I grew up Christian so I know where you're coming from. Basically, and Im oversimplifying here, but hinduism is a mix of christian and buddhist ideas. Hinduism is actually a large collection of religions and their specific beliefs can vary widely. On one end of the spectrum, you have Krishnas who worship Krishna as monotheists and put devotion to krishna above all else. On the other end you have something like kashmir shaivists who worship the God Shiva and who put meditation, yoga and tantra above everything else.

To generalize about this broad spectrum of beliefs and practices, I would say that in general, we are monotheists. We believe in one god but worship that one God in their many forms. There are rituals, chants, breathing exercises, meditation practices and many other ways we choose to use to worship God. Some of us are dualists and believe that God is fundamentally seperate. Worship for dualists is usually devotional and includes rituals, chants and prayers. Some of us are monists and believe God possesses all existance and can be experienced firsthand. Monists are usually the ones who are meditation focused and may supplement their practice with rituals, yoga and breathing excercises.

As a whole, hindus generally believe in reincarnation. When you die, youre reborn into another body. You can be reborn as a human, or might take on a rebirth as an animal or in the hell & heaven realms. We believe some lives are longer than others, but even in heaven and hell, none are permanent. The ultimate goal of a hindu is achieving the state of moksha, or oneness with God, and freedom from rebirth.

My suggestion for someone new to hinduism is to read the baghavad gita. Try to find a copy with a good non-sectarian commentary. I like this one. After that, just try to figure out if you are more of a dualist or monist. Research hindu Gods and see if there are any that jump out at you. Feel free to ask any questions in this sub and Im sure you will get answers. Thanks for your interest!

You can look through my comment history, but I would start with the following books, probably in this order:

Shakti, Realm of the Divine Mother, by Vanamali - This is a great overview over the Goddesses many names and forms, along with a great recounting of Her many stories.

In Praise of the Goddess: The Devimahatmya and Its Meaning, by Devadatta Kali

• The Devi Mahatmyam is one of the most important Shaktaa religious texts, and while other translations exist, this one is by far the best.
  
  Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar, by Elizabeth Harding - An exploration into Mother Kali, and how She is worshipped at Dakshineswar temple in Kolkata. The author also goes into the life of Sri Ramakrishna, one of the modern day saints of the Divine Mother.
  
  The Thousand Names Of The Divine Mother: Shri Lalita Sahasranama - The other "most important" book amongst Shaktaa's, this version contains verse by verse commentary.
  
  As for converting - that's a bit of a thorny topic, but it's not really necessary. Begin to read, learn, and most importantly, practice the Dharma, and after a few years of doing so, perhaps consider a more formal conversion.
  
  Also, seek out a guru if you can. It can be tough, but it makes a lot of this go a lot easier.
  
  

I'm a Westerner having come to find out about the "Hindu" philosophy via other Westerners who were fascinated by it.

I have no cultural background in anything Indian, so, as an outsider I can tell you that you are sitting on a huge treasure trove of knowledge there, my friend. It's the most complete source of spiritual knowledge you're ever going to find, so I'd be very happy if I were you. Now, the vastness of Vedic knowledge can also be so overwhelming that you find yourself lost. From my understanding (Vaishnava), these are some answers to your questions:

Can moksha be attained?
The countless yogis say yes; the scriptures say yes, but there is a big price to pay: the attachment to this world. You can't get moksha without renouncing this world. In the Vaishnava tradition the process is to serve God, which automatically detaches you from the world, there's no need to concentrate on "detachment". In your tradition, it's probably straight on detachment, austerities etc. Or you might have an intermediary stage, with concentrating on a deity until a certain stag

You first need faith in the process (sraddha) and then you can check for yourself. That faith, before starting the process, can be obtained also via rational arguments about intelligent design, does some form of God exist? etc. It can also come from being in contact with a person who already has the faith and the arguments to back it up. Sometimes the faith to start something can just be a contagion from a person that is already on the path. That alone won't keep you on the path because you need personal confirmations of faith, but hey, it's a start.

