Should we study scripture deeply and slowly or rapidly to get an overview?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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so while studying scripture should we go deep then we feel nourished sometimes or should we try to get an overview understanding of the whole chapter because we have limited time to study and if we go deep sometimes it becomes nourishing but sometimes it becomes so slow that we feel lethargic and sleepy also actually the essential point of scripture is to remember Krishna all rules are ultimately to help us in remembering Krishna so whatever inspires us in our remembrance of Krishna we should do that and rather than having one uniform policy we can have this principle of of becoming absorbed in Krishna and see how that principle can be applied in different situations accordingly so for example when we are studying scripture if we come to the 5th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam so there we will be showing there we will be we may find this very complex and even if you understand also it is not necessarily very devotional inspiring so we feel here I will just go very fast but sometimes we may come to some section in the Bhagavatam which we like very much in which we can feel very strongly connected with Krishna then we may go very slow so rather than trying to make one policy which is to be always applied while studying scripture we can have the purpose in mind the purpose is like say if I want to go from here to Calcutta then I have to go eastwards now sometimes the straight road may be the easiest way sometimes straight road may be I have to go left then I have to go right again then I have to come back again left and then I will go forward whatever so the point is the specific practices are like specific roads the purpose is like the overall direction where we want to go so we keep the purpose in mind that I want to become absorbed in Krishna and in terms of practice whatever we do that is ok so in some sections of scripture we may want to go fast in some scriptures we may want to go very slow or in some cases we may decide that first I want to get an overview of scripture so for one year I will read Bhagavatam and I will try to complete in an overview sense with rapid reading the whole Bhagavatam once then I will go back and whichever sections I find inspiring I will read them in more in depth so there is no need to to wed ourselves to any one particular practice we can keep the principle or the purpose of absorbing ourselves in Krishna as the primary purpose and then see whichever strategy helps us in absorption. Sometimes we may even find that during our reading if once we really fall in love with one section of the Bhagavatam then we may decide that I would like to read Acharya’s commentaries on this or I would like to maybe hear some lectures on this topic so I may just spend sometimes in one section if I like say Gajendra’s prayers very much I may say I will memorize all the prayers and that may mean in my one hour I may just do four or five verses but I am memorizing maybe I am hearing some classes on those verses or whatever so there is no need to have one practice.
We have one purpose but practices are variable according to whatever helps us to absorb ourselves in Krishna and we will also have to see we also learn about ourselves more by doing things when I study Shastra then I learn. If I do things like this I feel nourished. If I do things like this I don’t feel so nourished and what nourishes us can also vary according to time, place, circumstance because our mind goes to different phases sometimes slow reading will nourish us sometimes fast reading to get an overview nourishes so we can but what is good to do is not to change every day on a whim today I feel like this I will do it today I feel like this we can have some some range of planning say you know now I am coming to the section in the Bhagavatam which I find it little difficult I don’t find solution I will just do overview of this so for the next one week or one fortnight or one month I am going to do overview reading and then for the next week after that I may decide that now I will do detailed reading so don’t if we change on a daily basis then we will be very vulnerable to the mind’s flip flops some amount of discipline we need but we don’t have to lock ourselves within the discipline so it will be better if we can instead of having that absolute adherence to one particular practice we have our purpose in mind and we periodically introspect to see how which practice is serving the purpose better and accordingly adopt the practice and don’t change the practices too frequently so that we are not just being buffeted around by the mind whatever it wants we are doing but we are moving forward steadily and then in a periodic intervals we can even change practices sometimes that way also creates some sense of freshness in our studies now it’s like this, now it’s like this so that way we can move onwards also that is also one possibility so overall keep the purpose in mind and adjust practices accordingly