Books on Hinduism
Hinduism being one of the oldest religion and tradition in world, the more you read the more knowledge you get and more knowledge you crave for. There are many books on Hinduism. The core books on Hinduism include Vedas, Upanishads, puranas, Ramayana and Mahabhartha which mainly consists of Bhagvad Gita.
The Vedas : The four Vedas are Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. The Rigveda provides the wisdom of verses. It consists of 180 hymns. The Yajurveda higlights the wisdom of scarifical formulas. The Samaveda highlights the wisdom of chants While the Atharvaveda is about wisdom of Athrvan priests. The oldest veda is the rigveda. It was written around 1500BC.The contents of the Vedas are hymns, rituals, incantations. The text of the vedas is known to be coeval with the nature. The Vedas are of a very high spiritual level.
The Upanishads : The Upanishads focus on renunciation and asceticism. It I the continuation of the vedic philosophy. They stress and highlight the union of the soul with the ultimate truth through meditation, thought and the principle of Karma.The principle of Karma means the overall effects of a person’s deeds.
The Puranas : The Puranas are texts composed after the Vedas. It is about the creation and distruction of the universe, family history of kings, demigods and heroes. The Upanishads include descriptions of Hindu geography and cosmology.
Bhagvad Gita : It is the teachings of Lord Krishna. It was narrated to Arjuna at Kurukshetra when The Pandavas had to war with the Kauravas. ‘Bhagvad Gita’ means the ‘Song of God’. The teachings mentioned there is are universally applicable to all. The Bhagwad Gita shows us how to live life, how to perform out duties in this illusionary world. Human beings are bound to actions and desires just because of egoism and ignorance. We remain glued to the cycle of birth and death as well as to the natural forces. Bhagvad Gita reveals the way freedom from this mess. Bhagvad Gita reveals how to live life as it is and as it comes.
Bhagvad Gita prepares a person from within to withstand and overcome the struggles in life, through stability, self-discipline , detachment, stability of mind, right discrimination, right knowledge, and surrendering to God. For salvation stability of mind is a prerequisite. Tranquility of minds brings end to all sorrows.
The Ramayana : The Ramayana was written by Valmiki. The Ramayana is a sacred epic that revolves around the Lord Rama the hero of the poem and Sita his wife. It focuses on the truth and good prevailing over and victorious over the false and evil.
All the above mentioned books were written in Sanskrit. Most of the people nowadays do not know Sanskrit. So these book have been translated to other languages.
