Comparing The Baghavad Gita And The Upanishads

This style favored subjective perception and rebelled against life-like depictions. In a similar way, because unregenerate hearts cannot fully recognize the handiwork of God in art and in the natural world, unbelievers can only appreciate art at a subjective, superficial level, even if they understand the historical and cultural context of a given work of art. Believers, however, can see the deeper meaning behind even the artist’s message because they recognize that all artwork reflects the creativity of the original

Before I read Stephen Prothero’s God Is Not One, I did not know much about Hinduism. For me, Hinduism conjured the images of bright colors, richly adorned statues, and jovial worship and dance. When we visited the Ganesh Temple in Flushing, that is exactly what I saw. Yet, now I know the reason for all these things. Although Hinduism is a largely varying tradition, it is namely about love and celebration. Given the evidence from Prothero’s book and my observations at the Ganesh Temple, Hinduism is a tradition that aims to gives purpose to human’s wandering souls through devote worship to deities and rituals.

Hinduism is considered by many to be the oldest religion in the world that is still in practice today. Followers of the Hindu religion, called Hindus, make up the third largest religion in existence. Hinduism is mostly a polytheistic religion, meaning that most Hindus believe in many gods and goddesses, although some sects of Hinduism do believe that there is one supreme deity. Hindus traditionally have four life goals: moksa, dharma, artha, and karma. Like most religions, Hinduism has spread to the West. With this expansion of religion comes the use of sacred religious gods and symbols in Western pop culture. Many times, the use of Hindu religious symbols by non-Hindu Westerners is culturally appropriating and unnecessary. However, other times what some consider to be culturally appropriating is not so at all to others.

My personal reaction to this art is that they are scary. Also, this is an old painting and it has to do something with religion.

The Dallas Museum of Art has a wide variety of ancient and modern art from around the world. The DMA’s Asian collection has a large array of artworks that represents Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. In the DMA’s Asian collection I found two statues that were both called The Lokapala (Heavenly Guardian). The Heavenly Guardians were the first thing my eyes settled on when I entered the room where they stand on display. The way the figures were displayed as well as being able to see them up close and in person allowed me to have a greater connection with the artworks as well as a greater appreciation for the craftsmanship of the pieces more than I would have if I saw them on a screen.

Hinduism is an Indian phenomena, it is difficult to define, and difficult for the outsiders to understand some of the unusual religious, philosophical and cultural beliefs. It is according to Huston Smith, the…” least dogmatic and most diverse of all religions…” because of the belief that there is a ‘flowing though’ cycle where in samsara ones is born, lives, suffers, dies and is re-born over and over until the ‘moksha’ occurs. This spiritual liberation is achieved by yoking oneself to God then one may reach Atman: the real self that is separate from the physical body. It is unchanging, eternal and a sign of the soul and spread throughout all the parts of and in the earth. This is the God that cannot be understood or always known yet Hindus are encouraged to relate to the God they know best.

Since the dawn of society, religion and art have been intertwined with the purpose of conveying a message. Religious artwork allows individuals to come together under one cause and share a meaningful relationship with one another. For

Art can be used to express a specific understanding of the supernatural, the values, the universe, human body and life, and the environment of a culture. To Buddhists, the sand mandala’s represent the universe and human life. Mandala’s represent the world in its heavenly form on the outer level, a map of the human mind being transformed into an enlightened mind and a secret level showing the perfect balance of energies in the body and mind. The art in Buddhism reflects the idea that art can be used to express deeper meanings such as the universe and human life. Art can affirm cultural values are the next aspect of culture. The sand mandalas are an accurate example of this as they use them to represent some of their cultural values about life,

Religion and art have gone hand in hand for thousands of years. Almost every religious organization makes use of it. It idealizes, glorifies, protests, and tells the messages of religion. During some time periods of out history are existed for the sake of faiths. Artists of our time are generally free to create and make statements on anything they want. People, nature, colors, or ambitions might be just as intriguing to an artist as the visual aspect of a crucifixion. Religion controlled art—it authorized it and used it as propaganda. Religion was presented in drawings, paintings, sculptures, buildings, everything.

The Upanishads emphasize that life is full of temptations. More importantly, that these temptations can be controlled by discovering why they are there to begin with. While the Upanishads use spirituality to define the good life, Herodotus believes instead that Earthly wealth defines the good life. Meaning materials wealth, having a faithful wife, being healthy, etc. Additionally, Herodotus mentions this belief through a series of narratives rather metaphors, that stress the point that a person’s “blessings” should also be a reflection of an individual’s heart. However, both Herodotus and the Upanishads include in their message the afterlife. They differ in a sense that, the Upanishads link eternity to the Atman, while Herodotus links the fate of an individual to the afterlife. Meaning, Herodotus expresses that the true revelation of the good life will not be unveiled until an individual as passed away. To conclude, the two perspectives of the good life are different between the Upanishads and Herodotus. Yet they are similar in the sense, of mentioning that the afterlife is the only way to know if you lived a good

Throughout time, Buddhism has had a significant influence within Indian art. The evolution of Buddhism can be examined through the use of Buddha in Indian Art. Through detailed research and analysis, the influence Buddha portrayed can be examined through the various pieces of Indian art. Within some of the earliest works of Indian art, Buddha was not shown in the human form. Much of his appearance was shown through a pair of footprints or an empty seat. (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History) Within the first century AD, Buddha was shown to truly conquer the artistic scene of Indian art. (Heilbrunn Timeline

The Phaedo and the Upanishads are two of the most influential philosophical texts that have ever existed. The Phaedo originates from traditional Greek western philosophy and the Upanishads originates from Hinduism. Plato’s Phaedo is one of the most important dialogues of his period. It depicts the death of Socrates and is also Plato’s fourth and last dialogue where he details the philosophers death. Throughout the book, Socrates discussed many aspects of philosophy such as: afterlife, ultimate reality, the Soul, mind/body, and also, put forth key arguments. The Upanishads contain the first concepts of some of the central religions such as: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The two Upanishads that were analyzed are the Katha Upanishad and the Mundaka Upanishad. The Katha Upanishad which is also termed “Death as Teacher” discusses Nachiketa’s encounter with Yama: The Hindu God of death. Yama teaches Nachiketa about “What is pleasant” and “What is beneficial”. The Mundaka Upanishad discusses and categorizes two different forms of knowledge that a person can possess. They can possess lower knowledge which essentially is knowledge of material world. It is knowledge that is not valuable, or they

Author CF discusses a popular theistic ritual in the religion of Hinduism. He describes how priest and lay people perform “Puja” every day in their homes and temples. The Priest and lay people perform “Puja” in front of the deities’ pictures. Author CF concludes that “Puja” is a ritual that gives praise to the powerful gods and goddesses, and is generally used to signify personal affection towards them too. Lastly, “Puja” establishes harmony amongst the deity and the worshipper that eliminates the dissension within them.

An Analysis of the Central Themes of The Bhagavad Gita and its Influence on Significant Historical Figures and Literature.

The Bhagavad-Gita is considered as one of the oldest religious writings in the whole world. Hindus believe that it contains God’s message, similar to the Bible and the Quran. In general, this scripture is a dialogue between the Supreme God and one of his devotees. This conversation was originally recorded in Sanskrit, but it has been translated to many languages over the years. This particular religious scripture is full of ancient myths, legends, traditions, and other writings. Its content is closely connected to Krishna’s life here on earth.