aneeshm
Deity
It depends on what exactly you want , Abaddon . If you want to read a magnificent story that will give you an insight into Hinduism , then read the Ramayana or Mahabharata . If you want to see the source of most of the cultural assumptions of this age in Hinduism , then read the Bhagwad Gita and the Puranas . If , however , you want the philosophical side , you should read the Upanishads . And lastly , if you want to see the very core of the religion itself , read the Vedas , with only the Brahmanas acting as a commentary .
In all cases , read only a translation , without any commentary ( except in the case of the Vedas , where the Brahmanas are sufficient commentary ) .
In all cases , read only a translation , without any commentary ( except in the case of the Vedas , where the Brahmanas are sufficient commentary ) .
I would suggest reading Genesis first, because it's the most imporant book because it sets everything up. It's rarely dull, and will give you a good base to continue off of. Next, you might want to read Exodus if you want to go chronologically. I would suggest that you definently read Ruth; and if you're interested in poetry perhaps Pslams and Song of Songs. Then let's skip the rest of the Old Testament and go to the New. I'd suggest you read all four Gospels, starting with John, then reading backwards through Luke, Mark and Matthew. (Why? Because you should start with the best; and you might lose interest if you have to read that whole chapter of geneologies in the first chapter of Matthew) All of the New Testament would be good to read, and is generally much easier to understand than the Old. I'd skip Revelations for now though, you're more than likely to just be confused by it. It's a rather hard to understand book.
