Tuesday 7 November 2017
Monday 30 October 2017
“English as Crucial and Global Language in India”
Name : Gausvami Surbhi A.
Assignment
Topic : “English as Crucial and Global
Language in India”
Paper no:
12, English Language
Teaching-1
Email id: gausvamisurbhi17@gmail.com
Roll No.
: 23
Submitted
to : Dr. Dilip Barad, Department of English MKBU University.
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“English
as Crucial and Global Language in India”
# Introduction:
English is the language of modernization and globalization. It is an international language that connects various country. It is the ‘Link Language’. India can have wide range of global opportunity by making English as official language. It’s impossible to imagine the world without the two ‘e’s : Electronic Communication and English. English plays an important role in our everyday life. There is great utility of English in modern world. So, the use of English should be continued along with Hindi and other regional languages.
English has it’s unique importance in
India. It has played an important role in building new and modern India. English
is one of the most important Global language. Most of the international
transactions of recent times were concluded in English. The language has
contributed significantly in narrowing the gap between the geographical
boundaries.
The study of English language in this age of globalization is
essential. English language is the most important language of communication
between different countries. In India, people of different states have
their own language. English Language has come to us as a connecting link among
various states of India.
U.N. has recognized five languages as its official languages
and of them English takes the first position because of its background,
international acclaim of easy access to the people. If we go back to historical
facts, we see that half of the globe was under the British imperialism. Those
countries coming directly under British rule had by necessity or under
compulsion to learn English and the rest either being influenced by the English
culture or to keep pace with modern trend had but to opt for learning it.
French, German, Greek and definitely Sanskrit are not
inferior to English, yet the fact is, English had stood the test of time. From
the pragmatic point of view, it should receive a great boost. Inflict, English
serves as a window to the world. It is known to all that the legacy of English
language has left an indelible imprint on the Indian psyche. Hence we can’t
deal with English just as foreign language. Secondly, the entire spectrum of
education and philosophy, science and technology can be better understood
through this language.
The common practice all over the world in the modern age is
to learn English
language to facilitate easy understanding political, social, cultural
and religious issues because this language is easier than French, German, Greek
and Sanskrit. It is with the help of this language that we are gaining
knowledge of modern science and technology and are keeping ourselves in touch
with the most progressive ideas and current thoughts.
English has emerged as the most important global language. It
is a wrong view to hold that it is a language of the British alone. English has
evolved be a language of science and technology. Majority of all important
books for higher studies are written in English. The Indians must not keep
their eyes closed in this adventurous period of globalization. (Roy)
When India attained freedom in 1947, the British symbol were
replaced but the institutions and instruments were retained. This is true of
the English language also, which had symbolic as well as institutional and
instrumental functions. As there was a new national flag symbolizing the
emergence of new society with new values, pride and power there ought to be new
national language. Recognizing multinational character of the country, English
remains the official language of the India.
After second world war the stature and power of English
increased internationally in the political and commercial sphere. It was
perceived that India will have some natural advantage in world politics and
commerce by officially remaining an English using country. There was also an
enormous leap in the growth of science and technology much of which was done in
English. There was a growing awesome fear that the knowledge gap cannot be
caught up by the Indian languages in content and vocabulary by interaction. The
increased international mobility and possibilities of higher education abroad,
which gave new and handsome returns to the already advantaged, underscored the
importance of English education. The language despised as the language of
Satans by the freedom fighters. Came to be praised as the boon of Sarasvati,
the goddess of learning. In the words of Rajaji in his later years, who was the
first Governor General of independent India.
English had become
more and more Indianised grammatically and functionally due to it’s use by
large number of Indians thanks to increased education, commerce and journalism
and the Indian English was no more foreign. The increased preference and use of
English in the country can be seen from several facts such as Those who take
Indian language medium for their higher education are a small minority and are
poor students scholastically and economically. The college level text books and
references books written in or translated into Indian languages spending crores
of rupees remain unsold. Therefore learning English is important in India. (E.ANNAMALAI)
(1)
English
is second language after one or more Indian languages, which are primary and
more significantly.
