Download CHAPTER-V The Orient in Henry David Thoreau`s writings

H. M. Arif
CHAPTER-V
The Orient in Henry David Thoreau’s writings
The beginning of the nineteenth - century witnessed a small group of eminent American writers
who turned in one way or another towards the Orient. The period witnessed a tremendous
excitement when they discovered the Indian thought. It was an attempt to escape from American
materialism to Oriental spiritualism, from Western barren life, having almost no spiritual value,
to the Orient‘s spiritualism and metaphysics, from worldly happiness to the transcendentalism.
The time witnessed a group of enlighted persons, known as American Transcendentalists. They
believed in the existence of a divine world, beyond and above the world of senses which only
can be felt and experienced by the spirit and through intuition. They looked for the
enlightenment far from bankruptcy of institutionalized religion. They laid stress on the need for
reassessment of orthodox Christianity. They delivered public discourses on the core themes of
Transcendentalism that the human connection with nature is necessary for intellectual and moral
stability, for divine mind and idealism.
The present chapter attempts to figure out the Oriental aspects in the works of H.D. Thoreau, one
of the leading figures of the Transcendentalist Movement, who frequently and lyrically spoke of
the wisdom and spiritual insight of those Asiatic writers who inspired him. He himself says:
―The fact is I am a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher to boot. Now I think of
it, I should have told them at once that I was a transcendentalist. That would have been the
shortest way of telling them that they would not understand my explanations.‖ (Journal, March
1, 1853)
F.O. Matthiessen in his seminal book American Renaissance explores the facts about this great
writer. He writes: ―In spite of his keenness in scrutinizing the reports of his sense, Thoreau
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remained wholly the child of his age in regarding the material world as a symbol of the
spiritual.‖ (94) There is no other American writer, in his thinking, vision, insight and in his
writing who has a close association with the Oriental ideas than Henry David Thoreau. As a
disciple of Emerson, he began his career. Was he convinced on all major points of Emerson‘s
philosophy? It is a matter of another argument and analysis. But Thoreau‘s own intelligence, his
special method of looking at this universe, and his way of redefining religion in the mid
nineteenth - century America brings him very close to the Oriental philosophers. He defines his
line of thought in the following lines from journal for 1838:
―We may believe it, but never do we live a quite, free life, such as Adam‘s, but are enveloped in
an invisible network of speculations. Our progress is only from one such speculation to
another, and at rare intervals do we perceive that it is no progress. Could we for a moment drop
this by- play, and simply wonder, without reference or inference.‖ (W, VII, 61)
Gandhi appreciated him by acknowledging his indebtedness to Thoreau‘s Civil Disobedience and
his talks and writings. It is interesting to remember that when Gandhi was studying Law in
London, he came across this essay and he wrote in his biography that he adopted this meaningful
title as the slogan for the Passive - Resistance Movement that ultimately won for India its
independence from the British rulers. Gandhi‘s interest in and respect for Thoreau‘s writings was
long and intense. He translated and published it in his Indian Opinion in South Africa, a part of
Civil Disobedience. He was also inspired by Thoreau‘s other works. Subsequently Nehru
sponsored translations of some of them into the principal languages of India.
As an American writer, Thoreau was undoubtedly an aesthete. He found in Hindu
scriptures a way and vision of life with which he felt a profound affinity with the transcendental
philosophy. He found the waters of Walden Pond and the waters of the Ganga similar in
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sacredness. His A week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, published at the end of 1840‘s,
seems to be Oriental in nature, spirit and message. The pages of this book are filled with the
richest tributes to the wisdom of India and admiration for Persia and European literature. ―The
world at large conglomerates into one big divine family,‖ this philosophy of unison had
formative influences on his life and this impact has been interpreted in his writings. It was the
result of his basic idealism which made him dive into the Eastern Philosophy and draw strength
from the wisdom and spiritual insight of the Oriental literature.
