Welcome to the Esoteric Teaching Bridge Community

University of Higher Knowledge

Bhakta Degree Program

How to Study Effectively

Course URL: http://university.esotericteaching.org/course/category.php?id=12 PDF-Conversion (from HTML) by Alexander Lanz Last Update: 2011-01-15, 15:26 CET

Table of Contents
Offline reading ................................................................................................................................................................................3 Introduction......................................................................................................................................................................................3 1. Essays of John Taylor Gatto...................................................................................................................................................5 Assignment: Why Schools dont Educate........................................................................................................................7 Assignment: Against School.................................................................................................................................................7 2. Learning how to learn .............................................................................................................................................................8 Essay: Being Taught Versus Learning Assignment.......................................................................................................9 Essay: Teaching Yourself Assignment...............................................................................................................................9 Essay: Self-teaching Method ................................................................................................................................................9 3. Installing the software tools............................................................................................................................................... 10 Bhaktivedanta Vedabase..................................................................................................................................................... 10 Oxford Concise Dictionary ................................................................................................................................................. 10 Skype........................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Assignment: Software Tools .............................................................................................................................................. 11 4. Meaning and context............................................................................................................................................................ 12 Assignment: Content and Context.................................................................................................................................. 14 5. Misunderstood terminology.............................................................................................................................................. 15 Symptoms of misunderstood terms............................................................................................................................... 15 Assignment: Symptoms of Misunderstood Terms ................................................................................................... 17 Assignment: Commonly Misunderstood Words and Symbols............................................................................ 17 6. Finding and clearing misunderstood terms................................................................................................................. 18 Finding misunderstood terms........................................................................................................................................... 18 Clearing misunderstood terms......................................................................................................................................... 18 Assignment: Misunderstood Terms in the Example Text....................................................................................... 19 7. Special Vedic and Sanskrit terms..................................................................................................................................... 20 Assignment: Sanskrit Terms............................................................................................................................................... 20 8. Practice finding and clearing misunderstood terms ................................................................................................ 21 Assignment: Misunderstood Terms in Example Text 2........................................................................................... 21 9. Modeling ................................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Assignment: Clay Modeling Exercise.............................................................................................................................. 23 10. Some Principles for Learning .......................................................................................................................................... 24 Some rules and hints for teachers and students....................................................................................................... 24 Assignment: Principles for Learning............................................................................................................................... 26 11. Section Examination ........................................................................................................................................................... 27 Essay: What Have You Gained or Learned?................................................................................................................. 27

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

Offline reading
If you use the printable form of the course then you may visit this page in the internet and download the resources which are used in this part of the course.

Introduction
This section helps you learn how to study the Esoteric Teaching effectively. adhyeyate ca ya ima dharmya savdam vayo jna-yajena tenham ia sym iti me mati "And I declare that he who studies this sacred conversation worships Me by his intelligence." [Bhagavad-gt 18.70] You would think that the first thing they would teach you in school is how to study. How to learn stuff should be the first thing you learn; then once you know how to learn, you can teach yourself anything you want to know. If you think that makes sense (and it does), then you don't understand how school really works. Here's the truth: the people who design and manage the educational system at the highest level don't want you to learn independently; they deliberately make you dependent on the school system so they can teach you what they want you to learn, and to keep you away from the subjects that they don't want you to learn: for example, the Esoteric Teaching. In fact, only the very best private schools and colleges like Harvard actually train their students in the scientific methods of how to learn. These are the schools of the social and economic elite, and they want their kids to actually be smart, to actually know how to do stuff, so they can continue their dominance of society. It is assumed that these kids are motivated to be obedient to the system, because they have so much to lose if they are not. So they are given the opportunity to actually become wise, if they so choose. Everybody else is deliberately kept ignorant, and manipulated through the media, financial controls and corporations. Being wise not only means knowing how to learn, it also means knowing how to think for yourself. Most people don't really know how to think; they simply form opinions based on what they have heard or whether they like or dislike something. Thinking is a higher-level skill. Knowing how to learn comes first, because you have to know how to learn before you can teach yourself how to think. And you have to teach yourself how to think, because the very nature of thinking for yourself means that it is one of those things in life that nobody 3

