Polyglot Quotes

“It was like taking a hammer to the home I had built in the Arabic language word by word, over many years in Sudan and Saudi Arabia. My increasing strength in English correlated negatively with my Arabic. The more I felt at home in English, the less Arabic felt like one. So much so that learning a new language was to acquire a new wound. Multilingualism meant multi-wounding.”
― Sulaiman Addonia

“A complicated structure? Undoubtedly. But after all, the cathedral of Milan is complicated too, and you still look at it with awe.”
― Kató Lomb

“A language is a freeway to a culture.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Karadeniz Chronicle: The Novel

“Sentiments speak louder than language.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Karadeniz Chronicle: The Novel

“Milkyway Messiah (The Sonnet)

Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata,
Cada vez que los oprimidos claman esperanza,
Siyasi hayvanlar ne zaman gelip nefret satarsa,
Whenever morons 'n their yes men ruin armonia,
Jab jab some jhandus rashtrabadka jhanda lehraye,
När kärleken till lyx väger tyngre än socialt ansvar,
Immer wenn das herz von gier überwältigt wird,
When humility is trampled by megalomaniacal desire,
Sempre que a bondade é dominada pelo intelecto,
Quando la compassione è sopraffatta dall'indifferenza,
Kapag tinanggap ang pagiging makasarili bilang batas,
Whenever accountability is deemed as misdemeanor,
Embracing affliction, from the dust 'n dirt of soil 'n street,
You the Milkyway Messiah is to rise as the sentient shield.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervish Advaitam: Gospel of Sacred Feminines and Holy Fathers

“The hardest foreign language you will ever learn is your first one. And the second hardest foreign language you will ever learn is your second one. In other words, language learning gets easier with each subsequent iteration. This phenomenon owes to the fact that languages, especially those belonging to the same family, share a great deal in terms of grammar, syntax, phonetics, and vocabulary. . . Not only are many of the concepts repetitive across languages, but learners become more adept at recognizing patterns, formulating sentences, and memorizing information.”
― benjamin batarseh , The Art of Learning a Foreign Language: 25 Things I Wish They Told Me

“I became a polyglot by accident, I became a poet by accident, I became a scientist by accident, but one thing I didn't become by accident, is the bridge between cultures.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The Centurion Sermon: Mental Por El Mundo

“My most soulful words come from me as a sufi (muslim) poet, my most righteous words come from me as a humanitarian scientist, my most passionate words come from me as a latin lover, and my most humane words come from me as an advaitin (nondualist). The entire world is contained in my chest. Vilify a single culture, and you vilify me.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Her Insan Ailem: Everyone is Family, Everywhere is Home

“So far, heritage has only caused a mess. You know why? Because it is never about just heritage - all talk of heritage inadvertently leads us to the savage dilemma of "our heritage versus their heritage". And such dilemma might have been acceptable in a savage society, but it is totally and utterly out of place in a civilized world.

So, either the very construct of heritage evolves, or becomes an impediment to the expansion, hence the welfare, of the world as well as the self.

That is why I say - just because you are born and raised in a particular culture, it doesn't mean, you are supposed to stay chained to that culture all your life, with blinkers on your eyes, that keep you ignorant of the beauty beyond the horizon.

Let me put this into perspective with an unambiguous example.

Some of you have asked me, what's my relation to Turkey? Well, everybody loves Rumi, but I learnt his tongue, so I could pick up where he left off.

Some of you have asked me, what's my relation to Latin America? Well, everybody loves to yell "viva la libertad", but I learnt el idioma, so I could revolutionize the very paradigm of revolution.

Every corner of earth has some distinct strongholds, and I am the force that brings them together to create a strong, sapient, and undivided planet.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Himalayan Sonneteer: 100 Sonnets of Unsubmission

“Polyglots have more fun.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“Hometown Human Sonnet

Everybody loves Rumi,
I learnt his tongue,
So I could pick up where he left off.
Better than basking in borrowed light,
Is to be an original light to the world.

Everybody yells, viva la libertad,
I learnt el idioma, so I could
humanize the paradigm of revolution.
Everybody loves Indus valley diversity,
Annitiki munde anni shaashtralu nerchkunnanu,
So I'm never out of spice for my humanitarianism.

Everybody loves boasting about their culture,
I spent years making all the cultures my own.
Thus my strength was amplified a thousand folds,
My sight expanded beyond all norms of vision known.

Polyglots have more fun - there is no question.
When science, poetry and polyglottery come together,
That's the beginning of a paradigm bending revolution.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“When science, poetry and polyglottery come together, that's the beginning of a paradigm bending revolution.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“I speak the tongues of earth,
I sing the songs of earth.
Forever I find myself,
In many fervors of earth.

Ain't got no single nation,
Ain't got no single culture.
Human am I, I belong to humans,
Come hell or come high water!”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“Get Well Soon (The Sonnet)

Upon absorbing all cultures into my blood,
I realize, the supreme culture is love.
Upon studying all scriptures as my own,
I realize, the supreme gospel is love.
Even after speaking six languages,
I say, the supreme language is love.
Upon observing all political ideologies,
I say, only ideal worth submission is love.
Unfolding the neural underpinnings of behavior,
I realize, seed of civilization is love.
Unraveling the cellular mysteries of life,
I realize, existence oughta be a record of love.
Tiny-brained know-it-alls will still yell,
their culture beats all, like some tipsy loon.
To which all I can say is - get well soon!”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat

“Language becomes an adventure in 'LinguaVerse'.”
― Pep Talk Radio, LinguaVerse: A Journey through Language Realms

“Language is the key that unlocks a world of possibilities, allowing us to communicate, connect, and understand each other on a deeper level.”
― Pep Talk Radio, LinguaVerse: A Journey through Language Realms