personal sastra study suggestions

Here are some ideas for personal sastra study. You may come up with your own. I like my study to be somewhat regular and systematic but also according to my personal interests. Whatever the method, the idea is to do something with the material besides simply reading. In other words, I like to read with pen and paper in hand with the purpose of becoming thoroughly familiar with Prabhupada's books. Here's some of the ways I've tried to do that:

CAPTURING HIGHLIGHTS
This involves recording the most interesting highlights that are personally meaningful to me. These notes may also include realizations jotted down in between regular reading time or after sastra classes. It's one of those "Aha!" moments when recall from what was read becomes comprehensible practically.

Prabhupada instructed: “Realization means you should write, every one of you, what is your realization...You write your realization, what you have realized about Krishna. That is required. It is not passive. Always you should be active. Whenever you find time, you write. Never mind, two lines, four lines, but you write your realization. Sravanam kirtanam, writing or offering prayers, glories. This is one of the function of the Vaisnava. You are hearing, but you have to write also. Then write means smaranam, remembering what you have heard from your spiritual master, from the scripture...Hear, write, remember, try to understand. Don't be dull, dull-headed. Very intelligent. Without being very intelligent, nobody can have full Krishna consciousness. It is for the most intelligent man. So that intelligence will come if you try to understand Krishna. We have got so many books. Always try to understand Krishna. Then you are liberated." - Brahma samhita lecture, 8/14/72

NOTE LABELING
Next, my notes and realizations may be labeled for congruences and further study. This involves at least two notebooks - one for recording (as described above), another for sorting what was recorded.

First, while each note is recorded in the recording notebook, I also add a suitable label (see suggestions below) in the left side margin next to it. The labels are different categories or subcategories of interests such as Devotional Service, Duty, Knowledge, Health, Worldviews. These came up when I looked for patterns regarding what was important to me in my own life.

After all my notes are labeled, these may be sorted and gathered together into the other notebook or sorting notebook. I divide this notebook by labeling each page at the top with categories of interest.

Next, I draw lines to divide each page of the sorting notebook into quarters. Each of these parts may be labeled with a sub category at the top.

Now, on a page with the correct category and subcategory label written, I write a precis for each note made in the original notebook that share a common label. At this point, we are gathering them together into the sorting notebook for further study, to see connections and so on.

Finally, after writing down a precis, I find it helpful to briefly record the notebook and page number containing the original note it came from. This is done by assigning a number on the cover of each recording notebook that I filled up with notes or realizations, along with also numbering each individual page within.

Thus, after writing down a precis under one of the categories and sub categories, the notebook and its page number may also be recorded next to it.

Now, here's an example of all the above. While studying Nectar of Devotion, suppose this caught my attention:

"If someone goes to Vrndavana, he will immediately feel separation from Krishna, who performed such nice activities when He was present there." -NOD 18

I entered this into my recording notebook on a page that said NOD NOTES on the top. In the left margin next to the note I labeled it "Holy Places" . To the right of the quote, I added its original source (NOD 18) or I could have simply written (18) if I preferred, since the top of the page already says which book, "NOD Notes".

Then one day, I may notice that i have written quite a few notes labeled "Holy Places" that are scattered throughout the notebook, so I may decide to gather them together for further study. So next, in my sorting notebook, I create a page labeled "Worship" at the top, and above one of its four divisions I label (or had labeled previously) "Holy Places" as a sub category. This particular precis may be written here and worded succinctly: "invokes feelings of separation." (1.23)" 1.23 means my first (recording) notebook, the twenty-third page.

Furthermore, i may wish to put a sub category label to its left or directly beneath it in parentheses. I decided to make the sub category read "Purpose" signifying a category of collected notes that explain the purpose or reason for holy places.

This could easily turn into a paragraph later on about the purposes of holy places, if you are a writer.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The easier method for doing this is called "The Bullet Journal". Learn how on the web. Basically you number every note page and then make index pages to easily relocate notes of a certain category

SUGGESTED LABELS TO USE
To me, life may be divided into four main categories: Worship, Work, Study and Recreation as evidenced by an interesting quote I found about Alfred the Great: “His time was divided into three parts. One was given to business (work), one to refreshment by sleep and food (recreation), and the third to study and devotion (study and worship).” These are the main divisions I use with the exception of dividing study from my worship.

While labeling notes, therefore, you may wish to use these four main categories(or similar ones) and related sub categories. For example, "Worship" includes the nine processes of devotional service and various subcategories such as japa, krsna katha, ways to remember Krsna, do's and don'ts... "Work" includes varnasrama dharma and its sub categories such as duty, prescribed duties for the different castes and orders of life, duties for women... The main category of "Study" includes all typical school subjects and their sub categories. For example, science, along with its sub categories such as the human form of life, animals, plants, mother earth, the universe, nature study..."Recreation" broadly includes health for the body and mind and soul along with their subcategories of simple diet, cleanliness, the 26 qualities of a devotee... All these categories have their sub categories as well. For example, compassion is one of the qualities of a Vaisnava and a note in particular on this subject may be labeled such, but later sorted under the broad headings of Recreation/Spiritual Health and 26 Qualities.

TOPICAL STUDIES
Topical studies is when I wish to study a topic further by way of research rather than simply catching highlights. This may be easily be done on Prabhupada's folio CD, or it may branch off to other sources of information.

SORTING VERSES BY A TOPIC
For example, in a study of the Bhagavad gita, I once sorted all the verses directly spoken by Arjuna. In further analysis these verses involved:
His reaction from seeing the opposing army
His reasons not to fight the battle
His surrender to Lord Krishna for instruction
His questions put to Lord Krishna
His prayer to Lord Krishna.
etc

LOOKING FOR CONTINUITY
I also study, for example the Gita, to see how all the verses fit together in continuity. An excellent reference that has already been done in this regard is the Gita study guide by Bhurijana prabhu titled, "As They Surrender Unto Me", but I like to write my own as well. It forces me to pay closer attention and take the Gita deeper into my heart. I read Bhurijana prabhus excellent work for further insight and to see the things I missed in my own attempts.

Another help is to make lists of all the stories in Caitanya Caritamrta, Srimad Bhagavatam, etc. That way one can get a quicker grasp of the order of events, topics, etc.
CREATING A MAIN POINTS OUTLINE
To help with the above, I make an outline of main points by paraphrasing groups of related verses, looking for the flow or connections and relationships of the verses. For example:

Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kuruksetre:
1 Dhrtarastra asks Sanjaya about the situation on the battlefield.
2-6 Sanjaya informs him that Duryodhana approached his teacher Dronacarya after looking over the two armies.
7-11 Duryodhana describes his army to Dronacarya.
12-13 Duryodhana’s army, headed by Bhisma, sounds their conchshells.
14- 19 The Pandava army sounds their transcendental conchshells, shattering the hearts of the sons of Dhrtarastra
20-23 Arjuna asks Krsna to draw his chariot between the two armies to have a better look at the situation
24-26 The Lord complies and Arjuna views the opposing armies containing various relatives and friends.
27-45 Arjuna feels overwhelmed and loses his determination to fight, gives his reasons, and he questions Krishna about the sensibility of killing them. He describes the destruction of family tradition and the consequences.
46 Arjuna lays down his weapons in lamentation.

Do this for the entire text.

So, those are the things I've found that help me in my personal sastra study. I hope you will find something useful here and are ready for study!