Assignment Two

I looked at “Worldly Success” as the attainment of wealth, position, honors, celebrity, etc. I felt that this was a pretty typical definition from the American view point, while my understanding (correct me if I’m wrong) of the Hindu viewpoint of worldly success also includes wealth, fame, and power. It is important to note that these paths, in Hinduism, are limited and precarious. I think it is understood in our culture that these things don’t last forever (“15 minutes of fame,” etc.) but I’m not entirely convinced that we quite view them as precarious. In addition to the obvious successes of fame and money, I felt that success could also include simply having your life, which is why I included the Nina Simone song.

For the second aim for the assignment, I defined “Liberation” as not just the attainment of being free (whether from jail, oppression, life) but also the seeking of becoming liberated. I have understood the Hindu interpretation of liberation to be a focus on Moksha – a break of the cycle of death and rebirth (samsara). Needless to say, the songs that came to mind did not deal with the liberation from samsara. The majority of liberation songs I thought of dealt with people seeking freedom from the sorrows and trials of life, from violence and oppression, searching for peace (I would include attaining peace as a form of liberation).

I felt that the two aims were fairly equal in terms of prevalence. This may be that I really don’t have a wide grasp on popular culture and thus have a limited scope. I think that this is because popular culture is obsessed with achieving success (in various formats) but also yearns for liberation from the alternating monotony and tribulations infused in human life.  As expressed previously, I think the two views on worldly success are similar between American and Hindu thought (the only difference being the precarious bit), but the two views on liberation deal with different ideas (material/emotional/physical liberation versus eternal liberation).

WORLDLY SUCCESS

1) Nina Simone, Ain't Got No/I Got Life, Pop, 1968.

2) Three Days Grace, The Good Life, Rock, 2009.

3) Lady Gaga, Paparazzi, Pop, 2009.

4) Fiddler on the Roof, If I Were a Rich Man, Soundtrack, 1971.

5) Monty Python, The Money Song, 1971.

LIBERATION

1) Bob Marley, One Love, Reggae, 1977.

2) Los Lonely Boys, Heaven, Rock, 2004.

3) Glynis Johns, Sister Suffragette, Soundtrack, 1964.

4) A Perfect Circle, Imagine, Rock, 2004.

5) The Soggy Bottom Boys, I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow, Folk, 2000.

Hinduism Assignment One

Aim Number One: Pleasure
1. Queen, "Don't Stop Me Now," Rock, 1978.
2. Panic! at the Disco, "Lying is the Most Fun...," Pop punk, 2005.
3. All Time Low, "Dear Maria, Count Me In," Pop punk, 2007.
4. The Audition, "Warm Me Up," Pop punk, 2008.
5. Mayday Parade, "Jamie All Over," Alternative rock, 2007.

Aim Number Two: Community Service
1. Bill Withers, "Lean On Me," Soul, 1972.
2. Simon & Garfunkel, "A Bridge Over Troubled Water," Folk Rock, 1970.
3. The Hollies, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," Rock, 1969.
4. Cyndi Lauper, "True Colors," Pop rock, 1986.
5. Jewel, "Hands," Pop rock/Contemporary, 1998.

Looking at aims #1 and #3, I defined “pleasure” as “anything that pleases the self” and “community service” as “helping others (in various formats).” Naturally, I could think of many songs dealing with different aspects of pleasure, as pleasure is a very popular topic. It was a great deal more difficult to think of songs dealing with community service and helping people. Perhaps society as a whole prefers promoting selfish – selfish simply meaning matters dealing with the self, not necessarily referring to the bad connotation that arises – whims, while encouraging others to be of use to their community and the world is put on a back burner in comparison. For aim #1, it was hard for me to select only five songs to post. There are a lot of choices! I decided to go with more blatantly “pleasurable” songs. Songs #2 and #4 are about lust and sex – the “dirty” side of pleasure. Song #3 is about a stripper – while not everyone’s idea of a good time, some go for that sort of thing. Songs #1 and #5 talk more about having a good time, making good memories, living life to the fullest. Aim #3 was another matter all together. When I think of community service, I think of Habitat for Humanity, a food pantry, helping a little old lady across the street, etc. I guess I was dwelling more on actions, not on an emotional level. It was the “emotional” that kept popping up when I was searching for applicable songs. All five of the songs listed for aim #3 deal mostly with helping people in need of emotional encouragement.

What did I observe?
The main observation I found, and no surprise here whatsoever, is that frankly people like a good time. It is in our nature to seek out pleasurable things: cute animals, sunsets, being in love, sex, alcohol and other substances, you get the idea. A pending observation, one that I’m still pondering over, is the fact that there aren’t as many (still quite a few when you do some sifting of course) songs in popular culture about helping those in need. I’m still contemplating the reasons of why that is.

How does the Hindu understanding of the four aims of life differ from what was expressed in American pop music?
Is there much of a difference for the first aim of pleasure? Pleasure is pleasure. Perhaps it is different for the fact that in Hinduism, it is believed that eventually one will tire of seeking pleasure and will instead turn to seeking the greatest aim of salvation/liberation, while the American understanding appears to not enforce the eventual lack of desire to seek pleasure. I feel that there is probably a greater difference for the third aim of community service. As I said earlier, the majority of songs that I did think of are about helping others on the emotional level while I think the Hindu understanding focuses also on the physical needs.