Hinduism Book Recommendations

[Madhuri]

I was asked by Anupj if I could start a thread for book recommendations for beginners.

I don't really think that I am the best scholar among Hindus (not by far) so anybody please feel free to contribute here!

Firstly, it is a good idea to find out what Hinduism is all about and you can get a decent idea from the internet. Wikipedia is a good a source as any:

Hinduism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have a very high respect for the teaching of Parmahamsa Yogananda and recommend his books Divine Romance and Man's Eternal Quest (and perhaps in the future, Autobiography of a Yogi).

Yogananda is quite good for people who lean toward universal principles. Osho is also incredibly wise, though keep in mind that he comes across sometimes as atheistic. But he gives incredible insight.

And of course, I recommend the Bhagavadgita. But I always feel that the BG is good to read either without purport or with more than one translation so that you get a broader understanding.

The Bhagavadgita, even if not your introductory text, is a must read. It is the core essense of Vedic teaching/knowledge.

Always keep in mind that there are numerous meanings and depths to the scripture that cannot be understood upon first glimpse. Be patient. With true thirst for knowledge, God will guide you to Him.

 

[anupj]

thanks for the suggestion

i m currently reading "Vedanta Treatise" -- by A Parthasarthy... this book gives a good introduction to vedantic principles

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

This book is not for beginners. You should know the Ramayana before you start reading this book. It can be also seen as somewhat dry due to all the Philosophical lectures. It brings Vedanta to life in a mythic way. Thats why I love this text.

Adhyatma Ramayana is an old Sanskrit work teaching the virtues of the of Ramayana. It is around 4200 verses, it is part of the Brahmanda Purana and it is seen as authored by Veda Vyasa. . Adhyatma Ramayana raises every mundane activity of Rama, to a spiritual or transcendent level, I like to think of it as instructing the seeker to to spiritaulize his life, the external life is but a metaphor for eternal journey of the soul. It also joins devotion and Advaita Vedanta in a very beautiful way. Vishnu is Brahman and through the love of God we attain the status of Vishnu. We become one with God.

 

[lapis]

Hare Krsna

Bhagavad Gita
Srimad Bhagavatam
Ramayana
Mahabharata

Just those four will keep you going for some time.

 

[Andal]

All so far are very good suggestions.

I second both the Bhagavad Gita and Autobiography of a Yogi. I have a great deal of respect for Yogananda and it's a great read.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

Two of the most influential books in modern Hinduism you can get online.

THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA (KATHAMRITA) Word to word translation by Sri Dharm Pal Gupta

THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA Start with his book Karma yoga

In fact VIVEKANANDA is such an Importent figure the Government of India decided to observe the Birthday of Swami Vivekananda as National Youth Day every year.

 

[Riverwolf]

Where can I get an unabridged version of the Ramayana, either cheaply or free online?

 

[lapis]

Hare Krsna Riverwolf

Rasabihari Lal & sons in Vrindavan india have just about everything.

email: [email protected]

they can email you a booklist

they will ship overseas cheaply, although their book prices are as high as western countries

 

[Riverwolf]

Hare Krsna Riverwolf

Rasabihari Lal & sons in Vrindavan india have just about everything.

email: [email protected]

they can email you a booklist

they will ship overseas cheaply, although their book prices are as high as western countries

Thanks, but that's not much help to me at the moment. I'm kinda broke. :sad4:

 

[Ben Dhyan]

Hi Riverwolf, not sure if this is suitable but here is a link to a translation of the Ramayana by Ralph T.H. Griffith M.A. [1870-74] in pdf file. It's about a 5Mb download.

Valmiki Ramayana - Eng Translation - Griffith

Else if you have any trouble I can email it to you as an attachment.

 

[anupj]

dear riverwolf
here are some links that i know, i hope you find them useful
Ramayana Home
Valmiki Ramayana
http://gitapress.org/BOOKS/1318/1318_Sri Ramchritmanas_Roman.pdf
Valmiki Ramayana: Commentary by L Ananta Rama Rao
http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/[many ancient books in scanned form.. ifyou can read hindi/sanskrit then this site is very useful]

 

[Riverwolf]

Hi Riverwolf, not sure if this is suitable but here is a link to a translation of the Ramayana by Ralph T.H. Griffith M.A. [1870-74] in pdf file. It's about a 5Mb download.

Valmiki Ramayana - Eng Translation - Griffith

Else if you have any trouble I can email it to you as an attachment.

Thanks. It'll do for now.

 

[Andal]

I would suggest staying away from Griffith's translations. They are notoriously bad. He and other "indologists" of the 19th century translated Hindu texts to show the superiority of Christianity.

Plus his translations tend to be obtuse often and don't flow right.

 

[Storm]

I would suggest staying away from Griffith's translations. They are notoriously bad. He and other "indologists" of the 19th century translated Hindu texts to show the superiority of Christianity.

Plus his translations tend to be obtuse often and don't flow right.

Is there a translation you would recommend?

 

[anupj]

Is there a translation you would recommend?

you would find a good translation by an indian here: Valmiki Ramayana: Commentary by L Ananta Rama Rao

 

[Storm]

Thank you.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

I would suggest staying away from Griffith's translations. They are notoriously bad. He and other "indologists" of the 19th century translated Hindu texts to show the superiority of Christianity.

Plus his translations tend to be obtuse often and don't flow right.

I know that his translations of Vedic Sanskrit is seen as extremely poor.

The Gita press is an organization that was created to make good translations of Sanskrit at a cheep price. They are in both Sanskrit and English. Some times I have found that the flow of the scriptures are geared to the Indian public rather then an American one. (As it should be they are an Indian company)

I also like the english only translations of Kamala Subramaniam (I have heard it said that hers are among the most popular in India 611 pages, hardback $35.00 she writes well ). I like her translation if you don't want a small edition of the Ramayana, but also don't want the large 2-volume editions. Its kind of middle of the road.

You must remember that many of these old texts are just huge. One translation of the Mahabharata Over 3,000 pages, 4 volumes, this is just the story with no commentary.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

http://www.valmikiramayan.net/
http://gitapress.org/BOOKS/1318/1318_Sri Ramchritmanas_Roman.pdf

I have always wanted to read Tulesidasa's Ramchritmanas now I can do it for free thank you so much. what a big help.

 

[Riverwolf]

I would suggest staying away from Griffith's translations. They are notoriously bad. He and other "indologists" of the 19th century translated Hindu texts to show the superiority of Christianity.

Plus his translations tend to be obtuse often and don't flow right.

Reading his translations of the Rig Veda, that makes perfect sense... unfortunately, his is the only unabridged translation of the RIg Veda that I'm aware of. (Certainly the only one available online.)

 

[Andal]

Reading his translations of the Rig Veda, that makes perfect sense... unfortunately, his is the only unabridged translation of the RIg Veda that I'm aware of. (Certainly the only one available online.)

Yea his Rig Veda is atrocious. There are glaring errors. I've heard that his other texts are similar although after the RV I didn't have it in me to try and read more of his work.

You're not going to find another free translation....not that I know of anyway. You may find a better one at the library. If not you can order them online but I don't know how expensive it will be.

Hari Om!