Reddit reviews The Essentials of Hinduism: A Comprehensive Overview of the World's Oldest Religion

Isn't that series really, really old? Best not to read translations that are too old.

You can't just jump in and read stuff like the Upanishads or the Veda. They are neither rigorous philosophical texts presenting a certain position, nor commandments, though some vidhi (injunctions) relating to practice are present, nor are they the life of somebody which the Gospels are.

So you must approach with an introductory text, and then read the Upanishads with a particular commentary. Also, many texts will ignore the Shaiva and Tantric traditions, which also need to be read.

Here are some links to looking at the Upanishads from the Advaita perspective

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As for introductory books, I recommend three.

The Essentials of Hinduism: A Comprehensive Overview of the World's Oldest Religion

The Spiritual Heritage of India: A Clear Summary of Indian Philosophy and Religion

Hinduism: A very short introduction

You can get all three for $35. After that you can go into more detail.

I started here about 2 months ago: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1884852041/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497565431&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=essentials+of+hinduism&dpPl=1&dpID=51MpBCIuOJL&ref=plSrch

A really good read and covers a lot of the basics. From there I did a bunch of research online.. a lot of Wikipedia and YouTube. I also wrote down what I believe in spiritually, how I wanted or think I should live the rest of my life and also philosophical/spiritual questions I was searching for answers to. I kept meditating on it and researching and found Vaishnavism was my fit. Specifically, the beliefs concerning Krishna. So I recently finished the Gita and discovered the Hare Krishna mantra and I am loving every step of this journey so far.

Here is a quick example of how powerful the mantra can be. My job is rather laborious and I am constantly moving. With that said, I recite the Hare Krishna mantra in my head while working and I am trying to get to a point to where I can recite the mantra while doing something at the same time without stopping either one. Any who, while reciting and working today, I experienced a brief vision of Krishna along with pure bliss. I had to stop for a second in amazement. I didn't know something like this could happen but the experience confirmed for me that I am progressing. I am overjoyed.

I am still rather new to it all but I am constantly learning and committed.

Namaste. ✌️

There's the reading list in the side-bar, but that doesn't really have secondary books on Hinduism.

There's Gavin Flood's An Introduction to Hinduism. I haven't read it yet, but it's the only thing I got off the top of my head. If you want, I can look through the copy I found on the sidewalk and tell you about it.

But Flood seems to have a pretty good pedigree. But I don't know if he's a Hindu. I would also recommend Eknath Easwaran's translation of the Bhagavad Gita. I have it, and his intro goes into Hindu concepts. This book also seem well-received, though I don't have it.

There's a public domain book called The Religion of the Veda: The Ancient Religion of India. There's also The Wonder that was India, which is good. And apparently the same guy wrote The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism.

Most Indian history books talk about Hinduism, so maybe the Cambridge History of India?

I ordered this. If anyone knows of any other good books. Please let me know.

The Essentials of Hinduism: A Comprehensive Overview of the World's Oldest Religion

Let me put it this way - I was born a Hindu, raised one, and have become more serious about my practice in the last twenty years. Even I haven't done much with the Vedas - it requires a lot more study and commitment, and, as folks have said, it really should be studied in Sanskrit.

I know a few hymns that are relevant to my spiritual path from the Vedas, and have studied just those verses in some detail.

Smriti texts are definitely the way to go. Honestly, there are a lot of good "introduction" books that go into better detail.

My favorite is:

Essentials of Hinduism, by Swami Bhaskarananda.