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively can teach youyou just have to figure it out for yourself.

university.esotericteaching.org

I was fortunate to discover the method of actual learning and thinking independently when I was quite young. It helped me teach myself so many things. For example, I learned to play classical music and jazz at a professional level while still in High School. This accomplishment not only gave me a lot of personal satisfaction, but I also got to tour the USA and Canada with the All-USA High School Band, which was great fun. I also learned English, math, chemistry and physics well enough to get a perfect score on my college entrance exams and qualify for a scholarship to engineering school, which I rejected because I wanted to be a musician. But no problem, I was able to put myself through music school by earning money with these skills, and since then have never had any difficulty finding a job. I can just get some books on any subject, sit down and teach myself how to do it in a few days or weeks. Learning how to learn is the best investment in yourself, in your future, that you can make. This learning method is coming from experience, not just theory. I wish you the best of all success in learning, that you may learn the Esoteric Teaching, the highest transcendental knowledge that leads to complete self-realization, the perfection of life. Bhakti-sarvabhauma Gaurahari Dsnuds Bbj

News forum Student Forum Welcome Video (High Quality) file Welcome Video (YouTube) file The Cage (High Quality) file The Cage (YouTube) file Escape from the Zombie Food Court

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

1. Essays of John Taylor Gatto

If you doubt our assertion that the public school system is not geared to provide actual education, then you should read up on John Taylor Gatto, an outstanding American educator who was named a Teacher of the Year in the New York Public School system in 1990. Then they fired him, because he started telling everybody what was really going on behind the scenes, why our schools are such a mess and why they don't really educate their students. On purpose. He climaxed his teaching career as "New York State Teacher of the Year", after being named "New York City Teacher of the Year" on three occasions. He quit teaching on the OP ED page of the Wall Street Journal in 1991 while still New York State Teacher of the Year, claiming that he was no longer willing to hurt children. He then became an education activist, noted for revealing the actual aims and intentions behind the public education program in his books and essays. In this unit we study several of his essays to understand the problems in the Western educational system, and why a completely different approach is needed. Gatto revealed in his blockbuster The Underground History of American Education that no public school has classes or courses on how to study or how to learn, because their purpose is not to help you learn; it is to train you to be obedient to authority. For instance, for those of you who believe in testing, school superintendents as a class are virtually the stupidest people to pass through a graduate college program, ranking fifty-one points below the elementary school teachers they normally "supervise" on the Graduate Record Examination, and about eighty points below secondary-school teachers, while teachers themselves as an aggregate finish seventeenth of twenty occupational groups surveyed. The reader is of course at liberty to believe this happened accidentally... [Gatto, Underground History of American Education, Prologue] If the supervisors are stupider than the teachers, and the teachers are stupider than the students, what will be the inevitable outcome of such a system? It certainly cannot be brilliant, well-educated students. Gatto documents the design and development of the current educational system, and proves his points from the actual writings of the architects of the public school system. I came to many of the same conclusions by observation and experience a long time ago. Thus we can understand that real education has to be driven by students' interests, and cannot be a thin pretext for command and control training without hurting the students' natural urge for learning and thirst for knowledge. A real student wants to acquire a certain 5

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

skill; thus real education must combine theoretical instruction and practical experience to actually help the student reach his objective. Video: State-Controlled Consciousness Read Gatto's "Why Schools Don't Educate" PDF document Video: On Education Read Gatto's "Against School" PDF document

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

Assignment: Why Schools dont Educate

Please read Gatto's essay "Why Schools Don't Educate," then compose a short essay addressing the following topics: a) What does Gatto say is the actual function of schools in our society? b) How did the public school system come into existence? c) What is the effect of schooling on kids? d) What does Gatto recommend as a remedy? Did it work? Would being one of his students have changed your experience of school?

