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In this chapter I invite you to take a closer look at the Sanskrit language. Sanskrit is both the carrier of the most extensive spiritual tradition of humankind and the language that the Supreme Being created to teach yoga and to guide human beings in their return to infinite consciousness. Learning at least the basics of Sanskrit is a fundamental part of one’s yoga practice and spiritual development; in this chapter I explain why this is so.

You may have heard of the great teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti, one of the few outstanding intellectual giants of the twentieth century. Krishnamurti spent most of his life circling the globe to lecture, never finding the peace and quiet he needed to realize a lifelong goal: to learn Sanskrit. Finally, at age ninety-five, knowing he had little time to live, he sat down to learn the language. Krishnamurti lived his life to the fullest, and while he proposed many provocative concepts, I’m sure that he died with a sense of satisfaction that he had given his all. The fascinating fact remains, however, that he did not just spend his final days gazing into the sunset but instead studied Sanskrit. It speaks volumes to us about the importance of this language.

Unfortunately, some modern Western yoga teachers have publicly stated that Sanskrit is of no relevance for modern yogis. This can be seen as another sad case of Westerners looting foreign cultures for anything that can be exploited for short-term gain — in this case, the practice of postures — and discarding in ignorance everything that seems too deep and difficult to understand. But the truth is that an ability to pronounce Sanskrit mantras properly is absolutely necessary for advanced yoga practice. Correct pronunciation requires at least some knowledge of the Sanskrit language, particularly of the fundamental relationship between sound and spirituality that is at its core.

Sanskrit is a mantric language, and it is nothing but the science of sound itself. Mantras are sound forms that contain encoded reality and have the power to alter and produce reality. Sound, according to the Vedas, is not just an audible sensation; it goes much, much deeper. Sound includes all forms of vibratory patterns, such as brain waves, the orbits of electrons around atomic nuclei, the movements of celestial bodies, and the reverberations caused by the Big Bang. It is therefore the essence of reality.