America’s Personal Values, Compared

1187 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Influences of religion on culture and society

America’s Personal Values Compared

Great Indian authors have written grand epics that depict heroic characters performing virtuous deeds. Many of these epic tales feature fearsome and godly battles, while others highlight the soft side of human emotions. Despite seemingly unrealistic characters such as talking hawks and ten-headed monsters, and unlikely conflicts that feature bloody battles, many of these grand epics display many traditional values that Americans value in modern society. When construing three particular celebrated Indian epics (“the Mahabharata,” “the Bhagavad-Gita,” and “the Ramayana”), readers would easily glean the values and belief system that Ancient Indian society held in high esteem many thousands of years ago. Moreover, by comparing and contrasting respective ideals and principles, similarities between Ancient Indians and Americans would come to surface.

The Mahabharata teaches the value of integrity through the story of a deal between a king and a hawk. At a nearby river performing a ritual sacrifice, a king comes across an injured dove trying to escape the clutches of a hawk. He makes a vow to protect the dove and says, “This bird has come to me for asylum. It is my duty to protect it,” (From the Mahabharata). The hawk rebuts and cites his need for food; consequently, the king cuts a deal and promises to exchange his own flesh to compensate the hawk’s loss: “You shall have my flesh and nothing less,” (From the Mahabharata). The gods reward him for his integrity and bestow upon him the gift of prosperity. Certainly, our modern society values integrity to a great extent, but the king in this story goes above ordinary ethics and endures pain to protect an innocent life. While most Americans might not s...

... middle of paper ...

... integrity, duty, and honor. The mere prevalence of these regarded values in modern society indicates their utility and tenability. Even though modern Americans might not on a day-to-day basis physically sacrifice themselves, go to battle, or fight a ten headed monster, they share the same principles of integrity, duty and honor with heroes of Ancient Indian Literature toward their perspective towards life.

Works Cited

"From the Bhagavad-Gita." Prentice Hall Literature. Trans. Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood. Upper Saddle: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. 182-89. Print.

"From the Mahabharata." Prentice Hall Literature. Trans. R. K. Narayan. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. 174-81. Print.

"From the Ramayana." Prentice Hall Literature. Trans. R. K. Narayan. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. 190-98. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Identity in Tender is the Night and Appointment in Samarra

    2696 Words  | 6 Pages

    Tomkins, David. "Appointment in Samarra." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 21 Oct. 2013

    Read More

  • Moralism In The Bhagavad Gita

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the beginning of humankind, people have constantly had to deal with inner battles. Many of these issues cease to exist as time goes on, while new ones arise to take their place. There is one issue, however, that has remained consistent throughout time – morality. For centuries, humans have fought against the outside world and themselves to keep their morals properly aligned. The issue of morality is so dominant that it is still plays a vital role in today’s society. This can be seen in wars, law systems, codes of conduct, and religious texts. An example of a religious text where this can be seen is in pages 185 - 188 of the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna, also referred to as “The Blessed One”, guides Arjuna through his inner struggles between

    Read More

  • Careful Manipulation in Coleridge's Kubla Khan

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. “Kubla Khan.” Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R. S. Gwynn. New York: Addison-Wesley. 2002.

    Read More

  • Destruction Of The Indies By Bartolome De Las Casas

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    Avarice, often erroneously associated with ambition, serves as the purpose to achieve supremacy over the masses, one of the fundamental cornerstones of human nature. Ever since the beginning of civilizations, humankind has been the quintessence of authority and power; constantly striving for the satisfaction of the desire to obtain material wealth correlated with aforementioned prestige. Literature, like any other invention contrived by mankind, often conveys the views and depictions of the vicissitudes that certain groups -Indians for instance- undergo. Subsequent to the discovery of America, works of literature were written to portray the description of the New World, and the hardship that the natives endured for several years.

    Read More

  • The Nature of Honour in Virgil and Homer

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...pics we can get at least a partial picture of how the ancient civilizations regarded the concept of honour and come to a few conclusions about what it is and how it functions. At times it seems like a commodity that is traded around, and it is certainly attached to material goods. One’s birth and fate, and more importantly how they act and what they do with their fate, adds to one’s honour, but it is most important to be courageous and show excellence through great deeds, especially military victory.

    Read More

  • Integrity In American Culture

    592 Words  | 2 Pages

    Integrity; it's a word that has seemed to be lost in our country as of late. There isn't much more to be said than that. In American culture, this virtue has seemingly lost all of its sheen, as being honest and showing moral uprightness is not exactly the most attractive of actions anymore. Indeed, if one were to ask a random bystander on the street what the word integrity actually means, they probably would not be able to answer accurately. I personally find that a sad truth, as integrity is not only something that I know, however, but it is also one of my most treasured virtues. I personally believe that integrity is not merely an idea. This virtue is an action; how one decides to live their life every single day.

    Read More

  • What Is Honor?

