The Good Life
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, we are told of the story of Gilgamesh, the king and the leader of Uruk, and his encounters in life. In this story, the theme of death takes center stage in the whole novel. Gilgamesh has little understanding of mortality, and even himself as a king may face death. He is committed to exploring life assumed by human beings, what it is, and what can be considered a good life for human beings. The Epic of Gilgamesh resolves around the king and Enkidu, who is the second self of Gilgamesh.
Epic of Gilgamesh opens by the unnamed narrator stating that he was going to give the whole story of Gilgamesh’s life (p.61). We are told that Gilgamesh lived repeatedly writing, which was a critical duty for a prominent figure such as a king in the society during those days. This way, we are convinced the Gilgamesh assumes a good life for human being as a life in which people are committed to duties one has been assigned to in the society. In pursuance of “a good life,” the king is fully engaged in writing as a core duty assigned to him.
A good life, according to The Epic of Gilgamesh, is one accompanied by achievements in the specialty from which humans pursue. We are told that Gilgamesh worked hard to achieve several accomplishments from which he will earn praise from the very people he ruled. As a result, we are welcomed to the city of Uruk to survey the king’s accomplishments. “Climb upon the wall of Uruk; walk along with it, I say; regard the foundation terrace and examine the masonry: is it not burnt brick and good? The seven sages laid the foundations” (61).
Mortality has been depicted in The Epic of Gilgamesh as an essential part of human life. Thus, a good life must also be accompanied by death. Gilgamesh himself is two-thirds god and one-third human being. He is a hero whose status has been pushed high by his accomplishments. His attributes tower higher than those of the rest of us. Yet he is mortal. This is a clear indication that a good human life does not separate from death because, without death, life would be meaningless.
The exploration of Gilgamesh and Enkidu shows that a good life is accompanied by companionship. Gilgamesh finds companionship in his new half, Enkidu. A man needs a fellow man by nature through which the two men fulfill their desires. In the wilderness, Enkiru then develops desires for companionship. Harlot seduces him, a woman he finds in the wilderness. Enkudu is pleased by this because he longed for a friend for a long time (p.65).
Additionally, a good life is one in which fairness and justice prevail. When Enkidu dies, his death is mourned by the people of Eruk. Gilgamesh himself let his hair grow long for the sake of Enkidu (p.65).
In his life, Gilgamesh is busy looking to find out what a good life is. Gilgamesh goes on in search of everlasting life, an activity that is enabled by his superhuman quality, two-thirds god. He goes into five leagues and then into six leagues looking for a good life (p.99). Gilgamesh crosses over to Utnapishtim, who does not delay asking, “where are you hurrying to?” In response to this question, Gilgamesh says that his hurry is meant to let him find the life he is searching for (p.106). This is how Gilgamesh came to realize what good life was. When he finally returns home, he is worn out and eventually dies, meaning he found a good life through going through the normal life pattern expected for a human being.
In the Bhagavad-Gita, we learn what consists of a good life through two of the characters, Kristina and Arjun. The Bhagavad-Gitas story begins at a battlefield with Arjun, a great warrior fighting against injustices. Kristina takes Arjun into a lesson about life in the form of dialogue conversation. According to Kristina, a good life should be full of pleasure in whatever one does. “Enjoy life completely,” Kristina advises (p.14). Thus, people are to have control over their duties, but not the results.
Kristina advises that a good life is one whose main focus is searching for spiritual pursuits, rather than material accomplishments. Material life comes to an end, while spiritual life is permanent. Therefore, people are not to worry over if their material life is not good, provided their spiritual life was desirable. Material life, additionally, helps people stay calm by comforting them, but is not meaningful compared to spiritual life. Kristina tells Arjuna that a good life is anchored on faith. “Whatever is done without faith is useless. It has no value here or hereafter, O Arjuna”. All we need to do is not to think of big things which lead us into tensions and greedy activities but to have faith in the future that it shall be good. Above all, all material things collected in this world, Kristina advises, shall be left.
A good life does have no mortality. The belief that death is part of human life is not true because the world is not immortal. One who takes birth has to take death at some point, but this does not mean the end of life as the soul is completely immortal. The flesh diminishes after death, and the soul remains. This means that a good life should be one whose focus satisfying the soul rather than the outer body.
The argument with which Kristina is part is that a devoted life is a good life because the focus is on the future. Pursuing a devoted life means pursuing spiritual goals rather than material goals. It also means satisfying the soul and is, therefore, the life that people should aspire to.
The good life in the Bhagavad-Gitas is somehow different from what is viewed as a good life in the Epic of Gilgamesh in several ways. First, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, mortality is part of a good life, while Bhagavad-Gitas takes an opposing view because life cannot be ended by death so long as the soul exists. Secondly, according to the Epic of Gilgamesh, a good life is full of accomplishments of material things. Bhagavad-Gitas takes an opposing view, arguing that a good life should be one with which spiritual goals are prioritized, not material accomplishments.
Works Cited
Miller, Barbara Stoler. “trans. The Bhagavad-Gita: Krishna’s Counsel in Time of War.” (1986): 13-26.
George, Andrew. “Introduction to The Epic of Gilgamesh.” Trans. Andrew George, xiii–lii. London: Penguin (2003).