Actually the mind gets often into an either or position. But if we look at it little widely then there is a place for both. For example, I have read the Ramayana and The Mahabharata even as a child. But till date, I enjoy reading and watching so many versions of both the Itihasas. It is not because there is any further need to understand but because of the multiplication of the delight in so many ways wherein each brings his own angle just as different photographers take a photograph of the same sculpture from different angles. One enjoys it even when one has seen the whole. That is why this world was made.
So too with Savitri. There can be no explanation and no one can help anyone understand it. That knowledge must come from within and is an act of Grace. But then the so-called interpreters are each sharing the joy of their understanding. And in the process one may find something interesting, a detail one had missed, a little context that adds up, a little poetic dive, a word or phrase suddenly shining up, an insight with an aha feeling, a sudden unexpected touch that was never intended by the interpreter which yet opens an inner door.
But yes there is shortage of time and the mind gets confused because it cannot handle different views of the same Truth. In which case it is best to read oneself, or else at most, pick up one commentary that appeals to the heart and enhances the joy because it flows from some divine depth rather than from a dry mental analysis of words and their meanings. Each must go by one’s own inner feeling in these matters. What works for may not work for another. My recipe of course is very simple. Whatever helps me come closer to the Mother, to feel Her Joy in different ways is welcome. All the rest is the illusory play of mind.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
