11 posts tagged with "svadhyaya"

I am changing the method again. The Yoga Sutras and multiple translation has been working but the same has not been the case with Bhagavad Gita. I am going to change the method to reading the Gita from Chinamayananda's commentaries since his teachings are shorter and then ending with Dayananda at the end of the evening.

I will read th Bhagavad Gita as is a chapter at a time during the evening. So an update.

• Hanuman Chalisa in the morning and continuing with the memorizing.
• Yoga Sutras analyzing the multiple texts and doing analysis.
• Bhagavad Gita read the Chinamaya translation and append with Daryananada in the evening. This may run into the first part of the Outer time but it is okay. The evening is largely devoted to study anyways.
• Read a chapter of the Gita in full and study and contemplate a singular verse of the Narada Bhakti Sutras or Bhaja Govindam in the evening.

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.

During the Inner time I can read scriptural texts but need to do so slowly and with a focus on internalizing.

1053 verses so about three years to get through at a steady pace. My goal is to focus on reading these and their commentaries. Each text has an idea of when to be read.

I have dabbled in a bunch of different sastras and read a bunch of different texts but I haven’t gotten into any depth. Further, my Inner period is scattered as I feel like I should be reading during this period but then get scattered. This is not working out. I am still on screens and it isn’t actually making me better. I want less screen time during my Inner time. Screens are the definition of Outer focus. Further, my reading has not been to internalize. So I am changing my routine to only focus on a few areas of focus.

The Limb texts should be completely read only during the Outer period. The Inner period is spent in the mind, not in the world. So no podcasts, no external distractions, what happens in the world is not important during this period.

For each of these texts:

1. Memorize. Internalize by making them a part of you.
2. Reflect First on the Verse. Then read the commentary.
3. Contemplate on them when doing your routine

I have a collection of books I wanted to read. Books that are all over the place and don’t help with my goal or purpose. So I am no longer going to be focusing too much on just randomly reading and will focus on improving the Cycles. While this may seem like it will limit my focus and understanding of the world I do not think that is necessarily the case. The books I tend to read are within the cycles anyways, but they are focused too much on singular pieces.

My goal now is to improve the specific piece of the puzzle for a particular section. This can incorporate any reading that I want but it also drives me to focus on a few things. How this transpires is that I will be focused on reading to improve a single limb or part of a cycle that I want to improve, incorporate the ideas of what I read, and move to the next limb to improve. This means a continuous improvement of the limbs by removing the waste and simplification of each limb.

This also means that any improvements I make also need to be focused on the specific cycle.

To get started in my reading I am focusing my energies on a few sections:

• Biographies. Read biographies of saints and yogis.
• Meditation. Learn the foundations of meditation.
• Cooking. Learn how to cook well.

This also includes a general study of the Hanuman Chalisa, Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. The goal is to deepen the study of these three texts.

However, to understand the texts is to study the saints who lived the yogic life. The stories are easier to remember than prescriptions so that is the focus of my energies. Once the stories are internalized then I can then understand the Bhakti and Prayer. The Sadhana portion is there to remove the blemishes and figure out how to lead a more yogic life.

The goal is to build devotion. It is not at this point to decern Brahman or get into pure meditation. It is to purify myself and to get into a belief of Isvara without doubt.

As part of my Meditation routine I had the study of supplemental texts, but what I found was that this I am going through too many different supplemental texts and not really focusing on any one of them at a time. Secondly, reading secular texts was not happening such as how to be a better father. So I am making some changes to my Routine to solidify the Study & Work time.

They will be two hour chunks of time and I will focus on my work but the first Study & Work will start with 30 minutes of spritual study and the last Study & Work will end with 30 minutes of spiritual study. My focus on these spritual studies will be to the read the same text so that I can focus on getting through a single book.

The primary textual focuses are the Hanuman Chalisa, Yoga Sutras and Bhagavad Gita. Everything else being supplemental to these three core texts. By reading only one supplemntal text at a time I can then focus on improving a single area of weakness instead of spreading myself thin.

The supplemental texts are texts to assist in understanding and put into practice the core texts better. For example, reading "Meditation and Spiritual Life" is there to assist my understanding of the Yoga Sutras. My reading of the "Gospel of Ramakrisha" is a way to understand the Bhagavad Gita better. My reading of Vivekananda is a way to understand the Hanuman Chalisa better.