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    Honor is one of the many things that cannot have one accepted definition, it and its meaning change from person to person, culture to culture, time period to time period. A definition for honor that is generally accepted is that it has to do with high respect and nobility. This, however, only raises more questions. What do different peoples, different cultures, or even people of different times think of honor? These are some of the questions that we will answer, or at least try to. In this report, we will go over what honor is within other periods of time (including modern day), what it is within different cultures, describe what honor is to an American, and compare this American honor to that of another people, the Shi’a Islamic people.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Beowulf And Gilgamesh

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    One can understand the values and virtues of a certain culture or society through the hero of the culture’s epic. The hero mirrors the culture’s many virtues through various tasks and battles. In the Anglo Saxon epic Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney and the ancient Mesopotamian epic Gilgamesh translated by Herbert Mason, the valiant heroes Beowulf and Gilgamesh undergo many challenges, proving themselves as a hero, portraying the society's morals. Both Beowulf and Gilgamesh, heroes of their culture, display their culture’s values yet the variation in the values clearly show.

    Read More

  • Bhagavad Gita And Confucius Analects: An Analysis

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    A large amount of ancient texts contain themes relating to violence, power, and war, while others, such as The Bhagavad Gita and Confucius’ Analects, focus on individual and collective development through a series of selfless acts. The two texts provide an in-depth system of duties and learning created to provide direction for the betterment of the self, as well as society as a whole. The Bhagavad Gita places a greater focus on the duties of individuals that must be fulfilled to achieve an enlightened state with the divine forces. Contradictory consequences are presented for those who choose to act in an egotistical manner and deny their duties. Confucius’ Analects, on the other hand, places its main focus on collective development and responsibility

    Read More

  • Bhagavad Gita And The Analects

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Bhagavad-Gita, a portion of the great epic the Mahabharata, is the “most typical expression of Hinduism.” It is eighteen chapters long and was composed around the first century BCE. The sage Samjaya recites the story to the blind king Dhrtarastra, the father of the Kaurava princes. While presenting ideas of wisdom, duty, and liberation in the midst of the rivalry between the Kauravas, the Bhagavad-Gita epitomizes the teachings of Krishna. Focusing specifically on the moral struggle of the Pandava prince Arjuna, the Bhagavad-Gita’s major themes include yoga, karma, dharma, and moksa. Yoga, being discipline or the strict and “attentive cultivation of mental character and meaningful action” , is crucial to the text because it is dharma yoga, acting properly according to one’s dharma, and bhakti yoga, a disciplined life of devotion that allows one to achieve moksa, or liberation, one of the four aims of li...

    Read More

  • Human Values and Social Structures

    1876 Words  | 4 Pages

    Human Values and Social Structures It can be said that Golding describes the moral of the book in relation to the scientific mechanics of society. This is found as a major theme in the book, which is actually fear. The boys on the island view this ideal in the form of the "beastie". The "beastie" is an unseen figure on the island, which is symbolized by the dead parachutist. This fear, however, represents the potential evil found in humans.

    Read More

  • A Reflection upon Creation: Hinduism and Buddhism

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sayings of the Buddha: A selection of suttas from the Pali Nikayas. Gethin, Rupert. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.

    Read More

  • The Mahabharata

    2003 Words  | 5 Pages

    Imagine a land with lush jungles blooming fruit, flowers, and weeds providing a cool shade from the scolding sun and calming breeze flowing from the turbulent Ganges River. The Ganges River you say? Your mind start churning like a rusted bicycle belonging to adult who long ago stop greasing the gears as he transitioned out of a child, trying to remember your countless spoonfuls of geography from K-12 you realize I am talking about northern India and henceforth this is where our epic The Mahabharata unfolds. Dating 400 B.C. to A.D. 400 this epic like many epics evolved over many hundreds of years starting from a oral tradition told over an starry night around a warm communal fire transcribed into being written down in Sanskrit, the native and most popular language in India at that time. It is one of the longest epic ever written narrated from our book stating:

    Read More

  • My Personal Values Essay

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    Understanding who we are as individuals can be a struggle for people throughout life. It can be difficult to comprehend who we are and why we exist. There are daily outside influences that help create who we are and what our values are. Values play a significant role in our lives. They shape the choices we make and reveal a big part of our identity to the world. Some values may be more important than others, but they still manage to influence our lives in one way or another, whether we know it or not. Values can range from a tangible item to an idea that has influenced us to stand by and remember those values. The values we hold with the highest importance act as a guide and help us prioritize our purpose and goals in our daily life. My family has taught me a list of values and traits that have helped me become a well-rounded individual. I value my family more than anything because most of my core inner values have started from their teachings at one point or another. My top values that I have developed from my family are dedication, honesty, and wisdom. I will discuss who I am in terms of the important values that shape my personal belief system and decision making framework that, in essence, describes the direction of my life.

    Read More

  • Connection between Dharma and Destiny: Mahabharata

    1306 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kini, MD. "Sense, Non-Sense and Common Sense." Mahabharata: A Story of Dharma. N.p., 03 Mar. 2011. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

More about America’s Personal Values, Compared

Open Document