Boch&sanwasi Shree Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha BIA Akshar yea ada ewaratl Gujarati Learning Workbook for English Speaking Students by Devendra C. Patel Ashok P. Dave ~ OL exter BAPS Pub 3 BAPS, Inc. Sochteanwisi Shree Akshar Purushottam SwarinarSyan Sansthé #1 Sutlons Lane, Piscataway, Md O88 ? Pramukh Swiimi Maharaj Fisher Pat nana = 3 Blessing of Pramukiy Swami Maharey es ona nouns Secret eesti ote PRAMUKH SWWAM MAHARAJ Ses Acrmtetarsets, Gib SaraMNSHARLEDAS! penal =m dned- Bahey am area, inte WH ctentenalael, ec ah Gey a Hoa hat a geet a oy ae aRaeD tai O, awd Ra oF Sey ee ee rr re Oe ayant ann oan stone Ang dot, RET, wok, ast, ffHonae a tna Hay Ae. ee mer ee ad i et ae Ge nypantins BRT Ar Seana on 6 ee domains RO Oh beg dam MB, yea Roe MIE GF formtiey aed seen Be ah ROHR HI, mee, goed hy NE oe A, ined we Gm 8. etree James, eum ict a an daca apa Aleuncnast ehh cinetolen gi sistent er ee CL a a ee or mot oe thet RO enue 8INE MET, Ate ani penn OFS? FOSS, Fe SC. Blessings of Pramukh Swame Maharay ys amie nous Hetnanoase ecto S PRAMUKH SWARM MAHARAJ Sinv/uncpein sens seinen el | eth wr gmail atag- anag etek ee Pmt ug. far Maat Gata agecanctans ait seh aT tt ah t ee a ag oe i sees ante distin wer omitar gevat cana, anette oP net oh | aaateeal! doch Guage wah ctu eee i re a me eT i ree. a rs Naan area) aie! ga to eno es aes ua Att adh agreed Riad dt dst meter, gy De Paar ana AA amd PR mew | aad é a ER tn. Guth, Bata GRID weeny es tiveh bak ih eter 08 gas REY. Mee ar melas eat nist ee er ee a : me natalie 8 aw @ Bun rameter tian ered s He out, een fy cara er agro ON EE, 5, Al sennorz000 Cleveland lay Swaminarayan will affection 10 All Balaks, Kistores and Paronts We are very happy that allof you are studying. tis cqualy important a arn tho Guar language: along with your studies, No matter whatevar clothas we wear or where-ever welive, Gujarati is our mathe: tongue. Lan j guage forms the basis for communication and shought, So, learring the Gujarati language wil hl [us to preserve cur Hindu religion, cukum, kanwdedlge, serlplures, and family values. Ifwe preserve jour languaye, we will preserve our valucs. Shraali Mahsrdj and our gurus used to speakin (Cull. Even our Scriptures ere in Gujarat. Therefore, Gujarat is a sacred language. At school, you hava to work very hard! loieam Eng ish and other languages. tisjust as nocassary te work hard regutaty to loam Gujarat. By learning Cujaral, you wll be able to communicate better with and to get closer to your parents, grandparents, an all he ruernbers ul le fail. Youwiltanjay dong Satsang, bhajand knowing Gujarst itan-kathd and understand the scriptures much mors ty All parents should take it upon themselves on ragulatly teaching Guard lo their children right from bith. They should talkaand communicate wih their children in Gujarat right rom the start, They [shoutd ensura that their children du fessons from this book del. Parents should tall andread| stories o their childran in Gujarati everyday, a least for a lew minutes. They should encarage hildren in every way. parents attornpt al his. their efor willdefinitly he successi. Allthe Kéryakars n each Mandal sould organize ragular Guraraficlasses and think af new andl Detter ways af teaching, ITenthusiasm fades [Karyakars should] give inspiration Al karyakars | should speak in Gujarst wih eachother and with chléren, sothat the chidren will learn tha Hanguaye automaticaly. Evoryora wile enthused. "Akshar Gujarat Learner” book has been prepared by saints and KBryakars in len parts, Itwil 1e8ch Gujarati through Engl meuicr so everyane will eam oasily. Everyone should abtala a ‘copy forhis or her home avd sludy i Every Bal-Balika, Kishore-Kishori shoud fimiy resolve lo learn Gujaréti and work hard atit ‘Maharaj wil ba pleased by our effort and supportit gowe wil definitely learn, tis Mahare)'s wish or us 10 leam Gujarat, We are doing this to ploasc Mim, so b'essings lo everyone inlearning Gujarat. Jay Swéminarayéin with blessings from Shastri Narayanswarupdas. Gujawaty - Our Mother Tengue *Nthors i the work! arn | going t Use this language?” Arif was mad that hoa la shady Spano, boul tnd had no option owas mandatory ta have # s@cond language. Plus, va help him get some era eds. And perhaps, a schelarship. He mada te eter Siti had na desire Ic Iacr French, hut sincs se was aa-eg on a vacation to Francs, psa and leachers lo! her that # would be Aaalul io laarn anme Frerch sentonces. “Ci yeu speck some sontsicas in your methes tongue?’ The leather asked Yogesh dutig tre Heriaga Week’ dass. Kics had alrsady spoken in Russian. Grook, Mandarin, Hindi and in 3am languages na had rl ever hear ef. Thoy worn nul shy about Thanks fo Fis grandparents, ha spoke some Svjort. So he pulled i off, Afterwards, he haul a buming cesie fo preserve is it~ ‘aga. Hey, even the schools word insisting to 3e prouel about it itmuet bo hilaious,” pondared Vip. the seh, Pramukh Swami Manarff was nemating 3 story jd evaryone was realy enjoying. "Dara, i] just knew Gujoras, fwocld vealy ens Swim BEDS dling Katha.” Delanrined he stented leaning Ke, Kha, fis bacorning like a small word in a big vilage! Every day we come in contact with so many cultures and customs, rivals and religions, festyfes and languages, hat we sometimas miss ou ‘who we really are! Wa ara made to learn|anguages thatwe don'treally need or willrarely use. So, how abo.theaming something that we will really need and will aways use, In fact kis ourduly, ‘our raigion o aru it. Gujarati, our mother tongue. Just as our nolher nourishes us in avery way, ‘Gujardi nourishes all the assects uf our religion and cultura. Our scriptures are in Gujarat, cur situals (Arti, sabha, thal, krtane afc.| are in Gujarat, ourhertags is rooted in Gujaréil and our gury Pratnukh Swami Maharaj speaks in Gujaré Learning Gujacéti may auihe’p us in schoals orwith pears Itmay 7k increase ourincama or social status. Cut, itil surely help us to better undsrstanel and wnjuy our religion and heritage. It will build up dosencss with allour family members, espacially tha elderly wha nurture us. Aad, T we dor tilearn, how will we pass on the language to aur Kids? Wo will braak the bond oFfarnily haritaye, the link of our culture. That iswhy Pramukh Swami Mahar says: "If Gujarat anguage is forgatien, we wit oose our cultura values.” Gujarstis our, Henco, Gujarati classes are en essentil part of BAPS GAl Mandal syllabus. In ths fet charging ‘Word, tis challenge for Karyakars ad parents io make leaming Guar easer forall our Bala. Inspired by Swamish te have an innovative approach in Bl Mandal, wa were motivated by the sents fo core up with a workbook for fearning Cult. Using xic-famior westem aspecls af laaming, we have developed this series: "AKSI&AR Gujieriitt Learner”. The erishasis is on eaving, speaking, basiowiling and understanding jaan dil Ne ~ infamy andin ‘ssang.So, the vocabulary and Sen:ences are bul on tho familar tings, places, peopl, ane ommunieation. Words, concepts and values of Hindu culture are blended in, We hope "AKSHAR Gujarat? Learner? will bea beginning of life long process of presen ing our rlindu heritage. We are thanktulto the sainis and devotees wno have helped inthis project. ‘BAPS BAL MANDAL — Satsang Development Cell Bochasanwési Shree Akshar Purushotiam Swémingrayan Sansthét Contents Blessings of Pramukh Swami Mahara] Gujarati - Our Mother Tongue Gujarati - A gateway lo our glorious heritage Easy Easy Easy Gujarati Speaking Guide Tips for leaming Gujarati faster Gujarati Alphabet - Consonants and Vowels How to use this book 4. 6,8, 5,9 2.2, & A, A, 2 BAH, H, & YY. Review ONE - for Lessons 1, 2, 3 wy 4 a, YW 44,4, 4,4 9.64, 9,6,8 ¢, Raview TWO ~ for Lessons 5, 6, 7 4,4, 5,6, A 40. 2, 6, YL A. A, A, MH, 42. Review THREE — for Lessons 9, 10, 11 43, ea TE, Bisst ‘TU. Review FOUR - for Lessons 13, 14 1%. Book Review 101 Removing the masks We can't conceal or cheat ourselves. No matter what we clo.wel are who'we are, We may dress different, and we may speak English or other languages. We may even change names and accents. Still we are Indians, and Gujarati to be more specific. People know us as that; we have to accept ourselves as that. In a time when cultures and values are dissolving, itis necessary to maintain our roots— Gujarat Gujardti is the foundation of our heritage. People of all origins learn the language of their culture. They don't care what others say about it. They fee! its their duty to leam their mother tongue. Gujarat is tike ‘mother’s milk. Itnourishes our total being. I's a shame on us and it can be haem Tul to us if we don't learn Gujarati. They say : “to kill a culture, kill ts language.” Language of our raligion 1, Most of our scriptures are written in Gujarait. To get the most out of them we have to learn Gujarati. Translations are like movies in other language with English subtitles: they often miss out punch-ines and iose charm. That is why Shopenhaur, a German philosopher, studied the Sanskrit language to understand the Upanishads better. 