In the end, you have to put your heart into it (which is what sraddha literally means). What is problematic probably for you is that your cultural background and your family tradition was already into this stuff so it was hard for you to see things from the outside. In my case, I had reached the stage of an agnostic, sometimes atheist, despite growing up in a Christian context. So, something in Indian spirituality brought me back to a theistic position and even doing some spiritual practice. What attracted me was the philosophical depth and the big picture view that emanates from writings such as the Bhagavad Gita or the puranas.

What is the purpose of my existence?

The Vaishnava tradition says to be an unique part of God's experience and have a reciprocal loving relationship with Him, which makes you happy (ananda). Or, in another understanding -- the Advaita Vedanta one -- to merge into the Absolute Oneness, with no qualities. In both cases, your existence's relevance is not to be born and die in the material world -- this is seen as a mistake that needs to be remedied, either by moksha or by prema (love of God).

In Christian terms, we are like the prodigal son in the famous parable. We left home because we were rebellious and now we need to go back home.

Does the self exist?
Well, there's a lot of debate on this in the various schools and your confusion reflects the confusion of the entire Indian philosophy discussion. I go with the Vaishnava understanding: the self exists and has the qualities sat-cit-ananda, which can't be further reduced. The infinitesimal soul and the infinite soul (God, Paramatma, Purusottama) have the same sat-cit-ananda qualities, and they only differ in magnitude. Ultimately, there is only one self, The Supreme Self, and we are parts of that. I'd recommend this book for an in depth discussion of this (especially the chapter The Nature of Consciousness). Six Causes: The Vedic Theory of Creation

Is Brahman with qualities or without?
According to the Vaishnava understanding Brahman corresponds to the sat quality of the self, Paramatma to the cit quality and Bhagavan to the ananda quality. In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says that He is the source of Brahman. He doesn't say that Brahman is the source of Him. There's also the Vedanta Sutra passage where the ultimate self is described as being blissful (ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt).

But I guess various people can interpret it in a different way. This discussion has been going on here on /r/Hinduism for a long, long time...In Advaita Vedanta, Brahman has no qualities.

If you're asking who's right on this, I'll say Vaishnavism others will say Advaita :). You should make up your own mind after studying the issue. Or ask Brahman directly to give you a revelation, but that's already admitting some kind of quality.

This is again a huge debate that I think will never be settled, between the impersonalist and personalist understanding.

For these and other types of questions I recommend the writings of Ashish Dalela. Here's some links:

For a straightforward look at life's purpose:
Reason and Faith

For a rational approach to Hindu creationism:
Six Causes: The Vedic Theory of Creation

For a big picture view about all the weird stuff in Vedic cosmology and its implications for current science:
Mystic Universe

I hope this helps.

I have given a Wisdom Card Deck to people. They are a card deck which has vedic quotes on each card. They are really nice

http://www.amazon.com/Dharma-Deck-Wisdom-Shawn-Laksmi/dp/1601090315

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dharma-Deck-Wisdom-Shawn-Laksmi/dp/1601090315

As it says:

>Humility, realization, hope and fulfillment, freedom, progress and reality — what do the sages have to say on these matters? Each card in this soulful deck offers a pure moment of sincere reflection from Dharma masters past and present. From the timeless wisdom that gave birth to such concepts as karma, mantra, and samsara comes 52 enlightening adages. Offering insight and inspiration from mother India's Vedic tradition including the Bhagavad-Gita, these cards also feature gorgeous photographs of her sacred lands and people.

Much cheaper than your budget, and I think it will be more useful than any figures or statues.

Ganesha is quite close to Devi, being created personally by her, just as Karthikeya is closely related to Shiva. The story of Ganesha, in one of the versions, which, glorifies Devi as more powerful than Shiva and Vishnu.(here's the ACK version which is quite popular and has good illustrations.)