(2)
In
school education, the second language is what is introduced by primary stage
and has pedagogical as well as a functional definition particularly in the
context of the three language formula.
(1)
Modernization
English become the language of modernization and
internationalism. English is one “Pan-Indian’ language that would promote
National Integration. To further buttress this argument, a whole mythology got
built up around the role of English in which the central metaphor is the
metaphor of the “Window”. In which Indian language are ‘Walls’ that enclose us
in ‘Darkness’ and English is the window that let’s in the ‘Light’ of reason and
modernization.
(1)
English
is the Language of Knowledge
All above facts evokes the importance of learning English in
India. (KAPOOR)
India inherited English from British who ruled over India for
longer period of time. At the beginning there was strong argument against
English in free India. It was seen as threat for Indian languages and values. Well
educated English people can contribute in the development of English
Literature. The works of Rabindra Nath Tagore, Jawaharlal Lal Nehru, Mahatma
Gandhi, Dr Radha Krishnan were beyond doubt a real contributor for the
literature of English language. knowledge of English is necessary at
least for acquiring higher education. The
importance of learning of English for the advancement and growth of technical
education in the country.
(Mol, Essay on importance of
'Learning English' in India)
English is the Language of communication and Business in recent time. Person will have opportunity abroad as well who has mastery over English language. All research and new knowledge are done into English language, those who are unaware about English will remain unaware about the current and future trends of advancement. India can become developed country through accurate use of English.
Works
Cited
E.ANNAMALAI.
"Satan and Saraswati: The Double face of English in India." (n.d.).
KAPOOR, KAPIL. "Teaching
English as Second Language in India." (n.d.).
Mol, Akhila. Essay on importance
of 'Learning English' in India. 24 October 2017
<http://www.preservearticles.com/201103034387/essay-on-importance-of-learning-english-in-india.html>.
—. Essay on Importance of
'learning English' in India'.
Roy, Anurag. ImportantIndia.
5 September 2013. 24 october 2017
<https://www.importantindia.com/2398/essay-on-importance-of-english-language-in-india/>.
“ Transcendentalism in Scarlet Letter”
Name : Gausvami Surbhi A.
Assignment
Topic : “ Transcendentalism in Scarlet
letter”
Paper no:
10, American
Literature
Email id: gausvamisurbhi17@gmail.com
Roll No.
: 23
Submitted
to : Dr. Dilip Barad, Department of English MK
Bhavnagar University
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“ Transcendentalism in Scarlet Letter”
# What is
Transcendentalism?
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s in the Eastern region of the United States as a protest to the general state of culture and society. Among the transcendentalists’ core beliefs was the inherent goodness of both man and nature. Transcendentalists believed that society and its institutions—particularly organized religion and political parties—ultimately corrupted the purity of the individual. They had faith that man is at his best when truly “self-reliant” and independent. It is only from such real individuals that true community could be formed. They were very optimistic about the perfectibility of humans by following one’s own conscience. The Romantic Movement gave rise to New England Transcendentalism, which portrayed a less restrictive relationship between God and Universe. The new philosophy presented the individual with a more personal relationship with God. Major transcendentalists are
Ralph Waldo Emerson - essayist, author, leading exponent of Transcendentalism
Henry David Thoreau - poet, essayist, abolitionist; best known for Walden
Nathaniel Hawthorne - immensely influential 19th-century American novelist
Herman Melville - influential novelist, author of Moby-Dic
Walt Whitman - American poet (Leaves of Grass, etc.), humanist
Transcendentalism as a movement that supports the conviction that divinity can be found in all things, Hawthorne deliberately represents his personal beliefs and observes all the ethics of transcendentalism in The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne who had been brought up in a puritanical society with its rigid laws tried to blend his favor upon transcendentalist ideas with his religious thought together in his masterpiece The Scarlet Letter.
