/lit/ - Literature

>>19187302
And pic also related I plan to get the Bhagavad Gita by Gavin Flood and Charles Martin. Are there better options, because I am just about to buy them right now

>>19187302
just get the translations shown in the chart

>>19187302
>I am interested in learning about Advaita Vedanta and about meditation. I am planning to read the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Which are the best translations/editions/versions of each. Pic related I plan to get the Upanishads by Partrick Olivelle shown here.

If you are interested in Advaita Vedanta and also want to read the Upanishads, you can fulfill both goals by reading through Adi Shankara’s Advaita commentaries on the Upanishads, which is the best way to get a good understanding of Advaita. Gambhirananda and Madhavananda have the best translations of Shankara’s commentaries.

I recommend reading Rene Guenon’s ‘Man and His Becoming According to the Vedanta’ before Shankara’s commentaries, as Guenon does a good job in that book of explaining 95+% of the important Sanskrit terminology you should know before reading Shankara. My recommended reading order for Shankara’s works after Guenon’s book (or another equivalent intro to Hindu philosophy/Vedanta book) is:

1) The compilation of 8 Upanishad commentaries
2) Brihadaranyaka Upanishad commentary
3) Chandogya Upanishad commentary
4) Bhagavad-Gita commentary
5) Brahma Sutra commentary
6) His remaining works in any order

You can find Guenon’s Vedanta book and all of Shankara’s commentaries online here, although the Chandogya bhasya translation below isnt as good as the Gambhirananda one. It’s worth owning a hard copy of all of his commentaries anyway IMO.

https://sufipathoflove.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/1925-man-and-his-becoming-according-to-the-vedc3a2nta.pdf

https://estudantedavedanta.net/Eight-Upanisads-Vol-1.pdf
https://estudantedavedanta.net/Eight-Upanisads-vol2.pdf
https://archive.org/details/Brihadaranyaka.Upanishad.Shankara.Bhashya.by.Swami.Madhavananda
http://www.tbm100.org/Lib/Jha42.pdf
https://estudantedavedanta.net/Bhagavad-Gita.with.the.Commentary.of.Sri.ShankaracharyaN.pdf
https://archive.org/details/brahma-sutra-bhasya-of-sankaracharya-swami-gambhirananda
https://www.gita-society.com/wp-content/uploads/PDF/Vivekachudamani.IGS.pdf
https://estudantedavedanta.net/Sri_Shankaracharya-Upadeshasahasri%20-%20Swami%20Jagadananda%20(1949)%20%5bSanskrit-English%5d.pdf

>>19187511
I would be careful about reading Advaita Vedanta interpretations such as Shankara's as a commentary to the Upanishads, they are extremely reliant on Buddhist philosophy (Shankara is called a "cryptobuddhist" by most Hindus, and most scholars agree). If you want to read the Upanishads, work through them with editions and commentaries that aren't sectarian, or at least read an interpretation that is closer to the original meaning of the Upanishads, rather than Shankara's 9th century AD quasi-buddhism.

>>19187302
Sacred Books of the East

>>19187415
Yes, but as you see that there are two charts. Each one offers different suggestions for the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. I am wondering which is better. That is the whole point of this thread...

>>19187302
Which Hindu text is the one with the stories about the gods and stuff, like an Indian Theogony or Illiad.

>>19187693
A 50 volume set, no thanks

>>19187822
OP here, that is probably either the Ramayana or the Mahabarata

>>19187825
Settle for second rate, then. Every English translation since is a rewrite of them.

>>19187967
Then what are the best second rate books on the topic? It will take me my entire life to get through a 50 volume set. I see many people on here who regret reading too much, and not meditating enough. This is why I want to take a path that gives me the fundamental knowledge, and leads me towards starting my meditation practice as soon as possible. Then once I learn the fundamental knowledge, and learn how to meditate, then I can go back and continue a more in depth study. Honestly I'm probably going with the Upanishads by Partrick Olivelle and the Bhagavad Gita by Gavin Flood and Charles Martin, if nobody else has any exceptions. The one that's more of a toss up is the Bhagavad Gita, because I do not know if the Goswami translation would be better, but I think it'll be fine.

>>19188047
You don't have to get the 50 books. These have been republished individually numerous times.

>>19188047
if you want meditation just go to a vipassana retreat bro.

>>19187809
Olivelle/OWC and Sources of Tradition are better than Eshwan

>>19188393
>Sources of Tradition

Which book is this?

>>19187825
Not all 50 are Hindu anyway, there's Buddhist and Zoroastrian and others

>>19188272
What if I cannot? Like what if I physically cannot go on one of these retreats? What would they even teach me there? Can I not just learn through reading and practice? If I have patience and diligence I'm sure (pretty sure) that I could learn it. I heard people say to get a teacher, but I not only don't want to, but I don't think I could even if I wanted to

>>19188487
Shankara's commentaries on the Upanishads, translated by Gambhirananda and Madhavananda

Upanishads translated by Juan Mascaró
https://archive.org/details/UpanishadsbyJMascaro/page/n5/mode/2up

>>19187302
Here is a chart comparing Upanishad translations, Radhakrishnan's translation has the largest amount of Upanishads (all the primary ones plus some minor ones) and all of Radhakrishnan's Upanishad translations are unabridged as well.

>>19189012
His translations are both outdated and abridged, i.e. incomplete. Much more accurate, complete and aesthetically-impressive translations are available both by Hindu religious figures and western scholars.

>>19189474
Well I am not looking for the largest number of translated books, I am more so looking for quality. Still, Goswami or Flood and Martin for the Bhagavad Gita?

>>19187542
stop it

>>19189571
Both are fine