Guest guest Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Dear Advaitins : I had mentioned in my post on 'Yeats' that it is 'Thoughts that rule the world .' Continuing this line of thinking , , may i tell you that the Noble Prize winner for literature , T.S.ELIOT, AN AMERICAN BORN POET AND PHOLOSOPHER of the 21st century was most influenced by Srimad Bhagvat Gita and the Upanishads . So much so , Mr. ELIOT TOOK four courses in Sanskrit and Pali and an advanced course in "Philosophical Sanskrit" WHILE STUDYING AT HARVARD . It is my pleasure to quote a beautiful passage from T.S.ELIOT'S 'Dry Salvages ' wherein one can clearly feel the influence of Srimad Bhagvat gita's 'Ksrma' THEORY on the poet's mind echoeing in these powerful imagery ! "I sometimes wonder if that is what Krishna meant— Among other things—or one way of putting the same thing: That the future is a faded song, a Royal Rose or a lavender spray Of wistful regret for those who are not yet here to regret, Pressed between yellow leaves of a book that has never been opened. And the way up is the way down, the way forward is the way back. You cannot face it steadily, but this thing is sure, That time is no healer: the patient is no longer here. When the train starts, and the passengers are settled To fruit, periodicals and business letters (And those who saw them off have left the platform) Their faces relax from grief into relief, To the sleepy rhythm of a hundred hours. Fare forward, travellers! not escaping from the past Into different lives, or into any future; You are not the same people who left that station Or who will arrive at any terminus, While the narrowing rails slide together behind you; And on the deck of the drumming liner Watching the furrow that widens behind you, You shall not think 'the past is finished' Or 'the future is before us'. At nightfall, in the rigging and the aerial, Is a voice descanting (though not to the ear, The murmuring shell of time, and not in any language) 'Fare forward, you who think that you are voyaging; You are not those who saw the harbour Receding, or those who will disembark. Here between the hither and the farther shore While time is withdrawn, consider the future And the past with an equal mind. At the moment which is not of action or inaction You can receive this: "on whatever sphere of being The mind of a man may be intent At the time of death"—that is the one action (And the time of death is every moment) Which shall fructify in the lives of others: And do not think of the fruit of action. Fare forward. O voyagers, O seamen, You who came to port, and you whose bodies Will suffer the trial and judgement of the sea, Or whatever event, this is your real destination.' So Krishna, as when he admonished Arjuna On the field of battle. Not fare well, But fare forward, voyagers." Yes ! In life's spiritual journey , we 'fare' forward - that is crossing the ocean of samsara ........ to the other shore .... Once again, i request learned members ( Anandaji to interpret these beautiful imagery of Vedantic mysticism. My point is writing all this is there are many westerners like Thoreau , Emerson, Eliot , Mark Twain, Carl Jung etc etc who have been influenced by the philosophy of Bhagwat Gita and the upansishads and their works reflect these great teachings . We as Hindus can be proud that we have indeed bequeathed a lasting legacy to the rest of the world in the form of great scriptures like the Gita and Upanishads ! The Britz may have taken the 'kohinoor' diamond but they could never ever steal our 'shrutis' and 'smritis and 'puranas '! SUBBUJI, THIS IS FOR YOU !IF wESTERNERS CAN LEARN SANSKRIT AND MASTER IT , why can't we learn deva bhasha -sanskrit - may be one of these days there will be a egroup in sanskrit ! enjoy ! .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 Dear dhyanasaraswati, You are right, to some degree. The Four Quartets by T. S. Eliot is undoubtedly one of the greatest poems ever written and was certainly influenced considerably by shruti and smRRiti. I planned many years ago to write a book 'interpreting' them in terms of Advaita. Unfortunately, copyright on them is extremely strict and will continue so until the statutory 75 (?) years after his death. It might be possible to obtain permission for a serious book such as this but the cost would be prohibitive - far more than one could expect to earn in terms of royalties form sales. (Incidentally, although it is possible to find the complete poems on the Internet, I would not wish to quote more than a few lines - certainly not an extract as long as the one you have quoted.) On the paragraph below, however, I have to say that you are completely missing the point of Advaita if you hold to such views. 'Pride' is not one of the chatuShTaya sampatti, as I recall! And the prasthAna traya are equally for all who are willing to listen. There are no 'Brits' or 'Hindus' in reality! <<We as Hindus can be proud that we have indeed bequeathed a lasting legacy to the rest of the world in the form of great scriptures like the Gita and Upanishads ! The Britz may have taken the 'kohinoor' diamond but they could never ever steal our 'shrutis' and 'smritis and 'puranas '!>> Best wishes, Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 Dennis-ji ! The whole point in quoting the entire excerpt was to get a better understanding of that passage ! Who could do full justice to that passage in terms of advaitic interpreation except learned members like you ( ANANANDAJI , PETERJI , KEN KNIGHT-JI , MICHEL0JI ETC) who are well versed both in the finer nuances of the English language and the higher philosophy of Vedanta ? on another note - i am sorry if my comments were misunderstood by you ! Of course , a true Advaitin has no nationality - he is neither British nor INDIAN - -rather he/she has no body concept - gender ,race , color etc ! What i meant to convey was that as far as i am concerned , 'the Kohinoor ' diamond has no value - at best , it is only a Museam piece WHERAS the Hindu scriptures such as Smrithis , shrutis , Puranas are of lasting value so much so that even western poets ( such as Eliot) have benefitted by reading them and incorporating this philosophy in their works ! Believe me , i have no pride ; i may be vain - that is another story! :-) i apologize Dennis-ji writes (On the paragraph below, however, I have to say that you are completely > missing the point of Advaita if you hold to such views. 