It’s quite opposed to puritan orthodoxy and dogmatic theology
of all religious. It is highly influenced by the individual idealism of
romanticism and self reliance, nature and human as a central aspect of
everything. While puritan puts religion at the center and human at the
periphery. So transcendentalism saw a direct connection between universe and
human.
It is believed by transcendentalist that man is able to find good
and evil, by which he can improve his condition on earth. The ideas of a Supreme Being, or of
immortality and freedom of will, are inherent in the human mind. What attracted Hawthorne in Transcendentalism was its free inquiry, its
radicalism, its contact with actual life. It is remarkable to pay attention
that the main aspects of the transcendental ideas which occupied Hawthorne’s
thought in his romances, especially in The Scarlet Letter, were the doctrines
of self-reliance and of compensation. According to the idea of compensation
every action carries its reward or punishment with it.
# Transcendentalism in Scarlet Letter:
In scarlet letter, Hawthorne portrays puritans and their
religion. They are very much orthodox in the matter of God and religion and
tend to follow them blindly, at the cost of human being. In the first chapter society curses and abuses Hester for
her adultery. Would it be different if the community had different religions?
It probably would because other religions might have a different opinion on
adultery. But puritan society can not bear such adultery. Transcendentalism
allows one to think about self. In this way transcendentalism comes into large
umbrella of ‘Romanticism’. The follower
of romantic movement strongly believed in individualism. Transcendentalists try
to find themselves through nature. Nature cannot influence a human to think a
certain way. Nature actually reveals what a person really feels without any
thoughts that are not from him/her mind.
Hester Prynne in The Scarlet
Letter illustrates self-reliance in a society in which there is no respect for
individuals. During her punishment, Hester passes
some different and difficult stages which show her as a transcendental and
self-reliant character. First stage shows her as sinner, cursed by society,
seen as lawbreaker. Which takes place in prison, market and scaffold. The
second stage portrays Hester as victim who suffers everything with persistently
and patiently. in the third stage society accepts her as good human being who
helps poor people and now the letter “A” has different meaning than earlier
that is ‘A’ for “Able or Angel”.
Hester is, indeed, a sinner. But her sin is a cause not of
evil but of good. Suffering disciplines Hester, so that she grows strong.
Sorrow awakens her sympathies, so that she becomes a nurse. In fact, the best
deeds of Hester’s life come about through her fall from grace. Her charity to
the poor, her comfort to the broken-hearted, and her unquestioned presence in
times of trouble are the direct result of her search for repentance. If Hester
had not sinned, she would never have discovered the true depths of tenderness
within herself. Considering Hawthorne’s transcendental ideas Hester did
nothing wrong. She is faithful and loyal toward her true lover, Arthur
Dimmesdale, and also she is not disloyal to her evil husband, Chillingworth,
because she has never loved him as we see she tells Chillingworth, “Thou
knowest I was frank with thee. I felt no love, nor feigned any”. but her love
for Dimmesdale is a real love. She wants honestly to be with her lover forever.
Transcendentalists do not consider Hester as a sinful woman who broke the rules
because in the sight of God she had never been married. Hester just obeys her
heart because she feels no conflict, as Dimmesdale feels, between her heart and
her head. (ESSAYMONSTER)
When puritan society was forcing Hester to admit her
adultery, it was not because they think that adultery is wrong but it is taught
to them through religion and religious masters. the cause of the crowd having
the same idea was not cause the true believed it, it was taught to them. Their
teachers forced them to accept these ideas, not allowing them to question the
teachings. Nature is the central element of transcendentalism. When
Hester was abandon to live in society she prefers to live in forest surrounded
by woods. She is quite free from the thoughts of society, what society would
think about her. Nature allows her to spent time with herself. And become the
medium of expression for Pearl and Hester. In Scarlet letter, characters
believe in supernatural. Transcendentalist accepts supernatural elements. Transcendentalists
saw the world split in two. One side was God, spirits, and over-soul. The other
side was humans, animals, and nature.