Assignment: Against School

Please read John Taylor Gatto's essay "Against School." Then write a short essay addressing the following questions: a) Did you also feel that school was boring? Why? b) What does "The obligation to amuse and instruct myself was entirely my own" mean to you? c) What is the difference between schooling and education? d) What is the purpose of forced schooling? e) How does schooling delay maturity? f) What is the cure that Gatto advises for the problem? Can you imagine applying it to yourself? What would be the result?

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

2. Learning how to learn

With the simple methods we present here, you can teach yourself any subjectnot just the theory, but a professional level of practical application. All you have to do is apply the method consistently, and you will get the result. It may seem dry and boring at first, or too plodding and intellectual. But I will say it again: if you use this method you can teach yourself to understand and do anything. Anything at all! This method has three parts:

Putting words and symbols in context Clearing misunderstood terms and symbols Modeling relationships and functions

Of course we would rather that you use it to understand the Esoteric Teaching, but you get my point: just on general principles, everybody should learn how to learn, so they can teach themselves whatever they want to know, whenever they want to know it. Imagine what a different place the world would be, or how different our lives would be, if we were encouraged from the beginning of life to follow our own curiosity, to seek out any kind of knowledge and skill we desired. George Orwell wrote in his book 1984: "Whoever controls the image and information of the past determines what and how future generations will think; whoever controls the information and images of the present determines how those same people will view the past." Should we allow powerful people with an agenda of economic and political exploitation decide what we should read or learn? Isn't it about time we took back control over the information and images that we take in? There is a whole world of knowledge to enjoy, and especially the Vedic wisdom is astonishing in its scope and deep understanding of the major issues of human life and spiritual consciousness. Let us use the power of knowing how to learn to satisfy our thirst for real knowledge of the Absolute Truth.

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

Essay: Being Taught Versus Learning Assignment

Please compose a short essay on the difference between "being taught" and actual learning. Consider the following questions: a) Have you ever been taught? b) How did it feel? Were you able to apply what you learned? c) Have you ever learned anything on your own determination? d) What was that experience like? e) Were you able to apply what you learned?

Essay: Teaching Yourself Assignment

Please write a short essay addressing the following topics: a) Have you ever taught yourself a subject or skill? b) How did it work out? How did you feel about it? c) How well have you retained what you taught yourself? d) How do you think your life might have been different if you had been able to direct your own education from the start?

Essay: Self-teaching Method

Please write a short essay on the following topics: a) If you could teach yourself anything whatsoever, what would it be? b) Why would you pick those particular subjects or skills? c) How do you think you would benefit? d) What do you think would be the effect on the world if everyone had access to a powerful self-teaching method?

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

3. Installing the software tools

Bhaktivedanta Vedabase
1. Download this file [400 MB ZIP file]. Right-click the link and select Save Target As... or Save Link As... from the context menu. 2. Decompress the archive into a new folder. Windows has a built-in utility for this. 3. Run the install.exe program and follow the instructions. 4. Once the installation is complete, you can delete the ZIP file and the decompressed folder. If you are on Mac or Linux, you will have to install and run the Vedabase in a Windows Virtual Machine. We recommend Crossover or Parallels.

Oxford Concise Dictionary

PC 1. Get a copy of the Oxford Concise Dictionary application (you can ask your teacher where to find it) 2. Install 3. Use by double clicking any word in Vedabase

Mac 1. A dictionary is already included by defaul in the operating system 2. Enable your widgets, and add the dictionary one 3. Simply open your dashboard and type in the word you'd like to define

Skype
1. Install Skype. 2. If you want to record your conversations, here is a list of apps that can do it for Mac and PC.

