श्रद्धावाँल्लभते ज्ञानम्
śraddhāvān labhate jñānaṁ
"He who has faith attains knowledge."
The Platinum Jubilee year of the Handique Girls' College, Guwahati, Assam was celebrated on 01.11.2014. On the occasion a special cover was brought out by the India Post. The cover and the postmark carry the logo of the college which has the above Sanskrit phrase, quoted from the Bhagavad-gita 4.39, the full text being --
श्रद्धावाँल्लभते ज्ञानं तत्परः संयतेन्द्रियः ।
ज्ञानं लब्ध्वा परां शान्तिमचिरेणाधिगच्छति ॥
śraddhāvān labhate jñānaṁ tatparaḥ saṁyatēndriyaḥ
jñānān labdhvā parāṃ śāntimacirēṇādhigacchati
Śraddhāvān, the man who has faith; labhate, attains; jñānaṃ, Knowledge. Even when one has faith, he may be indolent. Therefore the Lord says, tatparaḥ, who is diligent, steadfast in the service of the teacher, etc., which are the means of attaining Knowledge. Even when one has faith and is diligent, one may not have control over the organs. Hence the Lord says, saṃyata-indriyaḥ, who has control over the organs - he whose organs (indriyāṇi) have been withdrawn (saṃyata) from objects. He who is such, who is full of faith, diligent, and has control over the organs, does surely attain Knowledge. However, prostrations etc., which are external, are not invariably fruitful, for there is scope for dissimulation of faith etc. But this is not so in the case of one possessing faith etc. Hence they are the unfailing means of acquiring Knowledge. What, again, will result from gaining Knowledge? This is being answered: Labdhvā, achieving; jñānaṃ, Knowledge; adhigacchati, one attains; acireṇa, soon indeed; paraṃ, supreme; śāntiṃ, Peace, supreme detachment called Liberation. That Liberation soon follows from full Knowledge is a fact well ascertained from all the scriptures and reasoning. One should not entertain any doubt in this matter. For doubt is the most vicious thing. Why? .....
-- Eng. Tr. of Śrī Śaṇkarācārya's Sanskrit Commentary by Svāmī Gambhīrānanda
Giuseppe Tucci (5 June 1894 – 5 April 1984) was an Italian scholar of oriental cultures, specialising in Tibet and history of Buddhism. During its zenith, Tucci was a supporter of Italian Fascism, and he used idealized portrayals of Asian traditions to support Italian ideological campaigns. Tucci was fluent in several European languages, Sanskrit, Bengali, Pali, Prakrit, Chinese and Tibetan and he taught at the University of Rome La Sapienza until his death. (Courtesy: Wp)
