Hermenêutica dialógica entre o mito de Sísifo e o Bhagavad-Gitã

Abstract

This dissertation proposes an interpretation of Albert Camus’ Myth of Sisyphus and the Bhagavad-Gītā using a dialogical approach inspired by the work of Paul Ricoeur. The Myth of Sisyphus and the Bhagavad-Gītā can be seen as metaphors that can help us to orient ourselves in the inevitable adversities that every human being faces in the course of his or her life. This research connects a number of concepts common to both texts, which belong to very distant eras and cultures. By conceiving the Bhagavad-Gītā as a three-storey building, a number of elements of this sacred text could be identified which are useful in order to interpret the Myth of Sisyphus. Among other things, awareness, detachment and the pursuit of profound happiness are common to the works from which it has been possible to elaborate a dialogical hermeneutics. Moreover, the philosophy of action in the Bhagavad-Gītā, which suggests that a task should not be carried out with the fruits of labour in mind, helps us understand how Sisyphus can find a form of peace of mind in the execution of his arid and hopeless task. Once we consider Sisyphus' activity as a form of yoga, the mysterious happiness the hero feels at the end of the Myth is enlighten. Finally, although the Gods take an important place in both texts, this question is approached in a completely different way in the two works since the Bhagavad-Gītā presents an absolute Supreme God to whom one must submit without restraint, whereas in the Myth of Sisyphus, Camus proposes a confrontation with the Gods.