10

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

Assignment: Software Tools

Please discuss: a) Did you have any problems installing the tools? b) Did you have any problems learning the tools? c) Did you have any problems using the tools?

11

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

4. Meaning and context

The proper context is a requirement for consciousness or awareness of anything. For example, we will not be aware of a black cat on a black rug in a black room with the lights off at midnight. The same cat is easily visible on a white rug in a white room at noon on a sunny day. So everything has a proper context, and this context is the key to its real meaning. Every word, symbol, picture, sound, gesture, facial expression, experience, action, perception, sentence, discussion, feeling, idea and intention exists in some context. When we hold it in the wrong context, we miss the real meaning and become confused or frustrated. When we hold it in the right context, we see the real meaning and have an "Aha!" moment, a moment of insight into reality. For example, everyone has an experience of school. If we try to hold that experience in the context of learning, it doesn't make sense and we feel confused and frustrated. But if we read Gatto, we understand that we should actually hold our experience of school in the context of a social control mechanism. Aha! Now it all makes sense, and we can understand that if we want to become wise, we have to take responsibility for our own education. Similarly, if we try to hold our experience of life in the context of the ordinary materialistic understanding, it doesn't make sense and we feel confused and frustrated. But if we hold it in the context of the Esoteric Teaching, we will have not one but many "Aha!" experiences as we get insights into the real spiritual meaning of our existence and activities. So here is the principle: If you feel confused or frustrated about learning, understanding or doing something, you are holding it in the wrong context. Holding it in the right context leads to insight. When we want to read a book, we hold it up to the light. Why? Because we can't read in the dark; we need the context of light to see the page. Similarly, if we are having trouble understanding or applying a subject, it is because we are holding it in the wrong context, or holding parts or pieces of it in the wrong relationship to the other parts. Finding the right context is both a science and an art. There is some really good science and philosophy behind this method, but we don't include it here because it is a big study by itself and we want to stay focused on the practical methods derived from it. But everyone can understand the difference between foreground and background, content and context. If you can't get something, then try putting it in a different context. Of course, the best context is the context of the Esoteric Teaching.

12

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

What do definitions of terms have to do with context and content? One context is the general meaning of passage in which the word or symbol appears. The definitions of a word or symbol is another context of that word or symbol when you see it on the page. Where the two contexts come together is the meaning of that particular word or symbol in that specific context. The precise definition of any word or symbol is the intersection of two contexts: the set of words and symbols on the page, and the set of possible meanings for that word or symbol. The diagram below shows how the two contexts intersect to determine the meaning of a specific word:

Video: Content and Context (High Quality) Video: Content and Context (YouTube)

13

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

Assignment: Content and Context

Please write a short essay on the following topics: a) Why is the proper relationship of content to context so important? b) How does context influence meaning? c) How do we identify a definition for a term based on its context? d) What is your understanding of this sentence: "The precise definition of any word or symbol is the intersection of two contexts: the set of words and symbols on the page, and the set of possible meanings for that word or symbol."

14

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

5. Misunderstood terminology
Misunderstood terms, words and symbols can stop you from comprehending a subject and discourage you from learning how to apply it expertly. In fact, the only reason a student becomes discouraged and gives up a study is because of misunderstood terms. Misunderstood terms are different from not-understood terms. Everyone can understand when they see a mathematical expression like an integral equation, or a specialized technical term like antidisestablishmentarianism, that they do not understand it, and look up the meaning in a dictionary or search engine. But when we think that we understand the meaning of a word or symbol, but actually don't, then we're in trouble because we will sail right on by it without realizing that we got it wrong. Here is the definition of a misunderstood term: A misunderstood term is a word or symbol that we think we know the correct definition for, but actually do not. For example, suppose you are reading the sentence, "John's son was named after his uncle Stan," and you think that the definition of 'after' in that sentence is 'behind in place or position'. So you might ask John, "Then what is your son's name?" because you have misunderstood the word 'after', which actually means 'with the name of'. Of course, John's son's name is Stan, also. Duh! We look and feel stupid when we act on a misunderstood term, because it actually causes us to go unconscious. We become unconscious of the real world, and conscious only of a false model of the world based on our misunderstanding. When we act on that false model, we fail because of our unconsciousness, our ignorance of reality. It's not too bad when our misunderstood word or symbol is about our friend's son's name, but what about if our misunderstood word is about landing an airplane, or our spiritual life? The symptoms of misunderstood terms can have very serious consequences indeed.