# Quotes
from the Novel related with Transcendentalism:
“She had wandered, without rule or guidance, into a moral
wilderness. Her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert
places, where she roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods. The scarlet
letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame,
Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers - stern and wild ones - and they
had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.” Chapter XVIII
Transcendentalist focused around nature. Transcendentalist felt that they could learn about themselves from nature. Nature is also part of the over-soul, equally as important as humans.
“It is to the credit of human nature, that, except where its selfishness is brought into play, it loves more readily than it hates. Hatred, by a gradual and quiet process, will even be transformed to love, unless the change be impeded by a continually new irritation of the original feeling of hostility.” Chapter XIII
Transcendentalism is about transforming or changing. Hatred
changing into love could possibly be a example of transcendental. (CRISOLOGO)
“A pure hand needs no glove to cover it.“ Chapter XII
Transcendentalist believed in the truth. Transcendentalist did not want to follow society thought their rules and regulations, transcendentalist wanted to express them selves by their own thoughts, not ones given to them by religion or culture. When people fallow the rules and regulations, they are fictionally meaning they are putting on gloves, covering their impulse.
“A bodily disease, which we look upon as whole and entire within itself, may, after all, be but a symptom of some ailment in the spiritual part.” Chapter X
Hawthorn writes that the character is suffering from a spiritual sickness. Transcendentalist did not try to prove that their theories of the spiritual world were true, but that everyone is free to believe in it anyway they want to.
# Conclusion:
Transcendentalism is not a religion, it is a way of thinking. One could be involved in a religion and still believe in Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is how one views the world through their eyes. Knowing one's self is key to learning about transcendentalism. Transcendentalist are constantly faced with questions about themselves and their thoughts. It must have been hard to go against everyone in the community. But what motivated the transcendentalist was the phrase "fallow your heart".
Works Cited
CRISOLOGO, CHRISTIAN KYLE. CONNECTIONS BETWEEN
SCARLET LETTER AND TRANSCENDENTALISM. 11 June 2008. 25 0ctober 2017
<http://aceenglishproject.blogspot.in/>.
ESSAYMONSTER. 4 December 2015. 25 October 2017
<http://essaymonster.net/literature/901-transcendentalist-codes-in-hawthorne-s-the-scarlet.html>.
Friday 27 October 2017
# Post-colonialism in Literature and post-colonial reading of Two movies
Name : Gausvami Surbhi A.
Assignment
Topic : “
Post-Colonialism in Literature and Postcolonial Reading of Two Movies “
Paper no. 11, Postcolonial Literature
Roll No.
: 23
Submitted
to : Dr. Dilip
Barad, M.A. Department of English
MK
Bhavnagar University
Email id: gausvamisurbhi17@gmail.com
# Post-colonialism in Literature and post-colonial reading of
Two movies
In many works of literature, specifically those coming out of Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent, we meet characters who are struggling with their identities in the wake of colonization, or the establishment of colonies in another nation. For example, the British had a colonial presence in India from the 1700s until India gained its independence in 1947. As you can imagine, the people of India, as well as the characters in Indian novels, must deal with the economic, political, and emotional effects that the British brought and left behind. This is true for literature that comes out of any colonized nation. In many cases, the literature stemming from these events is both emotional and political.
The post-colonial theorist enters these texts through a specific critical lens, or a specific way of reading a text. That critical lens, post-colonial theory or post-colonialism, asks the reader to analyze and explain the effects that colonization and imperialism, or the extension of power into other nations, have on people and nations. post-colonialism asks the reader to enter a text through the post-colonial lens.
What the postcolonial writers did was as important as what the anti-colonial freedom fighters and activists did. That's because postcolonial writers challenged some of the basic assumptions (like "white people are better") that had justified colonialism in the first place. In other words, the writers' battlefield was the mind, while the freedom fighters' battlefield was… well, the battlefield.
Postcolonial writers emerging from Africa, South Asia, the
Caribbean, South America and other places"wrote back" to the empire.