'Pride' is not one > of the chatuShTaya sampatti, as I recall! And the prasthAna traya are > equally for all who are willing to listen. There are no 'Brits' or 'Hindus' > in reality!) May i quote a subhashita ? pustakasyA tu yA vidyA, parahastagataM dhanam kAryakAe samutpaNe, na sA vidyA na taDhanam Knowledge that is in note-books in (our) shelves, and (our) money now in the hands of others, both are useless. When time comes for their use neither that knowledge nor that wealth will be available. i love poetry but because English is my second language i cannot sometimes comprehend some of these poems ! Hence , my honest appeal to learned members like Anandaji to interpret these lines! thanx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 advaitin, "dhyanasaraswati" <dhyanasaraswati wrote: > > Dear Advaitins : > > I had mentioned in my post on 'Yeats' that it is 'Thoughts that rule > the world .' Continuing this line of thinking , , may i tell you > that the Noble Prize winner for literature , T.S.ELIOT, AN AMERICAN > BORN POET AND PHOLOSOPHER of the 21st century was most influenced by > Srimad Bhagvat Gita and the Upanishads . Namaste,dh et al, "If the doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite."(The Marriage of Heaven and Hell)..William Blake. No one country or culture can claim the poets, it would be like claiming the universal subconscious for ones self. Even a gem has a story. The kohinoor is now only half its original size. It came from the south of India somewhere and had a violent association, then the Mughals of Delhi stole it, and eventually it was moved-(stolen), to the British. It was probably stolen from some poor peasant, who had mined it originally, and then ended up by being stolen by bigger thieves in succession, what poetic justice Overt Nationalism is a Psychosis and Patriotism is its Cult...Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 TCji : What a tragic story of the Infamous Kohinoor Diamond you have narrated ! anyway , it is said 'Uneasy lies the head that wears the Crown ' - this is more so of a crown studded with a 'stolen' diamond ! smile ! please read this story on the net http://internationalreporter.com/news/read.php?id=591 According to 'Gem' shastra , not every woman can wear 'diamonds ' even though Diamonds are a woman's best friend ! In india , they always look for 'dosha' ( fault) in a diamond before recommending it to a receipient ! i am touched by your concern for the poor and the downtrodden specially the community of 'miners' ! Touche! Touche! but at the sametime i was dismayed to read this "Overt Nationalism is a Psychosis and Patriotism is its Cult\" well, it was Johnson who said " Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel." but it was the same Johnson who also said "The Irish are not in a conspiracy to cheat the world by false representations of the merits of their countrymen. No, Sir; the Irish are a fair people; -- they never speak well of one another." Boswell: Life of Johnson i must say Tonyji , you are the fairest of the fair! You not only have Anglophobia but you are now phobic about NATIONALISTS AND PATRIOTS MAY I QUOTE THESE LINES FROM THOMAS GRAY'S POEM ? To each his suff'rings; all are men, Condemn'd alike to groan,-- The tender for another's pain, Th' unfeeling for his own. Yet ah! why should they know their fate, Since sorrow never comes too late, And happiness too swiftly flies? Thought would destroy their paradise. No more; where ignorance is bliss, 'T is folly to be wise. On a Distant Prospect of Eton College. Stanza 10. with best weishes DS advaitin, "Tony OClery" <aoclery wrote: > > Namaste,dh et al, > > "If the doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear > to man as it is, infinite."(The Marriage of Heaven and Hell)..William > Blake. > > No one country or culture can claim the poets, it would be like > claiming the universal subconscious for ones self. > > Even a gem has a story. The kohinoor is now only half its original > size. It came from the south of India somewhere and had a violent > association, then the Mughals of Delhi stole it, and eventually it > was moved-(stolen), to the British. It was probably stolen from some > poor peasant, who had mined it originally, and then ended up by being > stolen by bigger thieves in succession, what poetic justice > > Overt Nationalism is a Psychosis and Patriotism is its Cult...Tony. > advaitin, "Tony OClery" <aoclery wrote: > > advaitin, "dhyanasaraswati" > <dhyanasaraswati@> wrote: > > > > Dear Advaitins : > > > > I had mentioned in my post on 'Yeats' that it is 'Thoughts that > rule > > the world .' Continuing this line of thinking , , may i tell you > > that the Noble Prize winner for literature , T.S.ELIOT, AN AMERICAN > > BORN POET AND PHOLOSOPHER of the 21st century was most influenced > by > > Srimad Bhagvat Gita and the Upanishads . > > Namaste,dh et al, > > "If the doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear > to man as it is, infinite."(The Marriage of Heaven and Hell)..William > Blake. > > No one country or culture can claim the poets, it would be like > claiming the universal subconscious for ones self. > > Even a gem has a story. The kohinoor is now only half its original > size. It came from the south of India somewhere and had a violent > association, then the Mughals of Delhi stole it, and eventually it > was moved-(stolen), to the British. It was probably stolen from some > poor peasant, who had mined it originally, and then ended up by being > stolen by bigger thieves in succession, what poetic justice > > Overt Nationalism is a Psychosis and Patriotism is its Cult...Tony. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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