Symptoms of misunderstood terms

The main symptom of misunderstood terminology is that we are unable to expertly apply the subject or information we are studying. Other symptoms of misunderstood terms include degradation of consciousness or loss of comprehension; you feel that the information you are studying makes no sense; you have forgetfulness, short-term memory loss, or loss of comprehension of material immediately after it is presented. You may also feel tired, sleepy, yawning, distracted, dreamy, dizzy, spinny, lightheaded, tense, short of breath, intoxicated, introverted, kind of weird, fearful, panicky, paranoid, angry, belligerent or rebellious when there is no real reason to feel that way. You may have eye trouble: the page appears to go blank, or looks dark, you feel like 15

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

there is something in your eyes or see shadows moving in your peripheral vision. You may have a strong irrational urge to disrupt the class, interrupt your study, close the book or escape from the classroom or other learning situation. Some people may desire to project their irrelevant personal opinions or negative emotional reactions onto the material, the presenter or the teacher. All these symptoms have one and the same cause: You have encountered one or more misunderstood terms or symbols, and gone past them without getting them properly defined. Much of the terminology used in the material on any subjectand especially on this siteis extremely specialized, scientific or technical. The most important of these terms are in the Sanskrit language and may have no direct English equivalent. Some terms used on this site are so laden with significance that thousands of lines of esoteric Sanskrit codes and years of study with a qualified guru are required to define and understand them completely. But most of those are easily recognized as not-understood terms, so they are easy to notice and get cleared up. The worst culprits of misunderstood terms are simple words that specify relationship, such as and, thus, if, such, that, which, up, though and so forth. We think that we know what these words mean, but on close examination we will find that our concept of their meaning is so vague that we cannot describe it coherently. These are misunderstood terms. To clear a misunderstood or misdefined term or symbol, you have to look up and identify the correct definition: A definition is a word or words that you can substitute in the original context without altering the meaning. The following exercises are based on a list of frequently misunderstood terms and their definitions compiled by one of our students. You may feel a lot of irrational resistance to reading this list and doing the exercises based on it. This resistance is emotional charge due to previous misunderstood terms that were never resolved. The essence of this emotional charge is a kind of unconsciousness that causes you to feel unable to confront the terms that you misunderstand. The only way out of this is to go through and familiarize yourself with these terms. The definition of a word or symbol in a sentence includes not only the meaning of the word, but also its part of speech and syntactical function in the sentence. If you had trouble with grammar in school, you will have to clear all these terms until you understand them, or your intelligence, reading comprehension and learning ability will remain crippled. We will continue our grammar study in later courses for the purpose of keeping the time to complete this course reasonable.

16

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

Commonly Misunderstood Words and Symbols PDF document

Assignment: Symptoms of Misunderstood Terms

Please write a short essay on the following topics: a) Have you ever felt the symptoms of misunderstood terms as described in this unit? b) Which symptoms did you feel? c) At the time, what did you identify as the cause of these symptoms? d) What did you do about them? e) Did it work? How did it affect your study? f) Was your study successful? Could you apply the material?

Assignment: Commonly Misunderstood Words and Symbols

Please carefully read through Definitions of Commonly Misunderstood Terms, then answer the following questions: a) Are you surprised to find that common little words have so many different definitions? b) Can you understand why people with different native tongues often have great difficulty learning English? c) Can you appreciate that even most native English speakers are actually ignorant of the definitions of these words? d) What percentage of these definitions could you recite if quizzed? e) Why are the definitions of the parts of speech and elements of syntax so important?

