Reviews for The influence of Indian thought on Ralph Waldo Emerson

The average rating for The influence of Indian thought on Ralph Waldo Emerson based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-02-19 00:00:00 Malyna Swyter A review of Ralph Waldo Emerson's work as it relates to Vedanta Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the early American philosophers whose work was deeply influenced by Vedanta. This book purports to find the commonality between his work and the principal concepts of Vedanta. The work is disappointing in one major aspect; the author dwells throughout the book quoting Emerson's' numerous writings without devoting enough time to discuss the key concepts in Emersonian philosophy. From paragraph to paragraph, the author switches abruptly into different essays of Emerson as a rollercoaster. In the first chapter, Emerson's thought is explored with particular reference to his observations of India; the American discovery of India amounts to breaking the traditional Eurocentric approach in United States. An analysis of his Harvard College Exhibition Poem "Indian Superstition" in the second chapter focuses on Emerson 's beliefs. Chapter Three follows the stages of Emerson's growing appreciation of Indian thought and his increasing ability in relating it to his life and his philosophy. The fourth and fifth chapters analyze issues and themes in Emerson in the light of his Indian awareness. They are crucial to our understanding of the man and his work as they reveal the scope of his vision which is finally dealt with in the concluding chapter called "Brahma". The progress of the Emersonian vision from "Indian Superstition" to "Brahma" is a measure of a man who would invest his entire life understanding the metaphysical elements of life, and come to appreciate Vedanta very deeply. His belief in Vedanta was shared much later by luminaries such as physicist Erwin Schrodinger, David Bohm, and Nikolas Tesla. This book examines in some detail the four aspects of Emersonian thought; ¬Self, Illusion, Evil and Compensation as they relate to Vedanta. In his discussion of physical reality, Emerson's subjectivism provided him with the strongest reason for denying a personality to God. He suggests that perhaps there are no objects, that perhaps, even God is one of our creations, this is revolutionary concept of Divinity at his time. This idea evolved later into his vision of Brahma, in which he states, "Perhaps these subject¬-lenses have a creative power; perhaps there are no objects." Emerson's doctrine of illusion can also be interpreted as a variation of his concept of the nature of God. Since God is not confined into a personality, therefore physical reality cannot be contained in experience. In 1826, Emerson wrote: "The world is clothed by our imaginations in beautiful delusions. Who would rise from his sluggish couch if the colors were withdrawn & we beheld the ghastly reality of things?" Early in his life, Emerson had confronted the problem of illusion and reality. This idea is so relevant in modern physics that leading physicists like Ed Witten believe that space and time could be illusions. The highest objective of Hindu religion is to restore the bond by which the self, or atman, is linked to the Self or Paramatman; thus enabling the Self to recover that unity which is clouded and obscured by the illusions of life, called the Maya. The highest purpose of life, according to the Vedic scriptures is to transcend the cycle of rebirth by union with Brahman. Emerson revealed an awareness of the symbolic aspect of Hindu texts when he wrote in 1845: "Emancipation from existence, they say, is the Indian beatitude. I think it intends emancipation from organization." Emerson's theory of illusion was based on the belief that the experience of life's illusions disciplined man to the understanding of the true nature of his Self. For a better discussion of Vedanta and Emerson, I recommend Swami Paramananda's book.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-09-20 00:00:00 Bjorn Ellingsen I read this book when I was hopelessly naive (which I still am, but the severity of my naivety has notably been diluted) - back then, I didnt know that Ralf Waldo Emerson sucks. Now I do.