How can we best study scriptures?

From Sadhu Pran P

Which books of Srila Prabhupada should we study daily and which occasionally? And how can we study them effectively?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Any other questions? Question from Sadhgopuram Which book of Srila Prabhupada should be read daily and which books occasionally? And can you use some method to study these books? Answer The most important aspect of reading scripture in general and Srila Prabhupada’s books in particular, is that we should feel spiritually nourished.
Now, eating is not just a daily ritual. Eating is for gaining energy. Similarly, study of Srila Prabhupada’s books is not just a ritual.
It is for gaining energy. And what gives us energy will vary from person to person. So, although overall the diet that all of us have to eat is similar, but still, depending on a person’s background, medical history, some diet may be more nutritional.
So, we may find some devotees studying Srimad Bhagavatam, others studying Chaitanya Charita Amrit. I know one Wisconsin Sanyasi whose favorite book is Nectar of Devotion. He has read it scores of times.
So, what we have to do is whatever we read, we should be consistent. So, generally our core scriptures are Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavatam, C.C. They are the three central scriptures that we have in which Prabhupada has given the Sanskrit as well as the English. And then, of course, we have N.O.D. We have N.O.I. also.
N.O.I., N.O.D., and Ishopanishad are also studied during our Bhakti Shastra course. So, those are good to study. Over a period of time, Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavatam, and C.C. should be our central books of nourishment.
And among these, we can change what we would like to read more frequently, less frequently. That can vary from person to person. The important principle is that we keep reading regularly.
And we choose based on what nourishes us, what strengthens us in our battle with temptation, what enables us to deepen our devotion, what enables us to enhance our attraction towards Krishna. In general, we will find our reading more nourishing if that reading is accompanied by comprehension and application. So, comprehension means deeper understanding.
Application means thinking of how we can improve our own life based on what we are reading. So, for that, we need to generally, at least in the early stages of our spiritual life, and even in our later stages also, we learn a lot by hearing. In general, what we know depends on what we know.
Or rather, what we can know depends on what we know. In the early stages of our spiritual life, when we read, we are simply looking for information. But as we advance more and more, then we start understanding that spiritual life is not just about information.
It is about internalization. And those who have studied scripture and internalized its teachings, they can see how scripture is filled with jewels for understanding and application. And when we hear from them, then it is easier for us to internalize by seeing how others are going deeper into scripture, those who have studied more.
We feel also inspired to go deeper. So, if you want to seriously study some book, it is good if you want to study a section of Bhagavatam. Then while studying the Bhagavatam, we also try to hear the lectures of senior devotees who have spoken on that section of Bhagavatam.
If you want to study the Bhagavad Gita, also hear the lectures of those devotees who have spoken on that section of the Bhagavad Gita. This way, our reading and hearing can be intertwined and both can nourish each other and take each other deeper. So, in general, devotees recognize the importance of studying scripture, but often, they don’t feel inspired to study because their consciousness is directed elsewhere and they don’t feel so much inspired by the study.
So, because they don’t feel nourished rather, not inspired, because they don’t feel nourished by the study, they don’t feel strengthened, they don’t see it practically benefiting. They see that maybe same things are being repeated. I don’t feel interested.
I feel bored. But when we hear, especially from… There are many speakers in Musgon, and many speakers speak wonderfully, but we have to find those speakers whose classes we personally find nourishing. And we focus on those we get a deep nourishment by that and that nourishment enables us to steadily move forward in our spiritual life.
So, therefore, the critical point here is that we should be able to be nourished by our reading. On my website, I have given a lecture called Structural Study Purposes, Principles, and Practices, where I talk elaborately about how we can study scriptures. But the important point is that it should be nourishing.
And one of the best ways we can make it nourishing is by connecting it with our hearing and letting both of them help us grow symbiotically in our spiritual life. Thank you.