PM Modi's Praise Gives Slovak Upanishads Translation 'Second Life'

"Second life": PM Modi's praise turns 5-year Slovak translation of Upanishads into diplomatic bridge, says Robert Gafrik

New Delhi, July 27

In an interview with ANI, Dr Robert Gafrik revealed how Prime Minister Narendra Modi's acknowledgement during his historic state visit to Slovakia transformed his five-year literary undertaking into a cornerstone of India-Slovakia cultural diplomacy.

"The Upanishads are very difficult texts. They have a very rich and long history of interpretation in India and also in the West. They have been interpreted for the past 200 years. So it was also very difficult for me to find an approach to these texts and how to translate them," he said.

Gafrik spent half a decade rendering the ancient Sanskrit philosophical texts of the Upanishads into Slovak. To navigate the dense, 200-year history of interpretation in both the East and West, he anchored his work specifically in the traditional Advaita Vedanta commentary of Adi Shankaracharya.

"That's why I decided to choose a traditional Indian interpretation. I follow the interpretation of Adi Shankaracharya in my translation. Thus, I presented the text as a philosophical text to the Slovak audience because this traditional interpretation gives the text one meaning," he said.

Recalling his interaction with PM Modi in Bratislava, Gafrik noted that the Prime Minister's public appreciation breathed "a second life" into the translation, elevating it from an academic work for local readers into a symbolic bridge for bilateral relations.

"I had a very short interaction with the Prime Minister and, of course, it was a very unique moment for me to meet him. I am greatly honoured that he noticed my work and praised it," he said.

"When I was working on the translation, I didn't anticipate that this would happen. The translation, which was actually meant for the Slovak audience, will take a second life in the diplomatic relations between Slovakia and India," he added.

The scholar also highlighted the broader trajectory of growing ties, pointing to the popularity of Yoga and Ayurveda in Slovakia, as well as the rising presence of Indian professionals, who now form the second-largest foreign workforce in the Central European nation.

"Yoga is very popular in Slovakia. One can find yoga studios in every major Slovak city. Ayurveda is also very popular. There are Ayurvedic clinics and spas in Slovakia," he said.

"People in Slovakia are increasingly interested in Indian religions... So the interest in India is definitely growing," he added.

The Indian diaspora in Slovakia has expanded rapidly, becoming the second-largest group of foreign workers in the country after Ukrainians.

"We also have a growing Indian community in Slovakia. Now Indians are the second-largest community of foreign workers in Slovakia, just behind the Ukrainians. So definitely the relations between Slovakia and India are growing," he said.

— ANI