The Symposium And The Bhagavad Gita Essay - 1725 Words

Paper Assignment 2 Prompt 1 When it comes to the subject of love and desire, it would seem that The Symposium and The Bhagavad Gita disagree as to whether those qualities are beneficial to achieving spirituality or detrimental. In the Symposium, Plato states that desire is part of the pathway to achieving spirituality. By contrast, the unnamed author of the Bhagavad Gita seems to state that desire is an obstacle in the pathway to achieving divinity. Their perspectives can seen through their texts that connect of love to the divine, Plato’s way of reaching divinity and the way of reaching divinity that is mentioned in the Hindu scripture of The Bhagavad Gita. Through the readings of The Bhagavad Gita and The Symposium, it is clear that love and desire seems to be a asset to fulfilling one’s divinity rather than an obstacle. An important part of the subject is that in both The Symposium and The Bhagavad Gita, love is seen as sort of a divine force. At the setting of the Symposium, Plato, through the speeches of the other great minds at the Symposium, introduces the possible concepts that Love might be a God that is one of the beautiful gods of all. However, according to Plato, love is neither a god nor human, but â€Å"He is a great spirit, Socrates. Everything classed as a spirit falls between god and human† (Plato 38). This quote is crucial to the rest of the content of The Symposium because by saying that Love falls in between the status of gods and humans, Plato is able toShow MoreRelatedThe Bhagavad Gita And The Symposium2073 Words   |  9 PagesDesire in the Bhagavad-Gita and the Symposium Concepts of love and desire cross cultures and time periods, defining human interaction and goals with its powerful force on the human mind. The line between love and desire is not always clear and people from philosophers to scientists have attempted to understand these complex emotions and how they may be right or wrong. Desire has been characterized mainly as a distraction that will hinder humans on their solitary paths to self- enlightenment, butRead MoreDesire In The Symposium1508 Words   |  7 PagesIn Plato’s The Symposium, a group of well-versed men consider philosophical arguments, specifically regarding the role desire plays in a virtuous life. As academics and philosophers who hold high rank in the social system of ancient Greece, these men are praised for their wisdom and eloquence. One such philosopher, Pausanias, gives a speech early in the text that addresses desire as a multifaceted concept, setting the tone for the novel. The Bhagavad-Gita, an ancient India n text that is much reveredRead MoreLove And Devotion : Everlasting Concepts With Innumerable Meanings1655 Words   |  7 Pageschanged; and the studying of great texts such as the Plato’s Symposium, the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible, and the Bhagavad Gita have contributed to the expansion of my knowledge on such abstract topics. Love holds various meanings that vary from person to person, which is largely what is so remarkable about it. Love is an emotion, a drive, an expression; love is many things combined into one strong pull to some force. In The Symposium, love holds many interpretations by the various speakers, butRead More Siddhartha Essay: Hindu and Buddhist Thought1501 Words   |  7 Pagesbetween Siddhartha and the Bhagavad Gita, an important poetical document of the Hindu religion. Timpe maintains that Hesse was influenced largely by the Bhagavad Gita when he wrote his book and that the protagonist was groping his way along the path prescribed by the Bhagavad Gita. Hesse was indeed familiar with this important work, and a comparison between it and Siddhartha is rewarding.    As Timpe points out, the basic central problems of Siddhartha and the Gita are similar: how can theRead MoreConcepts Of Love And Desire2059 Words   |  9 Pagesbecause they are literally regarded as a disposable vessel for the real spirit which is placed in much higher standing within the world order. In the same way, â€Å"beauty of minds as more valuable than that of the body† (Plato 48) is an emphasized in the symposium. This connection to the concept of the other text where the bodies of humans and other material things are of much less value than that which is less tangible. The mind is valued for its infinite possibilities and its connection to knowledge. The