I am sure that given the desire for bhakti, you will find some means or the other. Ideally, some means which you can use as a practice repeatedly during a day. Language barrier applies to some of the practices (like poems/stotra, though one can try just learning the meanings of the words of a single poem instead of a whole language) and not to some other practices (like mantra japa). There are some good resources in English, I'll try them send some of them to you, when I am free.

The main festival for Devi, Navaratri, where people do sadhana for 9 nights is coming up in October.

I pick and choose from a lot of ancient spiritual practices. Hinduism is one that really resonates with me though. I started with reading the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. Both considered to be amongst the core texts of Hinduism.

For the Bhagavad Gita, a very beautiful and easy to read version is Stephen Mitchell's translation.

For the Upanishads, the version I like best is Juan Mascaro's translation.

Wishing you peace and love on your journey.


🙏 Namaste 🙏

> I basically want to order everything and feel that I have a complete set of all the cherished ancient texts.

That's a bit like boiling the ocean. I think that a better strategy is to survey the list of available texts by reading articles from the internet, and then dipping into what appeals to you.

The major texts IMO are as follows:

1. The Vedas, of which there are four. Hardcore Hindus may recommend that you own and study the Vedic texts, but personally, I feel that reading translations of the Vedas which are meant to be heard is missing the point, and vedic sanskrit is very difficult to understand anyway, so you're better off skipping these.
   
2. The Upanishads, which are the knowledge portion of the Vedas. There are 108 main upanishads, of which around 10 - 13 are considered more important than the others and have been the subject of commentaries by major acharyas.
   
3. The Brahma Sutras, which was an early attempt at forming a coherent philosophy from the Upanishads. Several commentaries exist for the Brahma sutras as well.
   
4. The Bhagavad Gita, which is supposed to be a condensed version of upanishadic wisdom. The major upanishads, the Brahma sutras and the Bhagavad gita are collectively called the prasthAnatrayi, and they're important from the viewpoint of a collection of Hindu philosophies called the Vedanta.
   
5. The epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana. The Bhagavad Gita is in the Mahabharata.
   
6. The puranas, of which there are 18 major ones and 18 minor ones. Here I'd recommend you read what appeals to you - if you are into Krishna, read the Srimad Bhagavatam and if you're into Devi, read the Devi Bhagavatam, etc. The puranas and epics are supposed to convey the wisdom of the Vedas to common people in a manner that's relevant to daily life and practical religion.
   
7. Central books on the different schools of Hindu philosophy: the Yoga sutras of Patanjali and its commentaries, the samkhya karika by Kapila, the different schools of Vedanta, etc. Again, get an overview and dig deeper into the ones that appeal to you.
   
   Personally, I'd recommend the prasthAnatrayi, the two epics, and a purana or two (or three: one each from the Vaishnava, Shaiva and Shakta traditions) that gives you an overview of mythological Hinduism. In addition, go through a few overview texts to get an idea of schools that resonate with you (perhaps Kashmir Shaivism, for e.g.), and then go into books of those.

Yes, I do practice it. If you have any questions, I would be happy to help you out. Many years ago, when I was sick, I heard the, at the time, annoying sounds in my ears. But I was so sick I could only surrender to it, and become one with it. Then I drifted into a blissful sleep and had the most amazing dreams where I heard music like I had never heard before. Then I googled for sound, ringing sound, etc. and found a lot of useful information. My first suggestion is to trust yourself and follow your own inner knowing and guidance. Of course, there will be teachers, interesting texts,... but if you can have direct experience without any middleman, why would you? In any event, try to google for Sound Current, The Ringing Sound....

Here's a book about it: https://www.amazon.com/Ringing-Sound-Introduction-Current/dp/0966535804

And here's even a guy who wrote a whole book about it (a science fiction story): http://soundcurrentrider.com/SoundCurrent.html

All every interesting... but in the end, I would advice you to trust your own experience, and not to push anything. Just let it all come naturally :-) If you have any question, just let me know!

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?

Honestly, as u/stinkyriddle mentioned, the Bhagavad Gita is a really good place to start. It covers the vast majority of the overall concepts, is very easy to understand, and doesn't require any real prior knowledge.

