Advaita and Rg veda

[Venkataramani K.]

Dear Shri Jaldhar Vyasji and Prof. Himanshu Daveji,

Thank you very much for being so considerate and explaining me the
intricacies involved. As I told you earlier, I have only read the Bhagavad
Gita and parts of Srimad Bhagavatam. In BG Lord Krishna says that it is
only through a realized soul that we can understand the Supreme. So, I
totally agree when you say that we need to learn the vedas only from a
realized guru. I certainly don't think that reading a book is a substitute.
I started reading Sri Aurobindo because that is one of the English
translations that doesn't treat the vedas as a mundane text. Most western
authors treat the vedas that way. I am not a follower of Sri Aurobindo.

I am from a Smartha Iyer Brahmin family of Tamilnadu and I regret not
having learnt our scriptures. Instead I was just aspiring for corporate
success. Atleast now I want to learn them seriously. Of course, it is
better late than never. I am seriously contemplating a return to India, so
that I can take up a job there and also learn the scriptures parallelly.
Till that happens how I can start building the foundation? Is it a good
idea if I approach the priests at Livermore Hindu temple and ask them to
teach me the basics? Back home, our ceremonies were always performed only
by certain priests. We follow Sama veda. Does it mean that I can only learn
from certain priests and not just anyone? By the way, I just started
reading Hindu dharma by Kanchi Paramacharya. Thanks for the information.

Once again thank you very much for offering to help me in my endeavour.
Since I am very ignorant regarding the scriptures, kindly forgive me if my
questions are too basic.

Thank you and regards,
Karthik