NASA article on Sanskrit in AI (Artificial Intelligence) Magazine

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NASA article on Sanskrit in AI (Artificial Intelligence) Magazine

 

 

 

Modern scientists hail the ancient language of the gods as the only

unambiguous natural language on the planetThis interesting article

refers to a NASA article on Sanskrit in AI (Artificial Intelligence)

Magazine in Spring of 1985 written by NASA researcher, Rick Briggs.

 

In ancient India the intention to discover truth was so consuming, that

in the process, they discovered perhaps the most perfect tool for

fulfilling such a search that the world has ever known -- the Sanskrit

language.

 

 

 

Of all the discoveries that have occurred and developed in the course

of human history, language is the most significant and probably the

most taken for granted. Without language, civilization could obviously

not exist. On the other hand, to the degree that language becomes

sophisticated and accurate in describing the subtlety and complexity of

human life, we gain power and effectiveness in meeting its challenges.

The access to modern technology which has been designed to give ease,

efficiency and enjoyment in meeting our daily needs did not exist at

the beginning of the century. It was made possible by accelerated

advancement in the field of mathematics, a " language " which has helped

us to discover the interrelationship of energy and matter with a high

degree of precision. The resulting technology is evidence of the

tremendous power that is unleashed simply by being able to make the

finer and finer distinction that a language like mathematics affords.

 

 

 

At the same time humankind has fallen far behind the advancements in

technology. The precarious state of political and ecological imbalance

that we are now experiencing is an obvious sign of the power of

technology far exceeding the power of human beings to be in control of

it. It could easily be argued that we have fallen far behind the

advancements in technology, simply because the languages we use for

daily communication do not help us to make the distinctions required to

be in balance with the technology that has taken over our lives.

 

 

 

Relevant to this there has recently been an astounding discovery made

at the NASA research center. The following quote is from an article

which appeared in AI Magazine (Artificial Intelligence) in Spring of

1985 written NASA researcher, Rick Briggs.

 

 

 

In the past twenty years, much time, effort, and money has been

expended on designing an unambiguous representation of natural

languages to make them accessible to computer processing. These efforts

have centered around creating schemata designed to parallel logical

relations with relations expressed by the syntax and semantics of

natural languages, which are clearly cumbersome and ambiguous in their

function as vehicles for the transmission of logical data.

Understandably, there is a widespread belief that natural languages are

unsuitable for the transmission of many ideas that artificial languages

can render with great precision and mathematical rigor.

 

 

 

But this dichotomy, which has served as a premise underlying much work

in the areas of linguistics and artificial intelligence, is a false

one. There is at least one language, Sanskrit, which for the duration

of almost 1000 years was a living spoken language with a considerable

literature of its own. Besides works of literary value, there was a

long philosophical and grammatical tradition that has continued to

exist with undiminished vigor until the present century. Among the

accomplishments of the grammarians can be reckoned a method for

paraphrasing Sanskrit in a manner that is identical not only in essence

but in form with current work in Artificial Intelligence. This article

demonstrates that a natural language can serve as an artificial

language also, and that much work in AI has been reinventing a wheel

millennia old.

 

 

 

The discovery is of monumental significance. It is mind-boggling to

consider that we have available to us a language which has been spoken

for 4-7000 years that appears to be in every respect a perfect language

designed for enlightened communication. But the most stunning aspect of

the discovery is this: NASA the most advanced research center in the

world for cutting edge technology has discovered that Sanskrit, the

world's oldest spiritual language is the only unambiguous spoken

language on the planet.

 

 

 

In early AI research it was discovered that in order to clear up the

inherent ambiguity of natural languages for computer comprehension, it

was necessary to utilize semantic net systems to encode the actual

meaning of the sentence. Briggs gives the example of how a simple

sentence would be represented in a semantic net.

 

 

 

Example: " John gave the ball to Mary. " give, agent, John give, object, ball

give, recipient, Mary give, time, past

 

 

 

He further comments, " The degree to which a semantic net (or any

unambiguous nonsyntactic representation) is cumbersome and odd-sounding

in a natural language is the degree to which that language is " natural "

and deviates from the precise or " artificial " . As we shall see, there

was a language (Sanskrit) spoken among an ancient scientific community

that has a deviation of zero. "

 

 

 

Considering Sanskrit's status as a spiritual language, a further

implication of this discovery is that the age old dichotomy between

religion and science is an entirely unjustified one.

 

 

 

It is also relevant to note that in the last decade physicists have

begun to comment on the striking similarities between their own

discoveries and the discoveries made thousands of years ago in India

which went on to form the basis of most Eastern religions.