Easwaran's version is good for newcomers as well with some great commentary.

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. ✌️

This is a good start Krishna: the Beautiful Legend of God: (Srimad Bhagavata Purana Book X) (Penguin Classics) (Bk.10) https://www.amazon.com/Krishna-Beautiful-Bhagavata-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140447997 It is the story of his life. Also read a good translation of the Bhagavad Gita. Eknath Easwaran's version is good, as if Swami Mukundananda's.

I'm a white guy for whom Krishna is God. I talk to him, I do a small daily (well, almost daily) puja in my home shrine, I think of him, I sing and chant along with recorded bhajans, or just listen to them as I'm driving or going about my business at home. I very rarely do japa, only because I haven't established the routine, but I want to. There's nothing magical or mysterious about being devoted or dedicated to him or any other deity.

You can do custom prayers to Her in whatever language you prefer :)

https://www.amazon.com/Kali-Dakshineswar-Elizabeth-U-Harding/dp/0892540257

That's a book that I first read in learning about Kali :) I thought it was very helpful in learning more about Her and it talks about one of Her most famous devotees, Sri Ramakrishna!

I usually offer fruit, milk, or water when I want to give thanks. Just talk to Kali as if She were your own mother who had just taken you into her arms :)

The Bhagavad Gita centers mainly around Krishna, one of Vishnu's most popular avatars. It takes place during a war. The family of Arjuna, who is a king, betrays him. Both sides ask Krishna for aid in the war. To remain neutral, Krishna gives his army to Arjuna's family and Krishna becomes the personal Charioteer of Arjuna. As they are about to enter the war, Arjuna becomes conflicted. Krishna reveals to Arjuna that he is an avatar of the god Vishnu. The entire text is the conversation between Arjuna and Krishna. Krishna gives Arjuna advice on how to live a spiritual life on all accounts. Devotees of Krishna place an extremely high value on the Bhagavad Gita.
Here is a link to an English translated version of the text: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Easwarans-Classics-Indian-Spirituality/dp/1586380192/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494927615&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=bhagavad+gtia
And here are links to Krishna sites: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna
http://www.krishna.com/info/about-krishna#

Kalki is said to be the last avatar of Krishna. He has yet to be born. At the end of the Kali-yuga (which is the time period we are in,) Kalki is said to be born ina hidden paradise called Shambhala. He will ride across the Earth on a white steed and cleanse the Earth of evil, returning us to a golden age of peace.
here are some links to pages about Kalki:
http://www.yoga-philosophy.com/eng/kalki/kalki.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalki

Although this next one is more controversial, a lot of people believe Buddha to be an avatar of Vishnu. There isn't really a specific book or site to go to for this one, but there are several books on Buddhism and documentaries on the Buddha.

Another popular Vishnu avatar is Rama. Rama is said to be the perfect man. His story is told in an epic called the Ramayana, in which his wife is kidnapped and he must rescue her.
English version of Ramayana: https://www.amazon.com/Ramayana-Modern-Retelling-Great-Indian/dp/0865476950/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1494928047&sr=8-2
Sites for Rama: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama

There are a lot more avatars of Vishnu, but these ones are the main ones. For a bigger list, they are links to all of the major ones here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu

It's also good to keep in mind that beliefs on who the avatars of Vishnu are vary from region to region and from tradition to tradition.

There is a good and practical book by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti called 'A Guide to Human Conduct' which explains all the 10 points of Yama and Niyama in clear and precise way. Another book I will would reccomend is called 'Yogic Ethics for a Balanced Mind: Yama Niyama.' It is and in-depth discussion of all the points, as wel as the concept of ethics within the yogic context. It contains interesting psychological and filosophical explanations, as well as practical advice. Also many examples and citations. Its available from Amazon. This is the link: Yogic Ethics for a Balanced Mind.