2. We enjoy singing bhajans and performing rituals, which ate mostly in Gujarat, Music can be entertaining, but realizing the meaning is more inspiring. To enjoy the beauty of the lyrics, we need to know Gujarat 3, The words of a guru are mantras for a peaceful life. Our guru Pramukh Swami Maharaj speaks rastly in Gujarati. His life-giving words and senlenues mean more in the original form, Communication (listening, writing oF talking) with hin is also simpler and more beneficial if done in Gujarati. In fact, he is more pleased with us when we converse in Gujarati even with each other. Family Intimacy Grandparents and parents, uncles and aunties, cousins and friends — they all Speak in Gujarati. If we converse with them in Gujarati, we develop closeness with them; we also understand them properly, When you grow up, what will you ass on to your kids as your mother tongue? Fie Go ais = 2 Easy Easy tasy Look at many of the world languages and you will know Gujardit is easier: Chrese Have oleam how'ta draw thotsands of piclographs for words. Hebrew lave tolearn to write the 22 characters Fam rightto lll Polish 32 choracrers wih 2 AS, 2'C's.2°Es,2 Ys, 2 Ns 2°Ss and 3 Zs! Arabic AK28 charactors wattien dierent as ital, medial finland alone. In English, when you speak words like "our", people might write or hear it as “hour’. This happens with many words. There are no such - ‘silent letters in Gujardti. Gujarat is writen as it is spoken - letter to letter. No confusion. Look at these words: ‘car’, ‘care’, ‘call and ‘ton’, ‘tone’, “tool. Notice that the “ai or ‘6 is spoken diferent in various words. In Gujar&t, the vowels are spoken and written very definitely. if you learn the basic vowels and how they are linked with letters, you can read, write andl speak Gujardli easily. Spelling : Gujsrati wars are spelled as pronounced, making writing a piece of cake. Pronunciation : Gujarati words are pronounced as spelled meking speaking a piece of cake Groupy iw thin book make it Easter witing Gujarat is easy. Many letters have a similar way of writing with just a litle change. tn this book, we fave formed groups of letters that are written more similary. These groups willhelp you learn writing Gujarati in a simple way. | 4,88, 8,8 2, 21, 4, UW a4, 4, % wazaY 4,4, 4, 4 e, 4, 4, 9,5, 8 ! a a, 4, 6, @ 2,844 SL, A, al, AB, BL Gujarati Speaking Guide Gujat and Engl sh aro two dferentlanguages. is hard to give the exact ettersin English (with trotpattcutar ound) as @ guide for speaking GujarSi lets. Here, we nave tied to give Ihe est toselole guidance by prowding the “closest English words wa closact sounds for ech Gujarat eer Listoning is thebest way'o earn. Far starters, iLval be helpful to folow the underined and italelzed sounds trom the words - letars suggested here: Gujarfti Wiritan in Spoken - sounds - as in Some familiar words tefier ' this book 29 Engllsh wards jn Findu traction & Ka Baker, Bicycle, Circus Krishna, Katha ve *KHa Khaki, Khartoum Pramuth aL Ga God, Goal, Game Guru, Gunatit, Gujarati a GHa Ghost, Ghetto, Aghast Ghar, Ghanshyam a4 CHa Scripture, Teacher, Chalk Chindio, Chakra 9 *CHHa Choo choo ietanly nasty) Chhatri (ombrets) % Ja Jug, June, Joy Jagdish, Jagat Ra Za Rose, Zanzibar dher (potson} 2/45 Ta Actor, Stadium, Tea Topi (oat 6 |= tha Anthill, thump ‘saatay tery) ‘Thakoyi, Kanth! Is ee Da Dust, Day, Dad Bugdugt jer} al BE "Ora Adhere rity noe) Dhot | BE Na Narayan fspokan nowy) Swaminérayan a “Ta Tape jwooken tantyd Tabié, Titak, Tat a Tha Author, Thank (aoven tot) Thal oodalfanay & “ba eth je ghtys Divo, Dey, Das a *Dha The, Mother, Gandhi Dharma, Akshardhain 1 Na Net, Name Neelkanth, Namaskar yu Pa Apple, Help, Diaper Purushotian cS] Fa Family, Photo, Phone Phot (few) 4 Ba Bus, Book, Be Bapa, Balok cc “Bha Bharat = dia Bhagudn. Bhakti, Bhajan 4 Ma Milk, Mother Manaraj, Mandir