 

 

 

Because of the high level of collaboration required in uncovering the

nature of energy and matter, it is inconceivable that it ever could

have taken place without a common language, namely mathematics. This is

a perfect example of using a language for discovering and designing

life. The language of mathematics, being inherently unambiguous,

minimizes personal interpretation and therefore maximizes opportunity

for exploration and discovery. The result of this is a worldwide

community of scientists working together with extraordinary vitality

and excitement about uncovering the unknown.

 

 

 

It can also be inferred that the discoveries that occurred in India in

the first millennia B.C. were also the result of collaboration and

inquiry by a community of spiritual scientists utilizing a common

scientific language, Sanskrit. The truth of this is further accented by

the fact that throughout the history and development of Indian thought

the science of grammar and linguistics was attributed a status equal to

that of mathematics in the context of modern scientific investigation.

In deference to the thoroughness and depth with which the ancient

grammatical scientists established the science of language, modern

linguistic researchers in Russia have concluded about Sanskrit, " The

time has come to continue the tradition of the ancient grammarians on

the basis of the modern ideas in general linguistics. "

 

 

 

Sanskrit is the most ancient member of the European family of

languages. It is an elder sister of Latin and Greek from which most of

the modern European languages have been derived. The oldest preserved

form of Sanskrit is referred to as Vedic . The oldest extant example of

the literature of the Vedic period is the Rig-Veda . Being strictly in

verse, the Rig-Veda does not give us a record of the contemporary

spoken language.

 

 

 

The very name " Sanskrit " meant " language brought to formal perfection "

in contrast to the common languages, Prakrits or " natural " languages.

The form of Sanskrit which has been used for the last 2500 years is

known today as Classical Sanskrit. The norms of classical Sanskrit were

established by the ancient grammarians. Although no records are

available of their work, their efforts reached a climax in the 5th

century B.C. in the great grammatical treatise of Panini, which became

the standard for correct speech with such comprehensive authority that

it has remained so, with little alteration until present times.

 

 

 

Based on what the grammarians themselves have stated, we may conclude

that the Sanskrit grammar was an attempt to discipline and explain a

spoken language.

 

 

 

The NASA article corroborates this in saying that Indian grammatical

analysis " probably has to do with an age old Indo-Aryan preoccupation

to discover the nature of reality behind the impressions we human

beings receive through the operation of our senses. "

 

 

 

Until 1100 A.D., Sanskrit was without interruption the official

language of the whole of India. The dominance of Sanskrit is indicated

by a wealth of literature of widely diverse genres including religious

and philosophical; fiction (short story, fable, novels, and plays);

scientific literature including linguistics, mathematics, astronomy,

and medicine; as well as law and politics.

 

 

 

With the Muslim invasions from 1100 A.D. onwards, Sanskrit gradually

became displaced by common languages patronized by the Muslim kings as

a tactic to suppress Indian cultural and religious tradition and

supplant it with their own beliefs. But they could not eliminate the

literary and spiritual- ritual use of Sanskrit.

 

 

 

Even today in India, there is a strong movement to return Sanskrit to

the status of " national language of India. " Sanskrit being a language

derived from simple monosyllabic verbal roots through the addition of

appropriate prefixes and suffixes according to precise grammatical laws

has an infinite capacity to grow, adapt and expand according to the

requirements of change in a rapidly evolving world.

 

 

 

Even in the last two centuries, due to the rapid advances in technology

and science, a literature abundant with new and improvised vocabulary

has come into existence. Although such additions are based on the

grammatical principles of Sanskrit, and mostly composed of Sanskrit

roots, still contributions from Hindi and other national and

international languages have been assimilated. For example: The word

for television, duuradarshanam, meaning " that which provides a vision

of what is far away " is derived purely from Sanskrit.

 

 

 

Furthermore, there are at least a dozen periodicals published in

Sanskrit, all-India radio news broadcast in Sanskrit, television shows

and feature movies produced in Sanskrit, one village of 3000

inhabitants who communicate through Sanskrit alone, not to mention

countless smaller intellectual communities throughout India, schools,

as well as families where Sanskrit is fostered. Contemporary Sanskrit

is alive and well.

 

 

 

The discussion until now has been about Sanskrit, the language of

mathematical precision, the world's only unambiguous spoken language.

But the linguistic perfection of Sanskrit offers only a partial

explanation for its sustained presence in the world for at least 3000

years. High precision in and of itself is of limited scope. Generally

it excites the brain but not the heart. Sanskrit is indeed a perfect

language in the same sense as mathematics, but Sanskrit is also a

perfect language in the sense that, like music, it has the power to

uplift the heart.