There is also a very nice and clearly explained course on the Youtube channel: 'Meditations Steps'

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAv4LHSCXRoegzvAbwbZGoA/featured

I would not recommend the version of the Bhagavad Gita /u/wtf_shroom linked to. Understanding the Gita is particularly difficult when it is poorly translated and explained. This one in particular was translated by a British man in the 1800s, when India was a colony and the British were particularly interested in painting Hinduism and Indians as backward.

There are free online translations and commentaries, using modern English. One is here; another is here. These are both Vaishnava translations. This version was used in a very good class at the University of Florida in 2009. That translator is fluent in Sanskrit and also has a Ph.D. in comparative religion from Harvard. He has also studied Vaishnavism with notable Vaishnava teachers.

This brings me to the final reason one should carefully select their version of the Bhagavad Gita. It is an essentially Vaishnava text: in it, Krishna (Vishnu) explains spirituality and the self to his friend and devotee, Arjuna. Vaishnavas worship Krishna/Vishnu as the only God. In the end, Krishna tells Arjuna to "abandon all varieties of religion (or righteousness) and surrender to me." BG 18.66 So, the translation should ideally be by someone who is well-educated as a Vaishnava; someone with a guru, who is linked into the tradition of teachings that have been passed down through the ages. The least ideal arrangement is to have a translation that is made by someone who doesn't understand the tradition, and therefore can't make the translation clear and understandable. Sanskrit is a very context-dependent language, and it is extremely complex: learning the language is not sufficient to qualify a person to translate scripture.

I'd suggest starting by reading the Baghavad Gita with a good general commentary. "The Living Gita" by Sri Swami Satchidananda is a good one that I can personally endorse.

He also has a commentary on Patanjali's yoga sutras that I would recommend after that. Namaste, and much blessings in your studies!

Try this:

https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-gita-Photographic-visual-greatest-spiritual/dp/1503367126

Its a photographic version of the Bhagavad Gita so that it's easier to read, and it's summarised so you don't have to worry about reading the Sanskrit verses. It flows very well and the pictures make the knowledge easier to connect with. I really liked and would recommend.

I don't believe he is part of ISKCON, since although he edited a book about ISKCON he apparently said in that book that his only experience with the movement was as an outsider.

However, there is evidence that he probably does follow Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Bryant is also known as Adwaita Das, per these lectures on YouTube, and internet rumors (unfortunately all I can find at the moment) say he was initiated by Shri Haridas Shastri. He also did a translation of the 10th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, which isn't proof of anything in itself...but given how central that text is to Gaudiya Vaishnavas, it may not be an accident that he chose to work on that particular scripture.

So as far as I'm concerned, I'm pretty confident Bryant follows a Krsna Bhakti tradition of some sort. Which suits me just fine as that's my personal tradition as well. :)

The as it is iskcon version is fine for gaudiya vaishnavas,but for those who arent initiated into that school,i prefer recommending the eknath easwaran translation.

i'd recommend buying it,or the cheaper essence of gita for one's first read of the gita for a better understanding,after all one gets a first time only once and i want you to have the best possible time reading it

https://www.amazon.in/Essence-Bhagavad-Gita-Eknath-Easwaran/dp/8184953410/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=gita+eknath+easwaran&qid=1563862904&s=gateway&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.in/Bhagavad-Gita-Classics-Indian-Spirituality/dp/1586380192/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=gita+eknath+easwaran&qid=1563862904&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Eknath Easwaran's translation and introduction to it is wonderfully insightful and beautiful. Highly recommend it: http://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Classics-Indian-Spirituality/dp/1586380192/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417116671&sr=8-1&keywords=eknath+easwaran+bhagavad+gita

The better one(because Easwaran tends to see "Lord of Love" everywhere) would be the commentary Gudartha Dipika by Madhusudana Saraswati. And the commentary of Adi Sankara,the founder of the school that Madhusudana Saraswati belonged to.

Online,the commentary of Sankara is available. And the famous Jnaneshwari commentary on the Gita(if you wish to buy it on Amazon).

Basically,I'm following up with what /u/CaliforniaJade said.

