Reflections on Sutra 1.7

1.7 pratyakșānumānāgamāh pramānāni
Comprehension is based on direct observation of the object, inference, and reference to reliable authorities

I have no debate with this sutra, I think it's fairly straight forward really and ironically doesn't require too much reflection on my part. I've always been one to delve further down the rabbit hole in search of information closer to 'the source'. More often I've had trouble remaining focused on the original enquiry and get lost in/on tangents. This was probably quite infuriating for my mother when I was young - she'd ask me to look up a recipe and I was gone for hours. I've always had discreet book collections, mostly reference material of whatever I was into at the time. I've usually been quite fortunate too, to have access to some fine authorities and mentors in relation to most of my past and current interests. In yoga there is high importance placed on knowing who your teacher's teachers are/were and to know your yoga lineage. I think this is a good approach to take with many other aspects of life. "Don't Believe the Hype", said Public Enemy. It's all part of having a credible source of information and a good reminder to seek out reliable authorities. Wikipedia can be a good start, but is not always reliable. Google is a pretty good modern guru, always ready with an answer or pointing me in a direction that may be closer to what I'm looking for. I've always liked the Sherlock Holmes stories with their lessons in deductive reason and logic.

This coupled with my own practice and experience has helped me fine tune my understanding of what I observe and what I can deduce, as well as what I don't know and what I need to learn more about. And if all else fails, as is want to happen with knitting projects, consult my Elizabeth Zimmermann's, or Barbara Walker's.