They decided that the big guys—like Britain and Francehad been hogging the
microphone for too long. Now it was time for postcolonial writers to tell their
own stories, from their own perspectives. We all love justice. Isn't it nice when everyone's treated
fairly, when we each have the freedom to do what we want and pursue our own
happiness? That's the world we all want to live in. If you dig justice, equality and freedom, you'll dig
postcolonial literature. Because it's a literature born out of the struggle of
colonized peoples for justice, equality and freedom. Postcolonial literature is
the literature of the underdog. All those people who were brutalized and exploited
for decades by European colonizers, finding their voices and standing up for
themselves—that's what postcolonial literature is all about Postcolonial writers tell history from their perspective
and show how the history written by colonizers is—you guessed it—totally biased
against the colonized and toward the colonizers. When
postcolonial writers take colonial languages like English and French and use
them to talk back to the colonizers in a way they can't help but understand,
that's a fancy little thing we call appropriation of colonial languages. (shmoop)
Language and literature are together implicated in
constructing the binary of a European self and N0n-European others. Which as
Said’s Orientalism suggested, is a part
of the creation of colonial authority. Literature in such reading, both
reflects and creates way of seeing and modes of articulation that are central
to the colonial process. It is especially crucial to the formation of colonial discourses because it influences
people as individual. But literary texts can also militate against dominant
ideologies or contain elements which can not be reconciled to them. Plays such as Othello and The Tempest evoke contemporary
ideas about incivility of non-European. Both plays have been interpreted and
taught in ways that endorse colonialist ways of seeing, but both have also
inspired anti-colonial and anti-racist movements and literatures as texts that
expose the workings of colonialism.
# Post-colonial reading of movies:
(1) “ Midnight’s Children”
'Midnight's children' is a novel by the famous writer 'Salman
Rushdie'. Midnight's children won both the Booker
Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in
1981. It was awarded the "Booker of Bookers" Prize and the best
all-time prize winners in 1993 and 2008 to celebrate the Booker Prize 25th and
40th anniversary. it is a postcolonial novel in which writer gives account of
events happened during British India and Independent India. He adds the beauty
to these events by using the tool 'Magic Realism' which makes novel imaginative
piece of literature instead of boring historical novel.
The protagonist of novel Saleem sinai was born on the exact movement when India
gained it's freedom from British rule, 15th august,1947. He is the narrator of
story and starts telling from the life of his grandfather. His grandfather
named Adam Aziz was doctor begins treating Naseem his grandmother. Here one can
read postcolonial feminism that Adam was not allowed to treat Naseem directly.
Even Doctor can not check woman, she remained in 'parda'. Novel begins in
Kashmir, the place is already problematic for India and Pakistan. Novel speaks
about some minority muslim people who didn't want partition. But 'Islamophobia'
spreads in such a way nowadays that we always blame them for everything.
Saleem born on the midnight of India's independence with giant nose therefore
possesses telepathic power to gather children who born on the same midnight.
other children also possess the enormous power. 'Magic realism' is the
aesthetic aspect of the novel. so readers can not question or accept surreal
things as telepathic power of Saleem, Even the mother Naseem can go into the
dreams of daughters, Parvati's power of doing magic 'Abra ka dabra'.
Novel raises the ontological question of Saleem's life. We can find several
gray areas about Saleem's identity. When we ask question epistemologicaly at
that time we find several information about his existence and
identity. Perhaps he is child of William Mathwold and slave lady so the
problem of hybridity takes place. But then exchanged by nurse and
got rich family. 'Let the rich be poor and poor be rich'. it suggests that we
are thrown in this careless universe, we don't have control over birth. The identity
which is given to us or label with which we live as Hindu, Muslim or christian
is fake. Because we don't know the fact about someone's birth. Saleem lives
with given identity but all of a sudden he come across the truth that 'he is
not what he is'. And suddenly lost his fortune and becomes poor person. so at
the end he speaks that 'I had many family and no family'.
