[Advaita-l] On the method of shalAkA parIkShA

[V Subrahmanian]

On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 2:10 PM, suresh maruthi <maruthisuresh at gmail.com>wrote:

> Dear All
> The two young scholars deserve appreciation for their achievement. It also
> highlights the thoroughness of traditional teaching and examination.
>
> (Often during professional interviews I have come across candidates, in
> response to questions, avoiding answers telling that they did not recall
> the answer because it was taught in the first semester and so on)
>
>  I am amazed at the method of learning and teaching in traditional vedantic
> schools
>
> Suresh
>

You are right.  There is an old saying: विद्यावतां भागवते परीक्षा which
means 'to test real scholarship one has to be subjected to a quiz in the
Bhaagavatam'.  The method of shalAkA parIkShA was designed keeping in mind
the need for a thorough study of a text in all its dimensions.  Since one
will be questioned on the special aspects too the preparation requires the
student to be thorough with the subject apart  from merely committing the
text to memory.  It took three months for the student to memorize the
Vivekachudamani and a committed study of the commentary to become familiar
with the finer aspects of Advaita Vedanta.

subrahmanian.v

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