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Comment by Dina-Anukampana Das on May 22, 2020 at 13:51

Dear Sanskrit enthusiasts,

Three Online Sibirams completed already. Two more in progress now.

Starting two more ONLINE Dasa Dina Sanskrit Sambhashana Sibirams.

Start : 25-05-2020 at 10am &
01-06-2020 at 2:30pm
Duration: 10 days (Monday to Friday)
Saturday, Sunday holiday.

App Requirements:
Zoom App download
Device :
Any device (phone, PC, tab)
Level: Beginner

Objectives:
* Improve clarity of speech in children as well as elders.
* Improve one's understanding of daily poojas, slokas in Geeta and other slokas.
* Enable writing simple exams to learn Sanskrit grammer at one's own pace.
* Enable learning Sanskrit by taking advantage of the Indian language one knows already.

Interested!!!
Send a whatsapp message with Name, whatsapp number & location to 9866974980.

IMPORTANT:
1. Attendence is strictly observed.
2. Absentees will be suspended.

*Jayatu Samskritam. *
Jayatu Bharatam 

Comment by Dina-Anukampana Das on October 27, 2019 at 6:29

....[continued from previous comment]....

... ~~~~~~~

ON PRONUNCIATION
Can I pronounce Sanskrit easily with more confidence?

YES! - These 3 short videos will help you immensely!

www.vimeo.com/groups/sanskrit

Pronunciation tips: www.bit.ly/sanskritcracked / www.bit.ly/countvowels

The system of romanization of sanskrit (transliteration) used by Srila Prabhupada and which has become the most popular standard on the internet is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAST

Once we get past the mystery of what those little marks added to our ABC's, we shall very easily pronounce Sanskrit with 100% accuracy - such joy!

But remember - the real key is to simply sing with joy - absorbed in the love that was experienced by Yashoda and Krishna in that lila, and become absorbed in remembering His divine form, divine abode & divine activities - so don't get so caught up in the pronunciation that we forget to remember Krishna while worshipping Him with this amazing song.

We may pronounce it all wrong, but if the bhaava (spiritual feelings or mood) within our heart is correct, then Krishna accepts such heartfelt offerings - He prefers those offerings to the formal offerings of perfectly chanting Brahmanas!

The real key to capturing a mantra (sanskrit verse from scripture) is to recite it with a RHYTHM. So ignore pronunciation but make sure you do one of these at least as you sing - keep rhythm*:

a) clap your hands (keep trying along with a recording: eventually Mother Sarasvati, the
Goddess of Learning & of Music, will bless you and rhythmic clapping will come automatically
- that is the best exercise for beginning to get absorbed in Hari Kirtan, the mood of glorifying
the Supreme Lord through song & dance - 10 audio recordings to choose from - at
www.tiny.cc/damodara4 - please note - there are basically two types of rhythms to sing
this song - one has the common 1-2-threeeee beat, the other is 1-twooooo & this is much
more difficult for beginners)

b) play kartals

c) stand and sing and just keep shifting your weight from left foot to right foot (the 'swami
step') and eventually your body will naturally become a pendulum and you will find that you
have learnt how to dance! Really - in the spiritual world, no one speaks cos everyone
sings; and no one walks cos everyone dances

--

*Why keep rhythm? A mantra must have 2 components to capture, engage and absorb the mind - Pronunciation & Rhythm. As long as we get the number of vowels right even if we mispronounce a little, it won't disturb our ability to become absorbed. But it is the rhythm - or more technically, for the Sanskrit experts, the Meter or Chandha - that is the key to any mantra. However, even without chandha, just clapping or dancing along to a simple rhythm is enough to let the mantra flow - and the mood within is what matters ultimately. So just look out for the vowels, which you will be able to identify very easily after going through the above pronunciation guide videos!

**Understanding the Vaishnava Calendar ('Gaurabda' The Navadwip Panjika was created/designed by HDG Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Prabhupada)-
http://www.harekrsna.de/artikel/vaishnava-calendar.htm

Hindu traditional understanding -- "Kartik month is the best of all 12 months" -
http://blessingsonthenet.com/indian-festival/festival/id/55/kartik-...

