/lit/ - Literature

>>19254248

>>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