 

 

 

It's conceivable that for a few rare and inspired geniuses, mathematics

can reach the point of becoming music or music becoming mathematics.

The extraordinary thing about Sanskrit is that it offers direct

accessibility by anyone to that elevated plane where the two,

mathematics and music, brain and heart, analytical and intuitive,

scientific and spiritual become one. This is fertile ground for

revelation. Great discoveries occur, whether through mathematics or

music or Sanskrit, not by the calculations or manipulations of the

human mind, but where the living language is expressed and heard in a

state of joy and communion with the natural laws of existence.

 

 

 

Why has Sanskrit endured? Fundamentally it generates clarity and

inspiration. And that clarity and inspiration is directly responsible

for a brilliance of creative expression such as the world has rarely

seen.

 

 

 

The Ancient and classical creations of the Sanskrit tongue both in

quality and in body and abundance of excellence, in their potent

originality and force and beauty, in their substance and art and

structure, in grandeur and justice and charm of speech and in the

height and width of the reach of their spirit stand very evidently in

the front rank among the world's great literatures. The language

itself, as has been universally recognized by those competent to form a

judgment, is one of the most magnificent, the most perfect and

wonderfully sufficient literary instruments developed by the human

mind, at once majestic and sweet and flexible, strong and

clearly-formed and full and vibrant and subtle, and its quality and

character would be of itself a sufficient evidence of the character and

quality of the race whose mind it expressed and the culture of which it

was the reflecting medium.

 

 

 

Sanskrit after all is the language of mantra -- words of power that are

subtly attuned to the unseen harmonies of the matrix of creation, the

world as yet unformed. The possibility of such a finely attuned

language is only conceivable by drawing upon sounds so inherently pure

in combinations so harmoniously blended that the result is as

refreshing and pure as the energy of creation forming into mountain

streams and lakes and the flawless crystal structures of natural gems,

while at the same time wielding the power of nebulae and galaxies

expanding into the infinitude of space.

 

 

 

But from the perception of Rishis, the source of language transcends

such conceptions. In Sanskrit, Vaak,speech, the " word " of Genesis,

incorporates both the sense of " voice " and " word " . It has four forms of

_expression. The first, Paraa , represents cosmic ideation arising from

the original and absolute divine presence. The second, Pashyantii

(literally " seeing " ) is Vaak as subject " seeing, " which creates the

object of madhyamaavaak , the third and subtle form of speech before it

manifests as vaikhariivaak, the gross production of letters in spoken

speech.

 

 

 

Sanskrit is a language whose harmonic subtlety, mysteriously sources

the successive phases of creation all the way to origination. This

implies the p ossibility of having speech oriented to a direct living

truth which transcends individual preoccupation with the limited

information available through the senses. Spoken words as such are

creative living things of power. They penetrate to the essence of what

they describe. They give birth to meaning which reflects the profound

interrelatedness of life.

 

 

 

It is a tantalizing proposition to consider speaking a language whose

sounds are so pure and euphonically combined. The mere listening or

speaking inspires and produces joy and clarity. And yet it has been

precisely the tendency of humanity as a whole to merely be tantalized

by happiness, but not actually to choose it. It's as though we had been

offered the most precious gem and we answered, " No, I'd rather be

poor. " The only possible background for such a choice is the

unconscious belief that, " I can't have it. I can't be that. "

 

 

 

Interestingly enough, this is exactly what is triggered in people who

are faced with the opportunity to learn Sanskrit. The basic attitude

towards learning Sanskrit in India today is, " It's too difficult. "

Actually Sanskrit is not difficult. On the contrary, there are few

greater enjoyments. The first stage, experiencing the individual power

of each of the 49 basic sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet is pure

discovery, especially for Westerners who have never paid attention to

the unique distinctions of individual letters such as location of

resonance and tongue position. The complete alphabet must have been

worked out by learned grammarians on phonetic principles by long before

it was codified by Panini around 500 B.C. It is arranged on a

thoroughly scientific method, the simple vowels (short and long) coming

first, then the complex vowels (dipthongs), followed by the consonants

in uniform groups according to the organs of speech with which they are

pronounced.

 

 

 

The unique organization of the Sanskrit alphabet serves to focus one's

attention on qualities and patterns of articulated sound in a way that

occurs in no other language. By paying continuous attention to the

point of location, degree of resonance and effort of breath, one's

awareness becomes more and more consumed by the direct experience of

articulated sound. This in itself produces and unprecedented clarity of

mind and revelry in the joy of language. Every combination of sound in

Sanskrit follows strict laws which essentially make possible an

uninterrupted flow of the most perfect euphonic blending of letters

into words and verse.