17

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

6. Finding and clearing misunderstood terms

When you are trying to learn something and you observe these symptoms, stop; realize their actual cause, then go back and find your misunderstood terms so you can look them up and clear them. The misunderstood terms will always be before the point where you experience the symptoms. Go back to where you were doing OK and understanding everything clearly. Then go through the material very carefully, word-by-word, until you find a term that you cannot define. That is your misunderstood term. There may be more than one. Note down your misunderstood terms so you can methodically clear them.

Finding misunderstood terms

While reading or studying, if you experience any of the symptoms described above in the section Symptoms of misunderstood terms, or cannot understand what you are reading, then you have a misunderstood term before your current location. Go back to where you were doing OK, and read carefully one word at a time until you find a word that you can't define. That is your misunderstood term. If you have trouble identifying your misunderstood term, try reading out loud, starting with where you were doing OK. If you stumble, the misunderstood term is just before where you stumbled.

Clearing misunderstood terms

Look up the term in a good dictionary, encyclopedia, technical manual, scripture or any source where you can find a good definition. If the term has more than one definition, scan through the definitions until you find the exact definition that applies in the context where term is used. Make up several original sentences using the term in the exact definition used in the context. If the definition includes other terms that are misunderstood, look those up, etc. until you are absolutely clear on the definition. If necessary, model the definition using clay or blocks, until you are clear about the definition of the term. (For more on modeling, see below.) Video: Clearing Misunderstood Terms (High Quality) Video: Clearing Misunderstood Terms (YouTube) Example text: "Teachings of the Vedas" PDF document

18

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

Assignment: Misunderstood Terms in the Example Text

Instructions: 1. Print out the example text, "Teachings of the Vedas." 2. Read "Teachings of the Vedas" one word at a time. Do not try to scan ahead or read more than one word at a time. 3. You may find that it helps to use a sheets of paper to block off the lines of the text so that you can concentrate on the line you are reading. Use your finger to keep track of where you are on the line that you are reading. 4. For each word, recite the definition to yourself. 5. If you do not know the definition, you have found a misunderstood word. It is not unusual in the beginning for every single word to be misunderstood. That's alright. 6. Mark the misunderstood words with a highlighter or colored pencil. 7. Look up each misunderstood word in a dictionary as you encounter it. Do not continue reading until you have looked up the misunderstood word. 8. Identify the precise definition used in the sentence in "Teachings of the Vedas." 9. Use each word that you look up in a sentence of your own composition, in the exact definition in which it is used in "Teachings of the Vedas." 10. Now go back to "Teachings of the Vedas," and re-read the sentence from the beginning.

"Teachings of the Vedas" contains 702 words. Please answer these questions: a) How many of those words did you mark as misunderstood? b) How long did it take you to look up your misunderstood terms? c) How do you feel about the concept of misunderstood terms? d) How do you feel after clearing your misunderstood terms?

19

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

7. Special Vedic and Sanskrit terms

There are several ways you can get definitions for Vedic and Sanskrit terms. You can use Google to look up these terms on CauselessMercy.com or the Bhaktivedanta Vedabase Network. We prefer CauselessMercy because they host the original editions of Prabhupada's books. Other sites use editions that contain unauthorized posthumous editorial changes. However, the best solution for specialized Sanskrit terms is to download and install the VedaBase 2003, containing the entire original works of our spiritual master Srila Prabhupada. This collection is also sold online as "The Library of Vedic Culture." The VedaBase has a very powerful search utility that you can use to find the definitions of thousands of Sanskrit words. This collection is the cream of the Vedic literature. If you still cannot define technical Vedic or Sanskrit terms used on the site, please request assistance by contacting your Teacher. We will cover looking up Sanskrit words in more detail in the Sanskrit Pronunciation section.

