Thinking Activity on Transcendentalism

This Blog-post is a response of thinking activity on Transcendentalism, given by our professor ma'am Vaidehi Hariyani. To know more about this task, CLICK HERE.

• What is Transcendentalism ?

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, Transcendentalism is a philosophy that emphasizes the a priori conditions of knowledge and experience or the unknowable character of ultimate reality or that emphasizes the transcendent as the fundamental reality

2 : a philosophy that asserts the primacy of the spiritual and transcendental over the material and empirical.

3 : the quality or state of being transcendental especially : visionary idealism.

If we look at the etymology of the word, it is comes from the Latin word transcendere, which means to "climb over or beyond." According to Russell Goodman, 

Transcendentalism is an American literary, philosophical, religious, and political movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Waldo Emerson. Other important transcendentalists were Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Lydia Maria Child, Amos Bronson Alcott, Frederic Henry Hedge, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, and Theodore Parker. Stimulated by English and German Romanticism, the Biblical criticism of Herder and Schleiermacher, and the skepticism of Hume, the transcendentalists operated with the sense that a new era was at hand.

The main aspect of transcendentalism is that human being, men and women are find the truth within themselves, self-knowledge, and specially that something beyond what we can do in our daily life. This philosophy comes through intuition and imagination not what we do normally in our life, like to see, to touch, etc but this is what beyond this all normal activity and imagination. 

As our professor ma'am that, transcendentalist mentioned that the key word of this philosophy is 'Simplicity'. To be behave as simple person is very difficult task. It is easy to say but very hard to perform in the society. We very smoothly behaving like what other wants to see us or what other's like from our-side. As H.D.Thoreau mentioned that 

 "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone"

Here are my answer of the questions:

• Transcendentalists talks about Individual’s relation with Nature. What is Nature for you? Share your views.

According to my point of view, Nature should remain in our life which constantly remain us that what we do and why we do the things. Nature is something in our inner-side energy which tries to keep us to live with our Individuality. The tension of human beings in their life, the solution which found by philosophers and writers is only nature. For example if we take Gujarati Literature, there is one novel Timirpanthi, which is later on translated in english language and it's title is The Pilgrims of Darkness, Akoopar. As Emerson said that "Loos yourself in nature and find peace." But to gain peace for self we must detached from the society and others views or their thinking towards us.

 

• Transcendentalism is an American Philosophy that influenced American Literature at length. Can you find any Indian/Regional literature or Philosophy came up with such similar thought?

• The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali:

The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali is a collection of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga - 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to other scholars including BKS Iyengar) by the Indian Sage Patanjali. Famous Sutras are, Asthanga,Samadhi,Yama,Niyama,AsanaPranayam,Pratyachara,Dharana,Dhyana,Samadhi.Which are an object of meditation. It is also a key text of Yoga which influenced others school of philosophy also. Yoga Philosophy described to how meditate the self. Meditation is also the part to increasing our self individuality. It lead our-self beyond the routine life.So this philosophy of Yoga also considered in individualism and life to nature also.

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