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Bhagavad Gita And Gilgamesh Comparative Essay

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The Epic of Gilgamesh and Bhagavad Gita examine how life should be lived. The Epic of Gilgamesh discuss how people should live their lives to the fullest and leave a legacy behind because once they die, their life is over; “He entered the city and asked a blind man if he ever heard the name Enkidu, and the old man shrugged and shook his head,” (Gilgamesh). As soon as Enkidu died, no one knew who he was because he did not leave a legacy behind. The only way to be remembered was to make an impact on the townspeople's’ lives so they would continue to speak about you even after death. However, in Bhagavad Gita they discuss how one should live their life selflessly and for others because the goal is to be reincarnated into a human being again and …show more content…

Bhagavad Gita believes in reincarnation but at the same time believes that within their current life, they should still live it to the fullest and leave a legacy behind before they reincarnate into another human being. “For one who has been honored, dishonor is worth than death,” (Bhagavad Gita). Krishna tells Arjuna that even though he will continue on into his next life, he must still live up to his duties and fight this war because it is his destiny and he cannot outrun destiny. Both The Epic of Gilgamesh and Bhagavad Gita want people to live their life to the fullest but for different reasons. In The Epic of Gilgamesh the main purpose for someone to live their life and leave a legacy is because once they die, their life is over and the only way for their name to live on is to leave a legacy behind. Bhagavad Gita teaches people that while there is reincarnation and a second shot at life, it is still important to fulfill one’s destiny and gain the honor from fulfilling said destiny. Both stories carry a common theme about how people should live their lives, but both have different reasons as to why people should live their life to the fullest

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