Comment by Dina-Anukampana Das on October 27, 2019 at 6:24

From:. http://www.bit.ly/damodara0 :-

>> 

Damodarashtakam song

- 'the Learning Approach'

by Dina A Das

{- printable version (+ many resources)}

[Share this post: http://www.tiny.cc/damodara0 or www.bit.ly/damodara0]
---------------------------------------------------------------------

The divine Damodarashtakam by Satyavrata Muni - a song of 8 verses (ashtakam) is printable from here:

TEXT
http://www.tiny.cc/damodara3 / www.bit.ly/damodara3
- 2 pages with translations & a beautiful coloured illustration.

AUDIO
Download and singalong to - TEN different recordings here:
www.tiny.cc/damodara4 / www.bit.ly/damodara4
http://vaishnavsongs.iskcondesiretree.com/sri-damodara-ashtakam/

This song is directly from the Padma Purana, spoken by the Vedic sage, Satyavrata Muni.

Anyone who sings it daily while offering a ghee lamp to the Naughty Child Krishna bound with ropes (Damodara) shall gain immense spiritual benefit!

Kartik month [Damodara Month]** is coming!!
[Sun. 16th Oct. - Mon. 18th Nov. 2016 ]
- quickly print out this lovely songsheet and learn this song!
Your kids will love it, and when you sing it, you will become a child again too!

These resources, shared below, will help you learn how to sing it.
-------------------------------------------------

Related resources:-

http://tiny.cc/damodara10
or
http://www.bit.ly/damodara10 - a Spanish poetic version of Damodara Ashtakam
http://tiny.cc/damodara9
or
http://www.bit.ly/damodara9 - Musical Notation 8 matra version (with mp3 sample mrdanga + harmonium)
http://tiny.cc/damodara8
or
http://www.bit.ly/damodara8 - Musical notation 12 matra version (with mp3 sample mrdanga + harmonium)
http://tiny.cc/damodara7
or
http://www.bit.ly/damodara7 - purport by Srila Sanatan Goswami Prabhupada
http://tiny.cc/damodara6
or
http://www.bit.ly/damodara6 - purport by HH Vishnujan Swami
http://tiny.cc/damodara5
or
http://www.bit.ly/damodara5 - lyrics & detailed musical info on www.kksongs.org
http://tiny.cc/damodara4
or
http://www.bit.ly/damodara4 - mp3 audio of 10 different recordings of Damodarashtakam
http://tiny.cc/damodara3
or
http://www.bit.ly/damodara3- 2pg printable songsheet with colured illustration
http://tiny.cc/damodara2
or
http://www.bit.ly/damodara2 - Damodarashtakam in online Vaishnava Song Book
http://tiny.cc/damodara1
or
http://www.bit.ly/damodara1 - word-by-word meaning of Damodarashtakam song
-
http://tiny.cc/damodara
or
http://www.bit.ly/damodara - an English poem of Damodara Lila
.
.
~~~~~~~
ON PRONUNCIATION
Can I pronounce Sanskrit easily with more confidence?

YES! These 3 short videos will help you immensely!

.......... [continued in next comment below]....

Comment by Dina-Anukampana Das on June 15, 2017 at 18:29

Dina A. Das
Interviewed by Acintya Govinda Das
of The Sacred Space

'Global Evidence Of Sanskrit'

Part 1
https://youtu.be/ebMQYi1lQDY

Part 2
https://youtu.be/0oDXI_w7r_4

Part 3
https://youtu.be/ZSLCTqjbw_A

Part 4
https://youtu.be/HikUUsoNJJM

The above are featured on Acintya Govinda Prabhu's channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWFnQqZI0HIYs93Ii50iwBg

Comment by Dina-Anukampana Das on September 7, 2014 at 10:40

If you are interested in current efforts to promote and revive this universal language which is one of mankind's greatest heritages, you might like to see this site and contribute to it too - www.tiny.cc/sanskritrevolution.
And if you like to type sanskrit with the correct spelling using diacritic marks you can easily learn how to here: www.tiny.cc/typesanskrit

Comment by Rose Winebrenner on May 23, 2014 at 16:41

Thank you very much for your videos which show how to make the charts for diacritics. I am very interested in knowing and practicing the correct pronunciation of my favourite mantras and chants. God bless you!

Comment by Dina-Anukampana Das on October 26, 2013 at 17:22

I just stumbled upon this interesting pronunciation guide (Sanskrit, Bengali & Brajabhashya) as well as "Learn to" guides for reading Devanagari & Bengali - http://kksongs.org/language/index.html

This site http://kksongs.org/ has a great collection of Gaudiya Vaishnava songs.