The movie the “Legend of Bagger Vance” is a film based on the sacred Hindu story the Bagavad Gita. The movie incorporates the major aspects of the story, while telling them in a modern day version. Since the film is based on this ancient Hindu text, it is easy to draw similarities between the two. Although the movie demonstrates the key lessons of the Bagavad Gita in a distorted view, connections can be made between the characters and the roles they play in each other’s lives.
The characters in the movie “Legend of Bagger Vance” are playing roles that mimic the characters within the ancient Hindu story. One character that demonstrated a similarity was Rannulph Junuh. Junuh was a young golfing star, who was destined for success, until he returned from war and quit the game. When the town of Savannah began organizing a golf tournament, Junuh was faced with the dilemma of struggling to play a game where he once was the star, in order to please others. Rannulph Junuh’s struggle shows a relation to the Hindu character, Arjuna, in the Bagavad Gita. Arjuna, the prince of Pandava, was a young and brilliant warrior who was chosen to defend his kingdom from the Kauravas. However Arjuna did not understand why he had to kill his family and friends just to please other people and for a kingdom he wasn’t even sure he wanted, so
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he decided not to fight.
Arjuna came up with many arguments for why he could not go into battle, but the real reason was because he was afraid of the reaction of killing others. This is similar to how Junuh refused to
play in the tournament at first because he feared losing and letting everyone down, and would be embarrassed about how he played. However the real reason he did not want to play was because he feared that he could not anymore after losing his swing when he was in war. Both of these characters had to grow and overcome their struggles with the help of others, in order to succeed which is why they are one way that shows how the “Legend of Bagger Vance” and the Bagavad Gita are similar. Another example of how the movie and the ancient sacred story relate is through the messages that Bagger Vance and Krishna teach and by both acting as teachers for Junuh and Arjuna. Bagger Vance is a caddy who Junuh hires after he explained that he can help him get his “true swing” back. With Bagger Vance’s help, Junuh learns how to forget about the baggage he is hanging onto from his past and focus on his future. Bagger Vance explains to Junuh that he was born to play golf and tries to pushes him to be the champion he once was. This is similar to Krishna’s lesson to Arjuna. Krishna was Arjuna’s chariot driver. When Arjuna refused to fight his family, Krishna worked to ease his fears by explaining that his actions do not define who he truly is. Both of these characters worked as teachers to help the ones who looked up to them get past their fears and perform their tasks to the best of their ability. With the help of Bagger Vance and Krishna, Arjuna and Rannulph Junuh were able to learn that their actions had an effect on the outcome, and that it was up to them the make the right choices. Since the characters in the Bagavad Gita and the “Legend of Bagger Vance” draw connections between the plots and characters, it shows that the movie is a modern day retelling of an ancient tale. Even though the film does not go into great detail about the key aspects of the story, it still offers a look into major Hindu concepts and makes them more relatable the general public. Both the movie and the sacred story express that each individual is destined to follow a certain path and it is up each one of us to follow it.
Hermann Hesse’s novel “Siddhartha” is one of spiritual renewal and self discovery. The novel revolves around the life of one man named Siddhartha, who leaves his home and all earthly possessions in an attempt to find spiritual enlightenment. The novel contains many themes, including the relationship between wisdom and knowledge, spirituality, man’s relationship to the natural world, time, love, and satisfaction. To portray these themes, Hesse employs many different rhetorical devices, particularly diction, symbolism, and point of view. These devices allow us, as a reader, to reevaluate our lives and seek fulfillment in the same way that Siddhartha did.
The central difference between John Gardener's Grendel and Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, both stories of spiritual growth and development, is not thematic. Instead, vast differences in tone and language make the self-deprecating monster easy to empathize with and the soul-searching wanderer simple and detached. Despite their stylistic differences, both works stand alone as examples of philosophical and spiritual evolution.
In conclusion, in Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, a young Brahmin man leaves home on a quest for spiritual enlightenment. Throughout his journey, Siddhartha proves he is a heroic figure. He accurately follows the steps in Joseph Campbell’s “Heroic Quest Model” from his call to adventure, to his freedom to live. Siddhartha also collaborates with numerous dictionary definitions of a hero. Siddhartha’s admired qualities such as courage, bravery, and nobility within Campell’s “Heroic Quest Model” define him as a hero.