He admired the spirit of the Oriental thought very frequently. As he says: ―What extracts from
the Vedas I have read fall on me like light of a higher and purer luminary, which describes a
loftier course through a purer stratum, free from particulars, simple, universal.‖ (American Veda:
from Emerson and Beatles to Yoga and Meditation. 39)
The above passage from ―A week‖ is a reflection of Vedic and Islamic thought which urges the
readers to lead a life of pure senses, divine services; to perceive hidden things not by reason but
by intuition:
We need pray for no higher heaven than the pure senses can furnish a purely sensuous
life. Our present senses are but the rudiments of what they are destined to become. We
are comparatively deaf and dumb and blind, and without smell or taste or feeling. Every
generation makes the discovery that its divine vigor has been dissipated, and each sense
and faculty misapplied and debauched. The ears were made, not for such trivial uses as
men are wont to suppose, but to hear celestial sounds. The eyes were not made for such
groveling uses as they are now put to and worm out by, but to behold beauty now
invisible. May we not see God (W, 1, 408)
Fascinated by the sacred writings of India, he attempted to transform the ancient wisdom into
modern action, and helped the New England Brahmins understand the genuine Brahminical
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philosophy. As a result, the Orient became the part and one of the literary objectives of
Thoreau‘s life, thought, and expression. Acknowledging the Eastern Mysticism in H.D.Thoreau,
John Weiss, a contemporary writer, says of him as quoted by Sydney Smith in his The Edinburg
Review:
Countenance was unruffled; it seemed to lie deep, like a mountain
tarn, with cool, still nature all around. There was not a line upon it
expressive of ambition or discontent: the flectional emotions had not
fretted at it. He went about, like a priest Buddha who expects to arrive
soon at the summit of a life of contemplation, where the divine absorbs
the human. (8)
His metaphysical lyric, ―Walden Pond,‖ offers an Eastern philosophy and makes him powerful in
thought and practice. He utters words of admiration for ―Walden‖ more sacredly than for God
and Heaven. The lines have been quoted from his book Walden Pond
It is no dream of mine,
To ornament a line;
I cannot come nearer to God and Heaven
Than I live to Walden even.
I am its stony shore,
And the breeze that passes over;
In the hallow of my hand
Are its water and its sand,
And its deepest resort
Lies high in my thought. (130)
The purity and divinity of ―Walden‖ bear comparison with the sacredness of River Ganges in
India. The poet relies on his instincts which open new passage for him in to Nature. When the
imagination of Thoreau is excited then he is caught up in to the life of the Universe. There is
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mystic illumination which has been reiterated by him again and again. He had a firm faith in the
Divine Immanence, as it is, according to him, a shadow and echo of ultimate reality. The study
finds the syncretism of Hindu and Sufic mysticism in his works which bear evidence of the
increasing impact on his creative imagination. He shows respect to his ―Ponds‖ in a well worded passage:
Now the trunks of trees on the bottom, and the old log canoe, and the dark surrounding
woods are gone and the villagers, who scarcely know where it lies, instead of going to the
pond to bath or drink, are thinking to bring its water, which should be as sacred as the
Ganges at least, to the village in pipe to wash their dishes with. (Walden Pond)
He said, ―In the morning I bath my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal
philosophy of the Bhagvat Gita. (179)
Holy Books of Hindu religion as The Vedas, which are full exhortations and wisdom of
Hinduism, exerted great influence upon his mind and infused his intellectuality as well. The echo
of reverence for these Vedas can be perceived in this passage from ―Higher Laws‖ by
H.D.Thoreau‘s book Walden, Or, Life in the Woods.
