India and Emerson

“The East has ever been a romantic puzzle to the West, the home of adventures like those of Arabian Nights, the abode of magic, the land of heart’s desire, one to which even men of waning faith may turn for confirmation in the hope that after all the spiritual counts.

–Dr. S Radhakrishnan
[Eastern Religions and Westem Thought]

The oriental-occidental cultural intercourse began in Graeco­-Roman times. The humanism, the idealism and the spiritualism of the oriental philosophies have been attracting the attention of the catholic, the eclectic and the fertile minds of America for about two centuries.

Shortly after the American Declaration of Independence, American ships, from the Indian ports like Calcutta and Bombay to the American ports like Salem and Boston, carried a great variety of Indian products: indigo, sugar, silk and cotton goods, and Indian classics translated into English by Sir William Jones, Sir Charles Wilkins, Horace Hayman Wilson, Henry Thomas, Colebrook, John Stevenson and others of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Thus the splendorous expression and the sonorous music of the Vedic hymns; the lofty, esoteric thought of the Upanishadic seers; the profound insights and unfathomable wisdom of the Manudharmasastra, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata; the eclectic philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita – which appealed to the idealists and the materialists, the men of contemplation and the men of action alike-became accessible to the American intellectuals in the first quarter of nineteenth century. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was one of those fortunate American intellectuals.

II

Emerson learnt through his special upbringing to be responsive and sensitive to all great thought irrespective of region or religion. He had an idealistic disposition and a speculative bent of mind. He possessed unflagging optimism and staunch individualism. These qualities enabled him to become the high priest of American Transcendentalism. “To Emerson,” says Frederick I. Carpenter, “the word ‘Asia’ had an emotional as well as an intellectual meaning. ‘Asia’ was more than an Eastern Continent, and it was more than the literature produced by that continent. It was a symbol for the unknown for the other half of the world­ for mystery and romance and poetry and love, and religion.” To young Emerson, Oriental books were recommended by his aunt, Mary Moody Emerson. Though he could not initially fathom the intricacies of Oriental thought for some years, later he found in it much material favourable to his own system of values and ideas. It made his own thought very rich and universal. As a voracious reader, he read the following on Oriental thought: Robert Southey’s The Curse of Kehama; Sir William Jones’s Hymn to Narayana, ‘The Ordinances of Manu and fragmentary translations of the Vedas and Upanishads found in his works; Sir Charles Wilkins’s The Bhagavad Gita; Horace Hayman Wilson’s The Vishnu Purana; Henry Thomas Colebrook’s Essays on the Vedas; Eugene Bonruouf’s Bhagavat Purana and Rammohan Roy’s Translation of Several Principal Books, etc. The Prince of New England Brahmins was deeply interested in Indian philosophical concepts like Brahman, Atman, Paramatman, Maya, Karma, and Punarjanma. His poems and essays like “Brahma,” “Hamatreya”, “Maya”, “Illusions,” “Representative Men”, “The Over Soul”, “The Progress of Culture”, “Poetry and Imagination,” “Inspira­tion”, “Greatness”; and his journal are permeated with the aroma of Indian thought. For instance, the close resemblance between the first stanza of Emerson’s “Brahma” and the following sloka of the Bhagavad Gita is conspicuous:

“Ya evam vetti hantaram
            Yat caihatn manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijanito
nanyam hanti na hanyate. “

(He who thinks that this slays and he who thinks that this is slain, both of them fail to perceive the truth; this one neither slays nor is slain.” iThe Bhagavad Gita, 2, 19)

“If the real slayer think he slays,
Or if the slain think he is slain
They know not well the subtle ways
I keep, and pass, and turn again.”
(Emerson’s “Brahma”)

Further, the Sage of Concord declares in his journal: “The Indian teaching, through its clouds of legends, has yet a simple and ground religion, like a queenly countenance seen through a rich veil. (It teaches to speak the truth, love others as yourself and to despise trifles.) The East is grand and makes Europe a land of trifles.” Moreover, he says: “I think Hindus’ books are the best gymnastics for the mind.” Emerson propagated Oriental ideas and ideals through the periodical, “The Dial”. “Amidst this ceaseless, sleepless din and clash of Western materialism, this heat of restless energy,” proclaimed Pratap Chunder Mazoomdar, “the character of Emerson shines upon Indian scene as the evening star. He seems to some of us to have been a geographical mistake...He ought to have been born in India...Perhaps Hindus were closer kinsmen to him than his own nation...” In the same vein wrote Mahatma Gandhi, an admirer of Emerson: “The essays to my mind contain the teaching of Indian wisdom in a Western Guru. It is interesting to see our own, sometimes thus differently fashioned.” Thus the impact of Indian thought on Emerson is undeniable.

III

Is Emerson relevant to today’s India? Has Emerson’s personality got any appeal to modern Indians? These questions can be answered in the affirmative. All the salient traits of Emerson’s personality are inspiring and invigorating. They should be emulated by us, especially by the younger generation. Eclecticism is one of Emerson’s chief traits. Emerson studied Eastern as well as Western philosophies and imbibed the essence of all great thought, irrespective of region or religion. The younger generation, instead of indulging in sweeping generalizations, better emulate Emerson and study and decide what is living and what is dead in Indian culture and other cultures. Unflagging optimism is another chief trait of Emerson. In India today it is realistic to notice the descent of the clouds of despair, and disillusionment on us with naked eyes rather than visualize the descent of divine conscious­ness with mind’s eye. But it is cowardly to give up hope and indulge in acts of defeatism.

A retrospective glance at the long history of India would reveal that this mighty nation passed through darker periods than the present one but it emerged out of them owing to the untiring efforts of some of our forefathers. Equipped with unflagging optimism and indefatigable energy, the younger generation should try to make their motherland shine like a radiant sun again. Another chief trait of Emerson’s personality is his idealism. We should remember that idealism is not the antonym of realism. In fact, as Jawaharlal Nehru puts it, today’s idealism is tomorrow’s realism. “Hitch your wagon to a star,” says Emerson. So it is realistic on the part of the younger generation to put faith in some ideals and high goals and strive hard to attain them. This process would elevate us and enable us to attain certain higher levels, if not perfection.