Political crisis is one of the major events of the novel. Which portrayed the
India during 'Indira Gandhi's' rule. Emergency is world-known political crisis
for India.Novel evokes the pathetic condition of poor people. India got the
democracy, freedom and progress at the cost of poor people. Salman Rushdie
makes fun of India's progress by suggesting that India and Saleem grew
together.
One can find a postcolonial aspect in novel and film. Because salman Rushdie
was abandoned writer for India and 'Deepa Mehta' the director of the film is
Canadian. So they portrayed India as a country of 'snake charmers' and the
people who believe in superstitions. So they narrate 'Orient' people as
inferior and badly poor.
In a way this novel has the postcolonial characteristics. which gives picture
of India during British rule and after the independence.
(2) “ The Reluctant Fundamentalist”
One ambitious Pakistani man, Changez khan goes to America to have bright future. He belongs to the gentle and educated family. His father is a poet, well known person and respected by all. Changez khan has the great literary heritage.He belongs to great literary canon but distracted from that path. instead of following family tradition he went to America.He easily mix up with the environment and people of America. He is Intellectual man so proves himself better than other colleague and also got the promotion by owner of company. This may be the reason for jealousy of American people and they consider other people as 'outsider'. He falls in love with Erica, American artist. Everything was well going but his life changed after the attack of 9/11 on America.
Suddenly American people start doubting him because he comes with label of 'Pakistani'. Even her girlfriend Erica suspects him. She ask him that 'do you know anything about the attack?' Very furiously he replies that 'how can i know about attack?'. His moustache becomes the symbol of terror for American people. Even his love abuse him by portraying him as Pakistani and not as 'Human being' in her photographs.He recognizes himself as American and tells that 'I love America' but no one believes him and try to make him 'Terrorist' just because he is Pakistani. He faces many adversity adversity and finally he commit professional suicide and came back to Pakistan.
In 2011 Anse Rainier, an American professor at Lahore university is kidnapped. An American journalist arranges the interview a colleague of Rainier, Changez khan. Whom he suspects just because he was doubted for the American attack. Changez khan tells entire story to Robert Lincoln in flashback It's no wonder that the words 'Islam' and 'Fundamentalism' are tightly coupled in the mind of every person. everyone suffers from 'Islamophobia' which is only the oriental narration of power country that is America. It has spread Islamophobia in such a way that we always blame Muslims for terrorism. As Edward said rightly put that Americans narrate Muslims as 'Orient' and them as 'Occident'.
# Conclusion:
“ Literature is the mirror of society. “ One can find a direct reflection of society into literature. Society provides the theme and subjects of literature. Literature is the expression of joy, happiness, suffering, pain of writer himself. Most of the country colonized for longer period of time. And still suffering from the effect of colonialism. Which gets reflected into wide range of literature.
Works Cited
shmoop. 22
october 2017 <https://www.shmoop.com/postcolonial-literature/>.
“ Indian Reading in The waste Land”
Name : Gausvami Surbhi A.
Assignment
Topic : “ Indian
Reading in The waste Land”
Paper no. 9 , Modernist Literature
Roll No.
: 23
Submitted
to : Dr. Dilip
Barad, M.A. Department of English
MK Bhavnagar University.
Email id: gausvamisurbhi17@gmail.com
Batch Year: 2016-18
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“ Indian Reading in The Waste Land “
# Introduction:
Poetry, religion and philosophy are no doubt quite distinct
from each other in theory and may have different purposes; but in practice they
often coalesce. Poetry for example may embody powerful feelings in a unique
form, and yet carry both religious and philosophical overtones. Moreover, at
their profoundest and deepest levels, poetry, religion, and philosophy spring
out certain intense perception, which evolve into complex visions with a cosmic
significance. We may therefore, penetrate the works of a philosophical poet
like Eliot by means of the keen perception underlying his poetry. By
juxtaposing these insight with those of the Upanishads. We find a deep insight
of Indian religion and philosophy in the last part of the poem “ What does the
Thunder say?”.
