The oldest literature in the world...
Well, not quite. The Vedas are however some of the oldest texts to have survived as living literature till our time.
The Veda are the literature of the Brahman elite in India. They were composed between 2000 BC and 500BC (roughly, no dates are clear when it comes to ancient India).
Oral Literature - written down
In fact: most of the people transmitting the texts don't have a clue what they are saying: they are just experts at having memorized the sound. I'm using present tense for a reason here: there are still Brahmins who learn these texts by heart the traditional way.
Vedic Sanscrit: Ancient Sanskrit
The fact that Sanskrit is an Indo European language means that it is in some ways easier to learn than say modern Chinese or Japananese - for people who grew up learning a Western European language like English, German or French (or in my case Dutch).
It's still pretty hard though. Sanskrit has 8 cases where modern German only has 4. I did learn Sanskrit, but a more modern version called 'classical Sanskrit' which is only 2000 years old.
The different Veda
The Rig Veda is the oldest. It's also the most sacred. It contains hymns to the ancient Vedic Gods.
The Sama Veda is a collection of formula or mantra to be sung by a udgatar or chanting priest.
The Yayur Veda (there is a Black and a White one) are Veda's to be sung by the adhvaryu or officiating priest
The Atharva Veda is also reasonably old. It contains stories, charms, predictions and hymns.
Generally people who are interested in Hinduism only read the Rig Veda. That's already such a large text that to read the other veda is just too much.
Some of the Vedas available for you
Traditional Hindu literature
Sacred Verses, Healing Sounds, Volumes I and II: The Bhagavad Gita, Hymns of the Rig Veda (Chopra, Deepak)
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Amazon Price: $16.46 (as of 11/11/2009) 
Wisdom of the Vedas (Theosophical Heritage Classics)
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Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 11/11/2009)
Gods in the Veda
Ancient Hindu religious beliefs
Indra
289 (about a fourth) of the Rig Vedic hymns is dedicated to one God: Indra. Indra slays the dragon of drought Vritra as well as the smasher of the Vala stone that held Morning captive. In this way he liberated the rivers and daytime. Indra was, in other words, a most powerful God who was responsible for drinking water and sunlight. He is sometimes interpreted as related to the European thunder and storm gods Thor/Donner or Zeus/Jupiter.
Agni
Agni is close second with 218 hymns dedicated to him. He is the god of Fire and since fire sacrifice was central to the worship in the Rig Veda (and still in Zoroastrianism) it is not surprising he was sung to so often.
Soma
Soma is the famous ritual drink of the ancient Indo-aryans (as the authors of the Vedas are called). The drink was dedicated to Indra, so in a way the hymns dedicated to Soma are also tribute to Indra.
The Upanishads
The first Hindu philosophy - religious views
Traditionally the Upanishads are seen as the end result of the Veda. In the Upanishad the Veda are interpreted in ways that signal the start of Hinduism in India.-
The Upanishads quotes and introduction
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After the Vedas the Upanishads are the most revered texts in Hinduism. What are the Upanishads? The Upanishads are texts which contain the basis of the later philosophy of the Hindus. Vedanta especially is based on the Upanishads. This lens illustrat...
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Hindu religious views and essays
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Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure
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Great book if you want to go to India yourself - especially if you're interested in India as the home of spirituality. I read the book in one go: couldn't put it down. It's interesting as a story of personal and spiritual growth and as a catalog of...
Interested in the Vedas? Did I miss anything?
JoDeeVale wrote...
I enjoyed this very much, as I am exploring the Vedas. Thank you.
Posted May 07, 2009
LindaJM wrote...
Great education! I was wondering which of the Vedas I should read first -- and now, I know! Thanks so much.
Posted January 08, 2009
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See also my spiritual blog for posts about India and Hinduism.-
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Veda talked about online
- The Rig Veda's Secret Nature | Folks Magazine
- Although many may find it hard to understand the concepts of Yoga and later Hinduism in the Rig Veda, we first need to remember that deities themselves in Hinduism are symbolic in nature, as are the Vedic ones.
- PHinisheD...: Vedas, Hinduism and Sanathana Dharma
- Though the origin of this hymn is from Rig Veda, the musical version of it can also be found in Sama Veda. Rig Veda is a collection of hymns and Sama Veda revises them adding musical aspect to them. The term Hinduism, or rather Hindu is ...
- Rein's religion blog: Hinduism, day #3: Rg-Veda, Chandogya Upanishad
- Hinduism, day #3: Rg-Veda, Chandogya Upanishad. From today: 1. I move with the Rudras, with the Vasus, with the Adityas and all the gods. I carry both Mitra and Varuna, both Indra and Agni, and both of the Ashvins. ...
- Hinduism « ALAIWAH!
- She also brings the horse back to the centre of the Hindu imagination. From the great Ashvamedha sacrifice, described in shudder-inducing detail in the Vedas, to the raging hooves of Kalki, it is the horse?an animal not native to the ...
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