Nevertheless I am far from regarding myself as one of those privileged ones to whom
the Veda refers when it says, that ―he who has true faith in the Omnipresent Supreme
Being may eat all that exists,‖ that is not bound to inquire what is his food, or who
prepares it; and even in their case it is to be observed, as a Hindoo commentator has
remarked, that the Vedanta limits this privilege‖ to the time of distress. (141)
Sanskrit is not merely the name of specific Language, but it refers to the civilization, cultures and
customs of ancient period in India. It has a vast collection of Hindu religious writings and
narratives which are not attainable but by means of Sanskrit. Thoreau studies the collected
ancient Sanskrit animal stories and gives a reference to these fables as Pilpay & Co in his ―Brute
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Neighbors‖: ―Why do precisely these objects which we behold make a world? Why has man just
these species of animals for his neighbors; as if nothing but a mouse could have filled this
crevice. ? I suspect that Pilpay & Co. have put animals to their best use, for they are all beasts of
burden, in a sense, made to carry some portion of our thoughts.‖ (. Walden and Other
Writings.284)
The philosophy of Hindu scriptures somewhat slaked his spiritual thirst. The passage to follow
is remarkable for what it conveys. He seems to be at close quarters to the ―spiritual‖ East. His
cognition of Hinduism occurs in ―Former Inhabitants and Winter Visitors‖ as: ―There too, as
everywhere, I sometimes expected the Visitor who never comes. The Vishnu Purana says, ―The
house – holder is to remain at eventide in his court- yard as long as it takes to milk a cow, or
longer if he pleases, to wait the arrival of the guest.‖ I often performed this duty of hospitality,
waited long enough to milk a whole herd of cows, but did not see the man approaching from the
town‖. (Walden. H.D.Thoreau.174)
There is another instance of sharply outlined features of mysticism. It was the result of the
thought from The Harivansa, a Hindu Scripture. He presents this idea in his ―The Pond in the
Winter.‖ as:
―O Prince, our eyes contemplate with administration and transmit to the soul the wonderful and
varied spectacle of this universe. The night veils without doubt a part of this glorious creation;
but day comes to reveal to us this great work, which extends from earth even into the plains of
the ether.‖ (―The Pond in winter.‖ Ch.16)
He was one of the most energetically minded Americans in the pursuit of understanding the
Asian past. He received from England a gift of forty - four volumes of Indian books, some in
English and some in French, Latin, Greek and Sanskrit. He himself wrote an English version of
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The Transmigration of the Seven Brahmins. It was translated by him from a French version. His
Journal of May 1841 has many such passages:
―When my imagination travels eastward and backward to those remote years of the Gods, I
seem to draw near to the habitation of the morning and the dawn at length has a place I
remember the book as an hour before sunrise.‖ (Journal of May 1841.)
Probably no other two men have done more towards introducing an awareness of Asian thought
especially religious thought to American readers over the past century than Emerson and
Thoreau. In one passage of ―A week,‖ he compares the dignity of Oriental life to the clear and
calm stream as quote in his book Early Essays and Miscellanies:
While lying thus on our oars by the side of the stream, in the heat of the day … and
slicing the melons, which are a fruit of the east, our thoughts reverted to Arabia, Persia,
and Hindostan, the lands of contemplation and dwelling places of the ruminant nations.
In the experience of this noontide we could find some apology even for the instinct of the
opium, betel, and tobacco chewers. (125)
In his Journal, Thoreau wrote in these glowing words which have been quoted by Mehdi
Aminrazavi in his book Sufism and American literary Masters, ―I know, for instance, that Saadi
entertained once identically the same thought that I do, and thereafter I can find no essential
difference between Saadi and myself. He is not Persian, he is not ancient, and he is not strange to
me.‖ (216)In Walden, his appreciative expression for Saadi‘s greatness is regarded an apt
remark. The original text is from his book Walden :
I read in the Gulistan, Flower Garden, of Sheikh Sadi of Shiraz, that
they asked a wise man, saying : Of the many celebrated trees which the
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Most High God has created
lofty and umbrageous , they call non
azad (Urdu word : free) or free , excepting the cypress , which
bears no fruit; what mystery is there in this ? He replied : Each has its
appropriate produce, and appointed season , during the continuous of
which it is fresh and blooming , and during their absence dry and
withered; to neither of which states is the cypress exposed , being
always flourishing; and of this nature are the azad, or religious
independents. ( 75)
In the lines to follow, the modern capital of Iraq Baghdad, and historical River Dijla, (Where the
historical battle took place, and Prophet Mohammad (PBUHM)‘s grandson Hazrat Husain(A.S)
was martyred by the tyrants, (it has a history behind it) have found representation of the Middle
East. Here he seems to be a historian:
―Fix not thy heart on that which is transitory; for the Dijlah, or Tigris, will continue to flow
through Baghdad after the race of caliphs is extinct, if they hand has plenty of , be liberal as the
date tree; but if it affords nothing to give away, be an azad, or free man, like cypress.‖ ( ?)