“The Waste Land" has long been considered T. S. Eliot's
masterpiece. In its five sections, he delves into themes of war, trauma,
disillusionment, and death, illuminating the devastating aftereffects of World
War I. When it was first published, the poem was considered radically
experimental. The title is indicative of Eliot’s
attitude toward his contemporary society, as he uses the idea of a dry and
sterile wasteland as a metaphor for a Europe devastated by war and desperate
for spiritual replenishment but depleted of the cultural tools necessary for
renewal. The poem is deliberately obscure and fragmentary,
incorporating variant voices, multiple points of view, and abrupt shifts in
dramatic context.
# Impact of Upanishad on The Waste Land:
T.S Eliot was highly influenced by Indian philosophy. He makes an incontrovertible appeal to the thunder of the ‘Brihdarankya Upanishad’ in the final portion of The Waste Land. The scene shifts to the Ganges, half a world away from Europe, where thunder rumbles. Eliot draws on the traditional interpretation of “what the thunder says,” as taken from the Upanishads. According to these fables, the thunder “gives,” “sympathizes,” and “controls” through its “speech”; Eliot launches into a meditation on each of these aspects of the thunder’s power. The meditations seem to bring about some sort of reconciliation, as a Fisher King-type figure is shown sitting on the shore preparing to put his lands in order, a sign of his imminent death or at least abdication. The poem ends with a series of disparate fragments from a children’s song, from Dante, and from Elizabethan drama, leading up to a final chant of “Shantih shantih shantih”—the traditional ending to an Upanishad. Eliot, in his notes to the poem, translates this chant as “the peace which passeth understanding,” the expression of ultimate resignation.
There are numerous examples of Hindu influences on the
"Wasteland." Some of these allusions are obvious, such as the Hindu
story footnoted in Part V. or the repetition of "shantih" at the
poem's close. Others are only apparent if you know where to look. Illustrations
of life-in-death are reminders of the Hindu concept of maya, or the ultimate
unreality of what we consider life. Maya describes the veil of illusion that leads
people to believe that the world is made up of things separate and distinct,
and blinds them to the reality that life is in fact a unified whole. Hindu
philosophy teaches that it is the ignorance of this unity which is at the root
of all human misery and suffering. Illustrations of the other aspect of this
motif, life-in-death, can also serve as reminders of Hindu philosophy,
specifically the concept of reincarnation. According to this idea,
reincarnation or rebirth is not something to be celebrated, but instead
signifies that the person being reborn has not yet realized the unity of life.
Those who fail to come to this realization are doomed to rebirth and the
continuation of an endless cycle of suffering in a world of illusions.
There are three kinds of "DA" taken from Hindu mythology. The
gods interpret this as "damyata" or “control,” the humans as
"datta", or “give,” and the demons as "dayadhvam", or
“sympathize.” The story ends with the Creator, represented as the sound of
thunder, repeating "da da da" as a reminder to practice self-control,
giving, and compassion. In the "Wasteland" Eliot modifies this story
following each interpretation with a passage in which the protagonist thinks
about how the word, and the ideas it represents, relates to his life. Many
critics interpret these responses in terms of human love and connection, and
while this reading relates to other sections of the poem that depict sterile or
uncommunicative relationships, it does not address the reasons why Eliot would
choose to use a Hindu story to illustrate these states. (Robyn)