In terms of active practitioners I'm not sure, but I think you might find this to be a good starting resource:

Tantra Illuminated

It's by an academic but the book is meant for a general readership.
He's also a practitioner himself and used to teach retreats, though I can't find the links except to these downloads.

I think you'll find the book worthwhile.

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

>Avatar Art?

No, I mean Krishna Art. Avatar Art is a good book, it's been in reach of my bed for months, I love looking at the images a lot. But Krishna Art is this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Krsna-Art-Bhaktivedanta-Swami-Prabhupada/dp/096280830X

Eknath Eswaran version is my favorite since it gives a synopsis before every chapter and a really long introduction which is good. Check it out The Bhagavad Gita, 2nd Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1586380192/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_bZDBDbGMEBK8X

I'm pretty conservative and hardcore,but I would not recommend the Vedas or Upanishads first. One can get around completely without touching these. I would recommend first the Bhagavad Gita with a classical commentary(ones by Shankara,Ramanuja,Madhva,Dyaneshwar,Abhinavagupta,etc).

• Gita with Sankara's commentary with notes from Anandagiri's gloss translated by AM Shastri. A PDF of it can be downloaded
  
• Jnaneshwari,or Jnaneshwar's commentary on the Gita. Amazon
  
• Ramanuja's commentary on the Gita
  
  Then as /u/nura2011 said:
  
  >the prasthAnatrayi, the two epics, and a purana or two (or three: one each from the Vaishnava, Shaiva and Shakta traditions) that gives you an overview of mythological Hinduism. In addition, go through a few overview texts to get an idea of schools that resonate with you (perhaps Kashmir Shaivism, for e.g.), and then go into books of those.

I suggest the Stephen Mitchell translation: http://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-A-New-Translation/dp/0609810340/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1344000555&sr=8-2&keywords=bhagavad+gita

It is both linguistically and aesthetically beautiful.

If you want a short, cut-and-dry "Western" kind of history, this one is good although kind of dry (in my view): http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0192853872/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1420169174&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

Thank you for your reply, I am becoming very aware of the charlatans going around, Tantra is intriquing but I think I am a long way from exploring that and would probably wait until I can actually visit India, I just want to get the core basics of it all before I figure the path I want to take, Shiva has had a lot of presence in my life too for example. For the Gita the version I am reading is this one which I saw mentioned on here.

Tantra Illuminated. It will get you familiar with the history and practices of Tantra.

https://www.amazon.com/Tantra-Illuminated-Philosophy-Practice-Tradition/dp/0989761304


And also The Radiance Sutras. This is a interpretation of the classic text, the Vijhana Bhairava Tantra.

https://www.amazon.com/Radiance-Sutras-Gateways-Delight-Sanskrit/dp/1604076593/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=D18X705BV1Z8CJT5GNJD

Kali Kaula is not a good introduction to tantra. I highly recommend Christopher Hareesh Wallis's Tantra Illuminated.

> Swami Prabhavananda

Doing some googling, I also found The Living Gita: The Complete Bhagavad Gita - A Commentary for Modern Readers by Sri Swami Satchidananda. In particular, this translation was recommended for its verse-by-verse commentary. Do you have any thoughts on this translation? Thanks

These should be more than enough for now. Come back on this sub and ask for more once you've studied them.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1586380192/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523421674&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=bhagwat+gita&dpPl=1&dpID=41TTg75BCIL&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/8129100746/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1523422410&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=the+principal+upanishads&dpPl=1&dpID=51bEobPxXxL&ref=plSrch

Get a copy of Kim Knott's book: http://www.amazon.com/Hinduism-A-Very-Short-Introduction/dp/0192853872

Nobody is going to take the time to write out even a basic explanation of Hinduism on an internet thread. It's simply too much information, too broad.

I unfortunately just wasted $10 on this. It's nothing more than a collection of New Age buzzwords and apologia for Western feminism.

If anyone wants to actually learn about Mother, I would recommend Devadatta Kali's translation of the Devi Mahatmaya.