Timpe, Eugene F. "Hesse's Siddhartha and the Bhagavad Gita." Comparative Literature 22.4 (Fall 1970): 346-357. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 196. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Merriam- Webster online dictionary defines an epic hero as, “ A grand and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or effected by grand events.” The same dictionary also defines an epic poem as, “a story told about a hero or exciting events.” The Epic of Gilgamesh is often considered the oldest story on earth; which would make Gilgamesh, the story’s controversial main character, and the world’s oldest epic hero. This epic set a precedent for all epics to follow; it displayed most of the traits that society commonly perceives an epic hero and epic poem should have. The Epic of Gilgamesh exhibits tendencies of an epic poem through its inclusion of an epic hero, multiple gods and goddesses, and it’s vast array of settings across the world. Additionally, Gilgamesh presents attributes of an epic hero through his quest for immortality, his noble birth and his battles with superhuman foes.
But Lord Krishna says to Arjuna “If you turn from righteous warfare/your behavior will by evil/for you will have abandoned both/your duty and your honored name”, meaning that Arjuna’s cowardice will bring evil and his “honored name” will be lost and forgotten (Bhagavad Gita 1290). Arjuna is in fear of ending their lives, a plaguing uncertainty that is his fault they’ll perish away at his sword and he’ll just be as evil as the men who stole the throne away from his rightful claim. Lord Krishna is saying that it is Arjuna’s duty to fight for virtuous and moral reasons and forsaking his post to fight against the evil, and Arjuna will become what he is fighting against – evil. Arjuna’s external and internal actions are plaguing his eternal being at stake, as Lord Krishna continues with “People will speak of your disgrace…suffers a fate much worse than death”, meaning that shame will carry on in the next life he lives, forever haunted by the
The pains of pilgrimage are deep and various. They are found not simply in the physical walking, but also in the walking away from physical and mental comfort. In his book, Journey Through the Twelve Forests, David L. Haberman describes in graphic detail the parting and participatory pains as he journeys on the Ban-Yatra pilgrimage. The Ban-Yatra (literally ‘forest journey’) is a 200-mile circuit through the forests associated with Lord Krishna’s activities around Braj, a town in central India. Krishna is a deity favored by many Hindu religions. He is an ever-playful prankster and lover whose actions, as told in the stories, display a blatant disregard for social conventions. A tenet of the Braj religion is that all life is to be modeled after Krishna’s lila, or play; participation in this play is essential for the Braj Vaishnavaite. Haberman writes that, "with the irresistible call of his flute, [Krishna] lures his players into the forest to experience his essential nature, which is declared to be ananda – ‘joy’ or ‘bliss’" (Hab 5). Ban-Yatra pilgrims take to circumambulating Braj to participate in Krishna’s play, and also to experience Krishna’s ananda. Yet, by the end of Haberman’s story of a quest for joy, the reader has acquired a deep understanding of a pilgrim’s pain – an ironic and unexpected conclusion. Haberman also recognized this contrast and found it confusing, asking throughout his book such questions as, "What does all this suffering have to do with the journey through sweet forest, expressly in pu...
When discussing the controversial authors of Indian literature, one name should come to mind before any other. Salman Rushdie, who is best known for writing the book “Midnights Children.” The first two chapters of “Midnights Children” are known as “The Perforated Sheet”. In “The Perforated Sheet” Rushdie utilizes magic realism as a literary device to link significant events and their effects on the lives of Saleem’s family to a changing India. In fact, it is in the beginning of the story that the reader is first exposed to Rushdie’s use of magic realism when being introduced to Saleem. “On the stroke of midnight/clocks joined palms” and “the instant of India’s arrival at independence. I tumbled forth into the world”(1711). Rushdie’s description of the clocks “joining palms” and explanation of India’s newfound independence is meant to make the reader understand the significance of Saleem’s birth. The supernatural action of the clocks joining palms is meant to instill wonder, while independence accentuates the significance of the beginning of a new era. Rushdie also utilizes magic realism as an unnatural narrative several times within the story to show the cultural significance of events that take place in the story in an abnormal way.