Finally, since I am moving my study of these texts into the Study & Work period I can spend larger chunks of time reading them when I have time. This allows me to have a larger chunk of time to focus on these texts instead of just small chunks. Each of these supplemental texts are not just for reading but for putting into practice and so having larger chunks of time is important so I can take the knowledge and implement it.

One of the reasons I think this change is also good is that if I do not make it to reading the supplementary texts so I can read other texts I don't mentally feel bad. I still am reading the shastras so it is okay. I can read other texts when I have time.

For a person of action Jnana Yoga and the nature of the self are difficult. Understanding the basic tenants of science including physics and chemistry I understand where Jnana Yoga is coming from. That the true nature of reality is none other that the universe and since we all came from the Big Bang that the universe and the individual are the same.

The energy that animates the universe is within us and we are part of it. It is beautiful, inspiring, and impossible to practice as a householder. While, Jnana Yoga appeals to the logical aspect of my brain, it is the Ista that I turn to in times of crisis. It is easier to mentally visualize and pray to an embodied representation versus a formless entity.

While Bhakti eventually leads to Jnana I do think I need to develop my heart through Bhakti. It is easier for me to think of myself as a servant than as the same as the Self. Ironically, I find that when I think of myself as the Self I become a bit more egoistic and lazy. As a servant I am motivated and have a purpose.

So I am putting my deep study of Advaita Vedanta on hold for a couple of years. While I will continue to engage with the Bhagavad Gita it will be at a higher level versus a deep philosophical inquiry. This will be the same for the Upanishads. If I find that I get more inclined towards Jnana Yoga in the future I will revisit it as I open up to it but I will not force it.

The core philosophy of Vedanta is immensely subtle and I don’t think I have the correct mindset or the predisposition to attack that path. But as a householder I think it is best to focus on Karma, Bhakti and Raja Yoga as my main paths. The Jnana Yoga will still be there to understand the ultimate nature of reality but I will not focus on it as a main path for now.

So for now I will focus on:

• Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga to purify my heart
• Raja Yoga to calm my mind

This is the study plan that Swami Chinamaya recommends within Kindle Life. This is a long term study plan that covers a wide variety of Vedantic texts and scriptures. It is an eventual goal to complete this study plan over a period of time.

• Hanuman Chalisa (Karma/Bhakti): Devotion
• Yoga Sutras (Raja): Discipline
• Bhagavad Gita (Karma/Bhakti/Jnana): Wisdom

These three shastras encompass the spirit of the Four Yogas and it seems just understanding these three fully and deeply seems to be sufficient. As I stated on v0.11 that I was going toward this path but I didn’t fully understand the depth of each. Frankly, I didn’t think much of the Hanuman Chalisa and now have absolutely fallen in love with it.

The Hanuman Chalisa is not just a song but each sloka is a mantra and an aspiration of behavior that was exuded by Lord Hanuman. Each sloka has a depth of meaning of the trials of Hanuman and how he overcame them. It is in essence the ultimate in the Karma Yoga texts that are succinct to follow the understanding versus reading Ramakrisha or Vivekananda. While, Ramakrishna and Vivekananda act as gurus to guide us to the Four Yogas the Hanuman Chalisa is a condensed version of the values that they want us to lead.

The Yoga Sutras act as a means for disciplining oneself. If the Hanuman Chalisa teaches how to act outwardly then the Yoga Sutras teaches us how the inner world should be. The Yoga Sutras are a guide on how to structure and setup the inner world so that you can act like Lord Hanuman to always be focused on Lord Ram. Since Rama means “light within” it is also a representation the Brahman.

Lastly, the Bhagavad Gita acts as a bridge between the outer and inner world. While the Hanuman Chalisa deals with outer virtues, the Yoga Sutras the inner world, the Bhagavad Gita deals with the battlefield of life of how to deal with yourself as an individual in society at large. It has the ideas that are included in both the Chalisa and Yoga Sutras as well as the Upanishads. It acts as the source of Jnana Yoga encompassing the why of it all.

These shastras have a lifetime of study ahead of them and I am content knowing what I need to focus my energies around.

Jai Shree Ram