The Hindu religion of the East has been referred to his Walden. He quotes from The Harivansa
(Epic based on Hindu religion history) he says: ―An abode without birds is like a meat without
seasoning.‖ Like his transcendental brethren, he also regards Arabian Nights as a literary piece
for entertainment. He philosophies this fact as : ― If men would steadily observe realities only,
and allow themselves to be deluded , life , to compare it with such things as we know , would be
like a fairy tale and the Arabian Nights’ entertainments.‖ A considerable part of ―Monday‖ of the
Week is taken up with discussion of India, its philosophy, literature, and religion. Thoreau broke
in upon such reflection on the Oriental mind to detail some of the local color of the river; but he
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hastened to get back to his subject: ―Still had India, and that old noontide philosophy, the better
part of our thoughts.‖
Laws of Manu is a book which receives the full tide of Thoreau‘s enthusiasm. Melville‘s
comments regarding this book are worth - mentioning. ―One of the most attractive of those
ancient books that I have met with is the Laws of Menu.‖ ( A work on the concord and
Merrimack Rivers.157). The Laws of Manu, sounding as it were from some eastern dawn - of time summit with a voice of wisdom and elevating the hearer in mind and spirit, became the
noble cock Benevontano as Trumpet in theology, sounding his loud shrill rousing to action call
in the Berkshires, driving off the dumps and elevating the soul of the hearer.
Thoreau emphasized the ageless wisdom of the Indian philosopher‘s works. He was one of the
most energetically minded Americans in the pursuit of understanding the Asian past. His
biographical analysis of the East shows that from his college days on, he was a persisting reader
of Asian literature and culture.
In 1855, he received from England a gift of forty - four volumes of Indian books, some in
English and some in French, Latin, and Sanskrit. It was the best collection of its kind in America.
Thoreau himself wrote an English version of The Transmigration of the Seven Brahmins, though
he had translated it from a French version and not from an Indian language. Brahma, the Hindu
supreme soul and creator, has been discussed by him in his Walden:
I have read in a Hindoo book that ―there was a king‘s son, who, being expelled in infancy
from his native city, was brought up by a forester, and, growing up to the maturity in
that state, imagined himself to belong to the barbarous race with which he lived. One of
his father‘s ministers having discovered him, revealed to him what he was, and the
misconception of his character was removed, and he knew himself to be a prince. So soul
continues the Hindoo philosopher, ―from the circumstances in which it is placed,
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mistakes its own character, until the truth is revealed to it by some holy teacher, and then
it knows itself to be Brahma. (88)
Indra, God of the air in Hindu mythology, attracted the attention of Thoreau‘s pen and he started
writing as: ―We are not wholly involved in nature. I may be either the drifted in the stream or
Indra in the sky looking down on it.‖ (88)
Probably, no other two men have done more towards introducing an awareness of Asian thought
especially religious thought to American readers over the past century than Thoreau and
Emerson. Egbert S. Oliver in his book Studies in American Literature gives a brief description of
Orientalism in Thoreau:
More than most Occidentals, Thoreau did practice contemplation. He, like the
Transcendentalists generally, and Wordsworth, and many others, spoke of the need for
solitary communion with the Infinite. This seemed to be quality of Oriental thought
which he came to with admiration. ― What extracts from the Vedas I have read fall on me
like light of a higher and purer luminary, which describes a loftier course through a purer
stratum, - free from particulars , simple, universal‖… The Oriental became part of
Thoreau‘s life, thought, and expression. It was a valuable and needed part. It enriched and
complemented his natural tendencies. It helped him to see how the foundations of the
world were laid. But however rosy and fresh and tempting he found the dawn from Asia,
