svadhyaya v0.3: Commentaries

With the Yoga Sutras and Bhagavad Gita I realize that I need to read the commentaries. Without the commentaries I am not getting the clear sense of the message. But I also don’t want to just read what the commentaries wrote. I want to read these with my own understanding.

Essentially with the Yoga Sutras I am reading with Hariharananda, Satyananda and Edwin Bryant as the basis. Hariharananda has the closest to pure Vyasa commentary while the other two are simplified commentaries. In a way the other two have a bias even if they are exhorting the primary text. But they do provide a valuable commentary nonetheless the less.

The Bhagavad Gita I am reading is in the original form but I also want to read with Dayananada and Chinamayananda commentary. Again I want to read and understand at the high level to think through the verses before reading the commentaries.

So my basis will be going like this:

1. Spend one or two days on the same verses.
2. Read the original without commentary and contemplate.
3. Sit with it and write your own notes.
4. Read the commentaries. Plug the holes in your knowledge gaps.

With the Yoga Sutras I will be going 1-2 verses a day. With the Bhagavad Gita I will go about 3-4 verses a day. This translates to about the same time period for both texts.

Write these in the Kindle so I am able to track the thoughts.