The documentary starts with a story of the birth and early life of Siddhartha. The first story is of Siddhartha’s mother, the queen of an Indian kingdom, who had a dream before she
After reading The Epic of Sunjata, a few similarities between both The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Ramayana jumped out. First, there was the recurring theme of the protagonist venturing on an epic journey, and like the other two epics, the journey is not necessarily important, but serves as an illustration of how remarkable the hero is. Another similarity includes that both Sunjata’s father and Ramayana’s father were kings which lead to both Sunjata and Rama feeling the need to prove themselves in order to become the leaders they were destined to be. Of course, there are also differences between the epics. Gilgamesh, for example, is already a king to begin with and does not feel compelled to prove himself. Sunjata, on the other hand, is physically handicapped and is the unlikely hero. Perhaps the most noticeable contrast between the epics is the lack of direct involvement from gods in The Epic of Sunjata. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gods typically rule over humanity and deal harsh punishments like flooding the earth because the humans were making too much noise.
Although Gilgamesh and Siddhartha were from different time periods and cultures, they both were in search of the meaning of life and a way to control their own existence. The epic of Gilgamesh stems from 2700 BCE Mesopotamia. Its importance in mythology is due to its revelation of how the culture from that period viewed religion, death, heroes and gods. Siddhartha, born Siddhartha Gautama in either the 5th or 6th century BCE in what is now Nepal, was known as the Buddha or “the enlightened one.” His teachings are considered the core of Buddhism. Along with others, both Gilgamesh and Siddhartha are the Explorer character archetype, also referred to as the Wanderer or Seeker.
Adiga’s use of monologue is key to the formation of this emotional bond between the reader and Balram as it gives a direct insight into his opinions and reasoning. Throughout the text Balram conveys his story in a first person perspective and often adds his own thoughts as well as perspective on the events. An example of this opinion giving is when Balram states “in this country we have two kind of people”. These kinds of thoughts are commonly displayed throughout the text and characterise him to be an intelligent, interesting person, despite being only “half-baked”. This forces the reader to start to like his character and appreciate his potential. The use of monologue also allows Adiga to further develop Balram’s character with the use of tone. Throughout the text Balram sustains a humorous yet condescending tone again furthering the reader’s appreciation towards him. An ex...
Arjuna is warned to “Be intent on action, not on the fruits of action; avoid attraction to the fruits and attachment to inaction” (Ch. 2, 47). To refuse the fight, to refuse to take action, as Arjuna is considering seeing his family across the field of war, is to take the road of cowardice (Ch. 1, 44-46). Yet, heaven will welcome with open arms he who is fierce and dies in battle, and should he live, he will be celebrated on earth (Ch. 2, 37). Arjuna is a warrior, it is his duty to fight, and taking the road of inaction, he chooses cowardice. Even in killing his family, they don’t really die (Ch. 2, 12-13), and so there is no reason to refuse to fight, as Krishna explains. It is the nature of both Krishna and Arjuna to fight, and they have been and will continue to do so for as long as their souls remain. To take inaction, Arjuna would refuse memory and instead welcome delusion, for he would be forgetful of the nature of his soul. However, Arjuna must also refuse the temptation of the fruits of action. Even though his senses might be under control, should he still crave the fruits of action, he will become a “self-deluded hypocrite” (Ch. 3, 6). Desire for the supposed reward of taking action clouds the senses and “driven by desire,
The Bhagavad-Gita is a historical and archetypal poem about the history of a battle fought. It is also an archetypal myth because the story explains the struggles that we as an audience experience within ourselves.. The Bhagavad-Gita provides how to make big decisions and a scripture of having to feel wisdom when deciding to make a choice. The book also focuses on following puzzles to solve the problems when facing society and people's’ obstacles. From my point, I enjoy the plot in the story because the book have many guidance to direct the readers to the correct
...torn between the two cultures in Trinidad. He chooses the culture he will find more in, and be amongst other people who are equally intellectual. He goes from failing as a teacher to giving up on being a mystic masseur to an accomplished politician. The characters in the movie also influence the career roles that Ganesh takes on throughout the movie. Ganesh’s drive and passion also helps the transformation all through the movie. He bounces back from lowly roots to a political official in Trinidad as well as a respected masseur and religious writer/scholar. The Mystic Masseur by V.S. Naipaul illuminates the reconstruction of Ganesh from the Indian culture to the British culture, where he found his self-worth, where he belongs and he found himself.