Video: sing the Bhaktivedanta Vedabase Video: Monier-Williams Online Sanskrit Dictionary

Assignment: Sanskrit Terms

Please discuss: a) Do you understand how to use the tools to look up Sanskrit terms? b) Are you able to find definitions for Sanskrit terms easily? c) Are you able to define Sanskrit terms by using context?

20

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

8. Practice finding and clearing misunderstood terms

Read the Example Text 2 supplied below. As you read it, locate and clear your misunderstood terms. Remember the procedure:

Look the term up in a good dictionary, encyclopedia, technical manual, scripture or any source where you can find a good definition. If the term has more than one definition, scan through the definitions until you find the exact definition that applies in the context where the term is used. Make up several original sentences using the term in the exact definition used in the context. If the definition includes other terms that are misunderstood, look those up, etc. until you are absolutely clear on the definition. If necessary, model the definition using clay or blocks, until you are clear about the definition of the term. (For more on modeling, see the next section.) Example Text 2 PDF document

Assignment: Misunderstood Terms in Example Text 2

Please read Example Text 2 (a continuation of "Teachings of the Vedas"). As you read, identify and clear your misunderstood terms. When you are done, please write a short essay on the following topics: a) Did you encounter any misunderstood terms? b) Were you able to clear them? c) Were any of the terms you cleared in Sanskrit? d) Did you have any difficulty clearing the Sanskrit terms? If so, what?

21

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

9. Modeling
What are we doing when learning something? Actually when reading or studying we are constructing a mental model of the relationships and functions of the subject and its parts. When we get confused, stuck or discouraged in learning or cannot successfully apply the material, it means that our model is an inaccurate representation of the subject; it does not work the same way as the thing we are learning about actually works in real life. Sometimes we find that even after clearing our misunderstood terms, we still do not feel good about a subject or cannot apply it expertly. The best cure for this problem is to get the model out of our mind and into physical space where we can handle it directly. This is a simple but very powerful technique: Make a model of the thing you are trying to understand out of modeling clay. Label its parts and walk through how the thing works by moving the model with your hands. Let's say you are studying learning theory and having a tough time understanding the communication cycle. No matter how hard you try, clearing terms until you're sure you understand them, the subject still doesn't seem to jell in your mind. OK, it's time to get out the clay and make a model of the operation of the theory. Label the parts and model what physically happens during communication by making, connecting, labeling and moving the pieces, until something clicks in your head and you understand the subject. It is important to note that model means a three-dimensional representation of a person or thing or of a proposed structure. Avoid making a mindmap, or a 2D representation, it won't provide the mass required for learning through modeling. If you can't get clay in your area, you can make it at home by following this recipe: HOMEMADE PLAY DOUGH Mix together in a medium size pan: Ingredients: 2 cups flour 1 cup salt 1 tsp cream or tarter 1 tsp food coloring 1 tbsp oil 2 cups water

22

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

Cook ingredients over medium heat. Stir constantly. When dough appears and leaves the pan, remove and knead until smooth and uniform in color. [Store in a closed plastic container.] P.S. Keeps for months if stored in refrigerator.

Video: Clay Modeling Demonstration (High Quality) Video: Clay Modeling Demonstration (YouTube)

Assignment: Clay Modeling Exercise

Take a concept of your own choice, model it in clay and add labels as shown in the Clay Modeling Demonstration video. Take a picture of your model and send it to your Teacher. It is important to note that model means a three-dimensional representation of a person or thing or of a proposed structure. Avoid making a mindmap, or a 2D representation, it won't provide the mass required for learning through modeling. Use the text input field below to explain the concept your model is based on, so your teacher can evaluate how well your model expresses it.

23

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

10. Some Principles for Learning

Mike Jones first posted these on the Kuruketra Forum, and I thought they are pretty good principles (not rules, they're too broad to be rules) for our process. Mike's comments appear [in brackets].

