
This was really an intresting perspective from the author.
