Hinduism, rather we can say Sanatana Dharma has a multitude of sacred texts primary of which being Vedas Upanishads and bhagavad gita and others being Puranas, Itihasaas, Agamas and Darshanas!
There are countless books available in Indian market on the above subjects. the question remains – where to start? when I started in search of God five years of age, I had no inkling what God was all about nor any knowledge of the path I needed to travel. I searched for a Guru but did not find one. I started talking at length with people, relatives who had abundance of stories to tell relating to Sanatana Dharma.
I slowly learnt that in present times, the essence of sermon given by Bhagwan Krishn, that we knew as bhagavad gita carried utmost importance. In present times indulging in Vedas was not necessary. Just by indulging in bhagavad gita and 11 principal Upanishads one can reach state of moksha, the end of cosmic life in human form. In my personal case I relied more on satya than the literal jnana wisdom contained in bhagavad gita and Upanishads.
Following path of satya, I could distinctly hear the voice of Atman coming from within my heart. I also realized that our Atman never resided in the body. It always existed on sun. While going through Tika on bhagavad gita by Gita press Gorakhpur, I finally realized that Krishna was none other than our own Atman. The prime reason why Bhagwan Krishna has always been depicted as sarthi in the battle of Mahabharata. By following dictates of Bhagwan Krishna coming from within my heart, I could know the essence of entire bhagavad gita in totality. By doing so, never in my entire life was I required to open bhagavad gita even once.
As time passed by I sometimes indulged in the principal 11 Upanishads to get a good grasp of the Sanatana Dharma etymology. In layman terms, in present lifetime if we are able to indulge in 700 shlokas contained in bhagavad gita, then we need not indulge in any other Scripture of Sanatana Dharma. To grasp and assimilate the inner meaning of 700 shlokas contained in bhagavad gita, Brahm has stipulated a long journey of 1.1 million manifestations in human form, that roughly amounts to spending 10 million years on mother Earth.
In whatever phase of life Ramakrishna Paramhansa or Maharshi Ramana had been, both finally succeeded in reaching cosmic end-of-life, 8.4 millionth manifestation in their lifetime. This is possible for every seeker of Sanatana Dharma. We only need to follow the right teachings and the righteous path.
Tika on bhagavad gita both in English and Hindi are available with Gita press Gorakhpur and also original text and Tika of 11 principal Upanishads. One can refer to them, do chintan on the various precepts and try to reach the hidden underlying meaning of each shloka. Slowly the wisdom contained in bhagavad gita would start dawning on us. Many books are also available in the open market – we can read them from time to time. Essence of adhyatma always laid in reaching the hidden underlying meaning, than giving a literal read.
I stopped going to temples once I realized Brahm lived in our heart. By remaining truthful, following path of satya all the time, I could easily decipher the gist of 700 shlokas verses contained in bhagavad gita. I also practiced brahmacharya for a continuous period of 12 years, without break. Simultaneously maintaining a positive attitude throughout life I could finally awaken kundalini shakti in stages. When 37 I finally had a Sakshatkar with Brahm for 2 1/2 hours. As of now everything contained in bhagavad gita is like ABCD to me. Once we reached stage of self-realization, God realization – everything we received was permanent.