Some rules and hints for teachers and students

By Corita Kent, Whole Earth Catalog, Spring 1980

1: Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile. [most of us here are fortunate to be engaging in this rule already] 2: General duties of a student: pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students. [Due to the sheer amount of material already provided, it is hard to do this, but we can continue to try] 3: General duties of a teacher: pull everything out of your students. [I'm sure most would agree that Babaji certainly does this] 4: Consider everything an experiment. [Lets crack out our transcendental goggles. Most of us are doing this experiment] 5: Be self-disciplined: this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way. [I don't think I need to point out the wise or smart person we are following] 6: Nothing is a mistake. There's no win and no fail, there's only make. [As long as you are sincere then there is no mistake, nor is there a fail. Babaji recently said that most of our early service is practice and so we keep trying until we get it right. The mistakes are part of leading us to perfection. There is a win though, not in the competitive sense, but in the sense we get the ultimate prize when we have practiced to perfection. Peter made a great post comparing the path to practicing a martial art here]. 7: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It's the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things. [So what are we waiting for?]

24

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

8: Don't try to create and analyze at the same time. They're different processes. [So do the work, create for Ka, etc, but also make sure to take some time to reflect on your progress, mistakes, etc separate from be engaged in work] 9: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It's lighter than you think. [Such as when you are chanting or singing Ka's names. Only enjoy in relation to Ka though. It is the best enjoyment] 10: "We're breaking all the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities." (John Cage) [We have so many material rules, social rules, rules that we have been conditioned to accept as true. We even make our own rules through speculation. It is time to break all of those rules and follow the truth. They may seem like rules but actually they are truth. What need is there for rules on the highest platform? How do we break these rules? By leaving room. Read what Neville recently posted on making space in this thread] A note about breaking rules: first you have to know and understand the purpose of the rules, then you can break them. A lot of beginning students try to remix the rules before they have even mastered them. This usually turns out to be a mistake. For example in music, there are certain ways of training in the beginning that seem very boring to the typical impatient young whippersnapper. But if you try to do it any other way, you will create bad habits that will require you to go all the way back to the beginning and start all over again, or you will get stuck at that point. And that is exactly why most musicians are mediocre; they do not have the guts to go back and start from scratch to eradicate the bad habits they developed from being too impatient at the beginning. Even very advanced artists have to do this; recently there was an article on Freddie Hubbard where he talked about having to start all over again to build his embouchure after 40 years of professional playing, because he was abusing his lip by not warming up properly before his performances. I have had to go back to the very beginning of devotional service and the scriptures and start all over again many times. Maybe that's the only way to get it right. We all want to be a master and have creative license right from the beginning; but it turns out that that license is extraordinarily difficult to earn. If we try to exercise it too soon, we will ruin our progress because guess what: those rules are there for a good reason. They are to prevent you from making stupid mistakes that will stop your progress later on. 10,000 hours...

HINTS: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies [the videos on this site] carefully, often. Save everything; it might come in handy later.

25

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively One last principle, and that is to read everything three times:

university.esotericteaching.org

First, scan the whole thing for scope and context. Second, study scrutinizingly, looking up all misunderstood terms. Finally, read it for the deep meaning.

Assignment: Principles for Learning

Please address the following topics: a) What do you think of the "Principles for Learning"? Do any of them seem particularly important to you? b) What do you think is the spirit behind them? c) Are these principles practical? d) What do you think of the level of commitment, participation and energy they demand from the student? From the teacher?

26

Bhakta Degree: How to Study Effectively

university.esotericteaching.org

11. Section Examination

This is a written and oral examination conducted by the Teacher to determine if you can apply the materials in this section. Please complete the exercise below, and then schedule a web conference with your Teacher for the oral part of the exam.

Essay: What Have You Gained or Learned?

Please write a short essay on what you have gained or learned in this course section of the Esoteric Teaching Bhakta Degree Program.

27