# What The Thunder Said:
A starting point of our analysis of what the Thunder said is afforded by the first essay in the ‘Kittredge Anniversary papers, which is extremely interesting to students of T.S. Eliot. This paper, ‘ Hindu Law and Custom as to Gifts’, is by Charles Rockwell Lanman, former Wales professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University. He mentions that The voice of God repeats, the thunder, when it rolls “ Da Da Da” that is damyata, datta and dayadhvam. Therefore these three must be learned, self-control, giving, compassion. According to Lanman ‘The teaching of the Vedas, the Brahman’s noblest duty, is a “ giving of the Sacred word.” Just as the water, once poured out, can never be regathered and taken back. In the Waste land this idea becomes “The awful daring of a moment’s surrender/which an age of prudence can never retract.” The speaker is thinking of something far more profound. About what he should have given. This giving operates on two levels. The first is a complete surrender of himself to another person in love. But if we recall the Hindu context of Praja-Pati’s command, we have a clue to another level of meaning in the passage ,for the most important gift the Brahman could give was the ‘Sacred Word’. Therefore this passage operates not only on the level of a profound and significant human love, but on the level of divine love as well. In Hindu religion and philosophy each being understands and realizes God in terms of his own spiritual background. Hence there are many Gods, different Gods for Hindu, Muslims, jain, Shikh, Buddha etc. But the ultimate message is the same of every God. According to the Hindu religion, opposed to the virtues enjoined by Praja-Pati are the ‘three primary vices’: desire of lust, greed and wrath. And the Radhakrishan emphasizes the importance of what the thunder said to Hindu thinking;
“ In one passage all the virtue are brought together under
the three ‘Da’ which are heard in the voice of the thunder, namely, dama or
self-restrain, dana or self-sacrifice and daya or compassion. Prajapati conveys
it to the three classes of his (asura) Gods have desires(kama), men suffer from
greed (Lobha) and demons from anger(Krodha). By the practice of the three injunctions
we free ourselves from the sway of craving, greed and anger. When the Buddha
asks us to put out in our hearts the
monstrous fires of infatuation, greed and resentment, he is emphasizing the
three virtues enjoined by the Upanishadas.”
Here again a reference to the Hindu commentary is in order: ‘
Daya or compassion is more than sympathy
or intellectual or emotional feeling. It is love in action, fellowship in
suffering. It is feeling of one’s own the circumstances and aspirations to
self-perfection which we find in others. The ultimate goal of any human being
is salvation through knowledge.
‘The Atman or soul in it’s essential nature is one with
Brahman, the absolute. ‘Brahman’ thee first principle of the universe. Is known
through Atman, the inner self of man. The soul of the universe is identified
with the soul of the man. “ Rule over oneself becomes rule over the World”. The
Upanishads give in some detail the path of the inner ascent. The inward journey
by which the individual souls get at the ultimate reality. Truth is within
us….. the goal is identity with the supreme consciousness and freedom. (M.E GRENANDER)
The last line of The Waste Land has the singular distinction
of having baffled the best commentators on the poem. A commentator like David
Ward wanders why a poem “ So little like the Upanishads in it’s moral and
spiritual universe.” Ends with blessings and greetings of peace. Among the
Hindus it is well known that ‘Shantih’ is chanted in solemn benediction to oneself
and to the others. Vedic recitation strictly end with the chant of the Shantih
Mantra. Which seeks for the blessings of the God and ends with the mystic
syllable ‘OM’. Upanishadas describe om
as the supreme symbol Brahman, indeed of the whole world. (CHANDRAN)
# Conclusion:‘ The Waste Land’ is modern poem by T.S Eliot which has
deep essence of Hindu religion. Last
part of the poem speaks about the Indian philosophy and religion. It reflects
the search for the self and it’s relation with the universe. It is the journey
of getting the ultimate goal of human being “Salvation”. The word ‘Shantih’ has
deep meaning of the Hindu thoughts and philosophy. Last section of the poem is
full of Hind mythology.
Works
Cited
CHANDRAN,
K. NARAYANA. ""Shantih" in The Waste Land." JSTORE
61 (n.d.): 681-683.
M.E GRENANDER, K.S NARAYANA RAO.
"The waste Land and the Upanishadas: what does the Thunder say?" JSTOR
14 (n.d.): 85-98.
Robyn. yoExpert. 21 October
2017
<http://poetry.yoexpert.com/reading-studying-poems/what-are-the-hindu-influences-on-ts-eliot-s-%22waste-955.html>.
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