Hinduism: Worldly Success & Liberation

Worldly Success:

1) Drake - "Successful" Hip Hop 2010 (explicit)
2) Birdman, Drake, Lil Wayne - "Money to Blow" Hip Hop 2009  (explicit)
3) Flo Rida - "Money on my Mind" Hip Hop 2009  (explicit)
4) Jay Z ft. Alicia Keys - "Empire State of Mind" Hip Hop 2009
5) Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars -Billionaire  Pop 2010  (explicit)

The song I think conveys the desire of worldly success the most clearly is the very popular song by Travie McCoy called Billionaire:

Liberation:

1) Boys Like Girls - "The Great Escape" Pop/Rock 2007
2) New Boyz - "Tie Me Down" Hip Hop 2009  (explicit)
3) Natasha Bedingfield - "Unwritten" Pop 2005
4) High School Musical - "Breaking Free" Pop 2006
5) The All Time Low - "Weightless" Pop/Rock 2007  (explicit)

The song I think conveys the theme of liberation with the most clairvoyance is Breaking Free, from Disney's The High School Musical:

            Like when finding songs related to pleasure and community service, finding songs related to worldly success and liberation revealed a similar trend. In both cases, songs related to materialistic gain or worldly accumulations proved to be the easier of the two to find within the American music industry. Although I do not find this surprising, what I do find surprising is the disparaging proportion of songs related to materialistic gain, and also the insatiable desire to attain materialistic items  in comparison to the songs related to goals considered of greater noble intent according to the Hindu mindset, such as the goals of community engagement and ultimately the goal of liberation and moksha.

            However, there are still many songs related to liberation and freedom. Yet, these songs are slightly different in their content when compared to the goal of liberation as moksha in Hinduism. The songs about freedom are mostly ones relating to being free from a particular situation, such as from a binding relationship between a girlfriend and boyfriend. Other cases include being free and realizing the free-will to define one’s life and choose the direction of one’s actions. Other songs describe escaping from the situations of life and entering a new, tension-free realm. However, the slight difference between all these songs of liberation is that they convey a sense of “escapism” from their current realm. Rather, the idea behind the Hindu mindset is one of transcendence of the worldly realm, not just an escapism. The transcendence results from the realization that the materialistic desire and accumulation will never be enough, and that the ultimate meaning that is sought after these entities is also transient. Therefore, the pursuit of liberation is the most noble pursuit and is also the most meaningful. It is a sense of transcending the current plane after understanding its limitations, not necessarily doing so in an escapist way.  

            It would be very interesting to note the trends in some of the artists’ writings and lyrics throughout their music career. I would be interested to see if their original songs and predominant themes relating to materialistic gain and worldly success adapt as their career grows and as they see more of the world. I wonder if, in the later parts of their career, they will adapt a sense of understanding of the world that is geared more towards liberation and moksha in a transcending sense of way, rather than just an escapism from tension or stress.  

-Kunal

Hinduism: Pleasure & Community Service

Aim 1: Pleasure

1) (explicit) White Tie Affair, "You Look Better When I'm Drunk" Rock/Pop, 2010.
2) (explicit) Drake, "Best I Ever Had" Hip-Hop, 2009
3) (explicit) Rihanna ft. Drake, "What's My Name" Hip-Hop, 2010
4) (explicit) Jamie Foxx ft. T-Pain, "Blame It" Hip-Hop, 2008
5) (explicit) Katy Perry - "I Kissed a Girl", Pop, 2008

One of the songs that is most fitting is: Katy Perry, "I Kissed a Girl":

Aim 3: Community Service

1) Black Eyed Peas - "Where is the Love?" Hip-Hop,2009
2) Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson - "We Are the World", Pop, 1985
3) Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez - "Send it On", Pop, 2009
4) Jewel - "Hands" Pop/Country, 1998
5) Backstreet Boys - "Children Need a Helping Hand", Pop, 1997

One of the songs that is most fitting is: Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson - "We Are the World"

                Overwhelmingly, the more prevalent theme and the one easier to find in American pop culture revolves around Pleasure, rather than Community Service. The reason for this is debatable, but perhaps one of the most salient reasons is that as human beings we are embracing our animal instincts, embracing pleasure, immersing ourselves in pleasure and have not yet transcended our desires for pleasure. According to the Hindu mindset, the appeal of pleasure is insatiable for a period of time, after which we realize that its effects become transient and our true efforts should be dedicated to liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, or Moksha. While in the mode of pleasure, we are often drawn to its appeal rather passionately, and often express our emotions as humans in a variety of forms, the most appealing of which is in art – music, dance, paintings, etc. Especially with the growth of resources like YouTube and Google, the access to these types of passionate expressions has become much easier and has helped to synergistically enhance their popularity.

                The Hindu aims of pleasure often urge for self control in the pleasure. While not denying the ability to enjoy one’s moment and experience in pleasure, it does urge for one to do so responsibly and be weary of recklessness.  Very few songs in American Pop culture point to the negative sides of pleasure, or urge one to be weary of excessive pleasure. The songs often relate the greatness of a pleasurable experience, but often do not discuss any downsides of the event or anything that would detract from their appeal. Being of Hindu descent, I have had the opportunity to be exposed to Hindi music and have noticed that American songs about pleasure often overwhelmingly revolve around sex, whereas in the Hindu culture they focus more on innate beauty and their sublime nature. In the American mindset, the viewpoint is more related to conquering the experience and emotion of pleasure, where as in the Hindu mindset it revolves around immersing oneself in it, and standing in awe as to its sublime, unconquerable beauty.

                However, what I noticed that was personally interesting is that as I have grown from my teenage years, I have noticed that the songs relating to pleasure are appealing, but their appeal is becoming increasingly short-lived. The message in the songs related to community service have started to strike a deeper cord within me, perhaps because I have attempted to see life through a lens of deeper meaning and view the world as an interconnected web in which one’s actions effect others in an infinite number of ways. The themes of community service in both the Hindu and American mindset run rather parallel. Although community service in the Hindu mindset is not the ultimate goal, it is potentially a step in the gradual growth towards ultimate liberation, or Moksha. 

--Kunal Kapoor

February 6, 2011