 

 

 

The script used to depict written Sanskrit is known as Devanaagari or

that " spoken by the Gods. " Suitably for Sanskrit, it is a perfect

system of phonetic representation. According to linguists, the phonetic

accuracy of the Devanaagari compares well with that of the modern

phonetic transcriptions.

 

 

 

Because of its inherent logic, systematic presentation and adherence to

only the most clear and most pure sounds, the Sanskrit alphabet in its

spoken form, is perhaps the easiest in the world to learn and recall.

Once the alphabet is learned, there is just one major step to take in

gaining access to the Sanskrit language: learning the case and tense

endings. The endings are what make Sanskrit a language of math-like

precision. By the endings added onto nouns or verbs, there is an

obvious determination of the precise interrelationship of words

describing activity of persons and things in time and space, regardless

of word order. Essentially, the endings constitute the software or

basic program of the Sanskrit language.

 

 

 

The rigor of learning the case endings is precisely the reason why many

stop in their pursuit of Sanskrit. Yet by an effective immersion

method, fluent reading of the Devanagari script, accurate

pronunciation, and the inputting of the case and tense endings can

easily be accomplished. Such a method must take advantage of the fact

that Sanskrit grammar is structured by precise patterns, and once a

pattern has been noted it is a simple exercise to recognize all the

individual instances that fit the pattern; rather than see the pattern

after all the individual instances have been learned. Color coding

provides a tremendous support in this regard.

 

 

 

Learning the case endings through the chanting of basic pure sound

combinations in musical and rhythmic sequences is a way to overcome

learning inhibitions, attune to the root power of the Sanskrit language

and access the natural computer efficiency, speed and clarity of the

mind.

 

 

 

Although learning Sanskrit in some ways presents challenges similar to

those of learning calculus or music, it also induces a lubrication and

acceleration of mental function that actually makes such a process

exciting and enjoyable. Perhaps the greatest immediate benefit of

learning Sanskrit by this method is that it requires participants to

relinquish control, abandon prior learning structures and come into a

direct experience of the language.

 

 

 

The actual simplicity and enjoyment of the sounds of Sanskrit provides

everyone with an opportunity to learn a subject which is technically

precise with fluidity and ease. This tends to produce a complete

reversal of the inhibiting competitive environment in which most life

education traditionally took place, by creating an atmosphere in which

mutual support generates personal breakthrough and vice-versa.

 

 

 

One thing is certain, Sanskrit will only become the planetary language

when it is taught in a way which is exciting and enjoyable. Furthermore

it must address individual learning inhibitions with clarity and

compassion in a setting which encourages everyone to step forth, take

risks, make mistakes and learn. Already we have outstanding examples of

this approach in the work of teachers such as Jaime Escalante, whose

remarkable achievements in teaching advanced calculus to

underprivileged high school students in East Los Angeles were featured

in the Academy Award nominated movie, " Stand and Deliver. "

 

 

 

Another hope for the return of Sanskrit lies in computers. Sanskrit and

computers are a perfect fit. The precision play of Sanskrit with

computer tools will awaken the capacity in human beings to utilize

their innate higher mental faculty with a momentum that would

inevitably transform the world. In fact the mere learning of Sanskrit

by large numbers of people in itself represents a quantum leap in

consciousness, not to mention the rich endowment it will provide in the

arena of future communication.

 

 

 

Sanskrit has always inspired the hearts, mind and souls of wise people.

The great German scholar Max Muller, who did more than anyone to

introduce Sanskrit to the West in the latter part of the 19th century,

contended that without a knowledge of the language (Sanskrit),

literature, art, religion and philosophy of India, a liberal education

could hardly be complete -- India being the intellectual and spiritual

ancestor of the race, historically and through Sanskrit.

 

 

 

Max Muller also pointed out that Sanskrit provides perfect examples of

the unity and foundation it offers to the Celtic, Teutonic, Slavonic,

Germanic and Anglo-Saxon languages, not to mention its influence on

Asian languages.The transmission of Buddhism to Asia can be attributed

largely to the appeal to Sanskrit. Even in translation the works of

Sanskrit evoked the supreme admiration of Western poets and

philosophers like Emerson, Whitman, Thoreau, Melville, Goethe, Schlegel

and Schopenhauer.

 

 

 

The fact is that Sanskrit is more deeply interwoven into the fabric of

the collective world consciousness than anyone perhaps knows. After

many thousands of years, Sanskrit still lives with a vitality that can

breathe life, restore unity and inspire peace on our tired and troubled

planet. It is a sacred gift, an opportunity. The future could be very

bright

 

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