Motivations
- Compare with motivation for kAvya.
- It’s a respectable vocation.
- Appreciation of the best minds of the field/ tradition (not necessarily contemporary).
- Better personal clarity. This is necessary and sufficient for acquiring background knowledge, but not for deep research (see “Practicing western science” article).
Preparation
- It’s important to have some solid background knowledge about the one’s field (and progressively less in surrounding maNDala-s).
- Schoolboy conception of science overemphasises preference (see “Practicing western science” article).