Hinduism Assignment #2: Success and Liberation

Success:

1. Nickelback, "Rockstar", Rock, 2005

2. Travie McCoy, "Billionaire", Hip-hop, 2010

3. Pussycat Dolls, "When I Grow Up", Dance-pop, 2008

4. Montgomery Gentry, "Something To Be Proud Of", Country, 2005

5. Drake, "Forever", Rap, 2009

Liberation:

1. Secrets in Stereo, "Not Today", Rock, 2007

2. Montgomery Gentry, "Some People Change", Country, 2006

3. Between the Trees, "The Way She Feels", Rock, 2006

4. Annie Lennox, "Dark Road", Rock, 2007

5. Martina McBride, "Concrete Angel", Country, 2002

The aim of success seemed to be more prevalent than the aim of liberation, although there was not as big of a discrepancy as there was with the pleasure/community service aims. It seems that our society puts a lot of stock into becoming rich and famous. If the songs aren’t about already having become rich (“Forever”), then they’re about wanting to become rich (“Billionaire”). Most of the songs that I found focused on the monetary aspect of success, being well known, having nice things, etc. However I did choose one song, “Something To Be Proud Of,” that talks about success measured not by how much money one has, but by how well they have provided for their family. I thought it was interesting to bring in another aspect of success, to point out the fact that we don’t have to be rich and famous to be successful and make something of our lives and ourselves. This definition of success is different from the Hindu understanding of it, but could be more fulfilling and less precarious in the end. By the Hindu definition, success is defined by wealth and power, and there will always be those underneath of you that want to be where you are. When we define success by other standards, it takes away the chance that those below us might threaten us.

It was interesting to me what I found when I was looking for songs about liberation. They were not hard to find, however I noticed that they all discussed liberation in a completely different way than the Hindu definition does. The songs that I found all talk about liberation from a certain thing, i.e. freeing oneself from drugs, alcohol, depression, abusive relationships, etc. In Hinduism, liberation refers to freedom from samsara, the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. However, I did find an interesting parallel between the two views. In the Hindu definition, liberation is supposed to be the one thing that will not leave you unfulfilled. It seems to me that the message of these songs is to encourage people to achieve a deeper fulfillment by liberating themselves from the things that are holding them back, and that are only hurting them. Once they do this, like liberation in Hinduism they will have found a deeper happiness and contentment that could not be found anywhere else.

Hinduism Assignment #1: Pleasure and Community Service

Pleasure:

1. The Summer Obsession, "Melt the Sugar", Alternative, 2006

2. **EXPLICIT** Pitbull, "Ay Chico (Lengua Afuera)", Hip-hop, 2006

Disclaimer: I don't condone this, but it works for the assignment. :/

3. Blue Swede, "Hooked on a Feeling", Rock, 1990

4. Faith Hill, "Breathe", Country, 1999

5. Cascada, "Everytime We Touch", Dance, 2006

Community Service:

1. The Black Eyed Peas, "Where Is the Love?", Hip-hop, 2003

2. Band-aid, "Do They Know It's Christmas?/Feed the World", Alternative Rock, 1984

3. Michael Jackson, "We Are The World", Pop, 1985

4. Ben Harper, "With My Own Two Hands", Reggae, 2002

5. Carrie Underwood, "Change", Country, 2009

It seemed to me that, by far, the more prevalent aim was pleasure. This might be because we as humans are so focused on our own desires, and ourselves but it’s also largely due to the fact that our culture puts such a huge emphasis on sex and desire. A few of the songs that I found were focused more on love and connection and sensuality, but in all honestly, it is so much easier to just come across songs about sexual pleasure. Community service doesn’t seem to be a very big theme in pop culture. That’s not to say that it’s not out there, but more often I came across songs that were simply a commentary on the problems and downfalls in our society, and not songs that talked about how we could change that, or what we’re doing to help. It seems like so many people can talk about what is wrong with the world, but no one has anything to say about what could be done about it. It was interesting to me to see this discrepancy in the number of songs about pleasure versus community. You would think that especially in the times that we live in now, people’s focus would be more on the community and world around them. Yet it seems like songs about desire and sex are what makes songwriters more money.

But, I’m digressing from the point of this analysis. As I understand it, the Hindu approach to the pleasure aim is that people will eventually need more than just pleasure to satisfy themselves. I think that by this understanding, it’s hardly comparable to American culture. What I mean by that is this: Americans do not seem to grow out of their need for pleasure (of some form) throughout their lifetime. Everyone wants to be satisfied. It’s hard to put this side-by-side with Hindu culture, because in their view, they have multiple lifetimes over which to break free from the need for pleasure. Americans, for the most part, believe that they only have one. Also, Hindus suggest that pleasure be indulged in sparingly, as to maximize pleasure without inflicting harm. That seems to be a concept completely lost upon Americans, who die of alcohol poisoning, drug overdose, and sexually transmitted diseases fairly regularly. My point is, everyone is obsessed with having their pleasures, and having them now. And for those people who do focus on community service, the question could be asked, “What is their motivation behind their actions?” Is it not to get some form of pleasure out of it, by helping others? That’s not to say that most people who give back to the community don’t have true intentions. I believe that many do. But there are, and will always be, self-serving people out there.