I was most taken with the excerpts we read from the Rig Veda and the Upanishads. The style of the writing, to me, is beautifully poetic (probably as a result of the oral tradition) and unassuming. It does not try to directly declare to the reader the way things are or how they came to be, but suggests certain ideas and offers extended metaphors to influence the reader to arrive at the answer, or their answer, by his or her self. This goal is achieved by following the stories and dialogues of gods and humans, in which one is learning a lesson from the other. The dialogues bring the reader along for the ride and allow them to learn that lesson as if they were a character in the story; such is Black's main point in the excerpt we read from The Character of the Self in Ancient India.

In comparison to Christianity, the religion I was raised with, I find many concepts in Hinduism familiar but believe them to be presented in a more interesting and intellectual manner. In Christianity, there are ideas about the individual soul and the Holy Spirit, life after death, one's individual relationship with God, and one's own self-awareness, knowledge, and growth, but I don't find these as detailed and complex as the singular concept of the ātman, which partially embodies all of these ideas. The level of consciousness that is strived for is almost impossible but nevertheless respectable.

What I like the most is that the sacred texts of Hinduism operate on the assumption that there are certain truths that already exist, have existed and will continue to exist, and therefore do not need to establish themselves as instructors of these truths, but as outlets of discussion and reflection.