Talk:Svādhyāya (Study Bhakti Scriptures)
By Vishal Agarwal
The Hindu tradition lays great stress on the study of scriptures. It is considered a religious duty for Hindus to study and recite their scriptures daily, if possible. Millions of Hindus recite ‘Om’, the Gayatri Mantra, the Purusha Sūkta (Rigveda 10.90), Stotras (hymns in praise of different deities), or sing devotional hymns, or study their holy books daily as an act of piety and to earn religious merit.
Hindu scriptures assign five great daily duties for all householders, and the very first one of them is the Brahmayajna, or the daily study and recitation of scriptures, in particular, the Vedas. Hindu scriptures equate the study of scriptures to acts of worship, and the fruit of studying and reciting scriptures is said to be considerable. They say -
They studied the Riks and thereby offered milk to the Devas. The Devas then manifested. With the study of Yajus, the Rishis made the offerings of clarified butter; with Samans, made an offering of Soma; with the Atharva Angiras, they made the offering of honey. With the study of Brahmanas, Itihāsa, Nārāshaṃsī, Gāthā, Kalpa, and Purāṇa, they offered animal fat to the Devas. When the Devas manifested, they destroyed hunger and other evils and then returned to heaven. By means of this Brahmayajna, the Rishis attained proximity to the Supreme Being. Yajurveda, Taittirīya Āraṇyaka 2.9.2
In the scriptures of Bhakti, it is declared that the sacred texts purify our mind and accelerate the development of Bhakti in it. A person who studies these texts regularly comes to see the Divine more clearly-
By constant application of ointment, the eyes become clean and can see objects that they otherwise could not. Likewise, by constant hearing or study of my sacred narratives in the scriptures, one’s heart is purified, and one can see the Bhagavan which was earlier too subtle to be visualized. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.10.26 Instead, the Bhakta should continue to reflect upon the scriptures of Bhakti, and continue to do those activities which incline his intellect even more towards Bhakti. Do not waste even a single moment in doing so, thinking that “I will read them and practice their teachings when I am free from pleasure and pain, desire and greed.” Nārada Bhakti Sūtras 76-77'
Texts of Yog also declare that the study of scriptures gets us direct help from spiritually elevated beings for accelerating our spiritual growth- The Devas, Rishis, and Siddhas (spiritual masters) become visible to who is given to svādhyāya, and they assist him in his tasks. Vyāsa’s commentary on Patanjali’s Yogsūtra 2.44
The story below shows how a man given to evil habits was reformed through the study of scriptures and became a devotee-
Story: Ekanath’s son-in-law overcomes his bad habits with the help of Bhagavad Gita
Sant Eknath was a renowned saint of Maharashtra. He married his daughter to a famous scholar (Pandit) of the region. Unfortunately, this scholar fell into bad company. He started going out of his home late in the night, leaving his wife alone. Eknath’s daughter became very worried about her husband’s behavior and she spoke to her father about it. Eknath then called his son-in-law and said, “Look here, my son-in-law. You are a learned man, but my daughter is not. Do her a favor. Before you leave your home every night, please read to her a verse or two of the Bhagavad Gita. This will benefit her greatly. Then, you can go out wherever you please.” The Pandit agreed. So every night before he stepped out, he would read a couple of verses of the Bhagavad Gita to his wife, and explain the meaning to her. Slowly and slowly, the Pandit realized how beautiful the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita were. They started influencing how own minds. After some time, with the effect of the Gita, the Pandit stopped going out at the night. He had not intended to study the Gita for his benefit. Nevertheless, the study of the holy book for the sake of his wife impacted him too in a positive way, and he became a virtuous man.