I'm kinda interested in looking into hinduism. I guess the Vedas would be the way to go but I don't know if I should "trim the fat", let's say, about it. I'm mainly interested in the philosophical concepts of it and the Upanishads apparently cover just that and can be purchased independently.
So, can someone knowledgeable on the matter guide me here? Is there one of those charts around?
I'm kinda interested in looking into hinduism...
Gavin Rivera
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Julian Powell
You might want to start with the itiahasa (means ramayana and mahabharata) and then the upanishads.
Camden James
Sounds cool but I don't know which translation to get (I'm French) and I guess ample annotation could be useful for something so old. Is it really necessary to appreciate the upanishads?
Camden Wood
Sort of. The itihasa is so you can get an example of a society based on vedic principles. The upanishads would be the theological part of the veda. Concerned with spiritual matters. The bhagavad gita is also called gita upanishad and though it's part of the mahabharata(also called the fifth veda) it can be read on it's own. It's also a good place to start
Julian Lee
I'd suggest reading the Upanishads (The philosophy of Hinduism) first, and then move on to the smritis (the literature of Hinduism). Epics like Mahabharata, Ramayana and the puranas are part of the smritis. For the Upanishads I'd suggest the English translation "The Principal Upanishads" by S. Radhakrishnan. As for the smritis, only go with the Geeta Press books coz all the Western translations look at the literature with a marxist lense.
Logan Flores
So I guess I should first read the Bhagavadgita, then the Upanishads, and maybe the rest of Mahabharata after?
Easton Ramirez
The Bhagvat Gita is one important chapter of the Mahabharata, but it's still a part of the smriti. It presents the knowledge of the Upanishads in a more understandable manner. Along with the Vedas, Upanishads are the revealed texts of Hinduism(The Shruti). Upanishads is where you should start, user.
Carter Kelly
Okay, thanks for the clarification.
Adrian Perry
Start with Sankhya and Yoga. Patanjali and Vyasa are the Socrates and Plato of India.
Kevin Butler
Take a look at India today, why would you look into their ideas and mindset? It obviously didn't work out.