he said, ―Yes,‖ to the world rather than, ―No.‖ When he learned to see, smell, taste, hear,
and feel ―that everlasting something to which we are allied,‖ he had no intention of
turning his back on the world. He still Knew that whatever the ultimate cost might be, his
place was before the mast on the deck of the world. (37-39)
There is another eighteenth- century oriental poet, Mir Camar Uddin Mast, who fascinated
Thoreau by his ideas based on spiritualism and esoteric doctrines. In his own words: ―Says the
poet Mir Camar Uddin Mast, ―Being seated to run through the region of the spiritual world; I
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have had this advantage in books. To be intoxicated by a single glass of wine; I have experienced
this pleasure when I have drunk the liquor of the esoteric doctrines‖. (Walden)
In The Scarlet Letter, he never forgets describing the young man in the Arabian Nights who
possessed a magic lamp and a ring followed by description of Pequod Indians of Connecticut
who were defeated by the English in 1637.He writes in his The Scarlet Letter, Second Edition: A
Romane edited by John Stephenson: ―The brilliancy might have befitted Aladdin‘s palace, rather
than the mansion of a grave old Puritan ruler. This bright panoply was not meant for mere idle
show, but had been worn by the Governor on many a solemn muster in the Pequod war.‖ (162)
Through his figurative language, he details the major cities of India , Indonesian islands
mythical isles, ancient fables, Mediterranean summer winds as Etesian winds, Oriental
metaphors, Mountain region of Asia Minor, ancient drinking cups, ancient beliefs, sacred trees
and plants, aesthetic papers and the like. As a patron saint, he appeals to modern generation not
only with words but with the relevance of his lofty ideas. It can be stated with confidence that as
a past shadow of Emerson, as an influential transcendentalist, he is the most widely read writer.
This is the concluding passage on Oriental presence in his writings, which shows his enthusiasm
for gathering interesting information. He enters into the details of India‘s projection with great
care and in a well- posted manner. This piece of information is highly valuable for any Oriental
scholar. He writes in his masterpiece Walden:
Thus it appears that the sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, of Madras
and Bombay and Calcutta, drink at my well. In the morning I bathe my intellect in the
stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagwat- Geeta, since whose composition
years of the gods have elapsed, and in comparison with which our modern world and its
literature seem puny and trivial; and I doubt if that philosophy is not to be referred to a
previous state of existence, so remote is its sublimity from our conceptions. I lay down
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the book and go to my well for water, and lo! There I meet the servant of the Brahmin,
priest Brahma,and Vishnu and Indra, who will sit in his temple on the Ganges reading the
Vedas, or dwells at the root of a tree with his crust and water jug. I meet his servant come
to draw water for his master, and our buckets as it were grate together in the same well.
The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of Ganges. With favoring winds
it is wafted past the site of the fabulous islands of Atlantics and the Hesperides, (mythical
isles) makes the periplus of Hanno and, floating by Ternate and Tidore and the mouth of
the Persian Gulf, melts in the tropic gales of the Indian seas. (192)
Universally identified as a Mystic, he tried to attach equal importance to intuition and intellect as
great tools of deep knowledge. His real vision can be sensed through a long series of examples
and quotations from the Hindu Scripture known as Bhagwat- Gita. This was naturally a secret to
his true Transcendentalism. He communicates to his readers of ―A Week‖ as: ―The most glorious
fact in my experience is not anything that I have done or may hope to do, but a transient thought,
or vision, or dream, which I have had. I would give all the wealth of the world, and all the deeds
of all the heroes, for one true vision.‖ (W, I, 145- 46)
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