Start Here¶
Where you begin¶
Open Home -- it always shows your current chapter and the single next thing to do, computed live from your browser's saved progress.
How a normal study session works¶
Every chapter is four short pages in a fixed sequence: Lesson → Workbook → Application → Quiz, each linking straight to the next. Open the chapter from Course (or from Home's Continue Studying card) and work through the sequence in order:
- Lesson -- read it alongside the assigned BPHS verses (embedded on the same page, visually distinct -- that's Parashara's text, not the course's); it orients you, it doesn't replace the source text.
- Workbook -- recall, understanding, and comprehension questions. Check your answers against the collapsed Check Answers section only after attempting everything yourself.
- Application -- guided chart exercises and that lesson's Chart Clinic, connecting the theory to your own chart.
- Quiz -- confirms you're ready to move on, then tick off the chapter-completion checklist at the bottom (it saves automatically) and continue to the next chapter.
- Add an entry to the Research Journal (biggest insight, most confusing concept, open questions) -- this step is still manual, by design.
How to use the Sanskrit terms¶
Every technical term appears in the Lesson's Key Terms table with its Devanagari, a Roman transliteration, and a plain-language gloss -- you don't need to already know Sanskrit or memorize the Devanagari itself. The transliteration (e.g. paramātmā) is what the rest of the course actually uses in running text. Terms accumulate in the Sanskrit Glossary lesson by lesson, so if a term resurfaces later and you've forgotten it, check there -- not a sign you missed something.
How to use the answers without spoiling yourself¶
Every Workbook's Check Answers and Explanations section is collapsed by default. Attempt every question first, including the ones that feel uncertain -- a wrong attempt you then correct teaches more than reading the right answer cold. The explanations underneath each answer are there so checking your work also tells you why, not just whether you matched the key. Open it only after a genuine attempt at the whole section, not question by question.
What not to worry about yet¶
Some early lessons (Chapter 1 especially) move through dense philosophical material -- Sāṅkhya cosmology, chains of divine names, Sanskrit terminology stacked several deep in one paragraph. You are not expected to memorize any of it on first read. The Lesson's "While Reading, Focus On..." section tells you what actually matters to hold onto versus what's safe to let wash over you the first time -- trust it. Concepts that matter come back around later in the course, applied to something concrete, and stick much better the second time.
How to study without getting overwhelmed¶
One chapter at a time, top to bottom, in the order given -- the course is deliberately paced over 18-20 months precisely so you never need to rush a chapter to keep up. If a passage doesn't click, note the confusion in your Research Journal and keep moving -- BPHS itself often explains an idea more fully in a later chapter than in the one that first introduces it, so an open question now is normal, not a sign you're behind.
How progress is recorded¶
Automatically, in your browser, as you check off items on a chapter page -- see Progress for the full explanation and the Export/Import backup tool.
Where reference material lives¶
The Field Manual, the Sanskrit Glossary, and the full numbered course-design documents all live under Reference Library in the main navigation -- reach for them when you need to look something up, not as required reading alongside a lesson.
What to do when something is unclear¶
Check the Field Manual and Sanskrit Glossary first. If the confusion is about the website itself rather than the course material, log it on the Feedback page.