Indian Knowledge System has influenced and shaped English literature immensely and deeply. Since the time, English speaking world same in touch with India and Indians, it has absorbed systems, patterns and ideas of India in multiple ways. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Thomas Stearns Eliot, Romain Roland, Davis Bhasham, E. M. Foster, W. B. Yeats and a number of other stalwarts have been deeply influenced by Sanatan Indian ideas.

Atman is one. One consciousness pervades all manifestations in creation. In fact, Param Bramha, Para Shakti, the Ultimate Reality and the Supreme Energy manifests Herself in all manifestations of creation. One rhythm, One tune, One soul pervades us all, living or nonliving. The world is one family. The flora fauna, the species, animals, stars, galaxies, matter, particle, elements - all come from one source and finally merge into that one source. The eternal dance of creation is a fabric of balance. Nothing is static. The creation is forever moving and in its movement it is stable. Such is the nature of reality. This is Advait thought. This is from the core of Sanatan tradition, the Prasthan Trayi. 

In English literature, this has been the primary appeal of Indian Knowledge System to writers. Many writers of English literature have been Tapasvis of their own kind.

One of them was Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau is an established and much-admired American writer who lived in Concord, Massachusetts in the 19th century. His best-known work is "Walden". It is a collection of essays. This work, beside other forces, is deeply influenced by Shrimad Bhagwad Gita and Vedic philosophy. Research has established that Thoreau was a practitioner of Yoga in his own unique way. Living continents away, he picturized himself in his own mind as a Yogi, Sadhak, a Tapasvi. "Walden" has many references to Gita. Thoreau played flute just like Bhagwan Sri Krishna. He equated Walden pong to the sacred river Ganga. He practiced the Sanatan philosophy that the Yogi should lead a solitary life and exercise control over his body and mind. Thoreau thought that his many shortcomings would actually go if he faithfully practiced Yoga. 

Thoreau writes in Walden,

"In the morning, I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonic philosophy of the Bhagavad 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 the book and go to my well for water, and lo! there I meet the servant of the Brahmin, priest of Brahma and Vishnu and Indra, who still sits 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 the Ganga." (P208)

Thoreau has been influenced by many nations, and many streams of thought. Indian Knowledge System has been one prominent component of his thought process. He says that reading of Vedas illuminates him with an unearthly, and unknown light. He has reiterated that Vedas are free of any type of sectarianism. Divisions in society, casteism and segregation came to society later. The Prasthan Trayi, the source of Sanatan thought does not propagate any kind of segregation, division or discrimination.  Vedas are the royal road to Great Knowledge, as per Thoreau. Mahatma Gandhi was influenced by the writings of Thoreau and he took the idea of Civil Disobedience from him. Thoreau is so much part and parcel of our Indian fabric. 

A friend of Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, the chief architect of American sensibility has also been deeply influenced by Sanatan thought.

Brahma
(A poem by Emerson)

"If the red slayer think he slays,
Or if the slain think he is slain,
They know not well the subtle ways
I keep, and pass, and turn again.
Far or forgot to me is near;
Shadow and sunlight are the same;
The vanished gods to me appear;
And one to me are shame and fame.

They reckon ill who leave me out;
When me they fly, I am the wings;
I am the doubter and the doubt;
And I the hymn the Brahmin sings.
The strong gods pine for my abode,
And pine in vain the sacred Seven,
But thou, meek lover of the good!
Find me and turn thy back on heaven."

Here in this poem, Brahma says that the slayer and the slain are one; fame and shame are one because I dwell in all beings, in all situations and states of mental being. Brahma says that He is the essence of all discourse, the doubter and also the doubt. There is no need to seek heaven and bliss in this life and life after death because Brahma lives in someone who is good at heart.

Such is the profound impact of Sanatan thought on American writers. The focus is mostly on Atman and the oneness of being. Rituals, casteism and divisions of society have never appealed to writers abroad. They are mostly drawn by the pure and pristine philosophy of Prasthan Trayi.

Hundreds of writers from the West have been enthralled by the elevating Sanatan thought. 

Romain Roland is one such example. Romain Roland was a 20th century French author deeply influenced by Indian thought. "If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India", he said. Roland was particularly fascinated by the diversity of India and smoothly people accept all strands of thoughts. This flexibility fascinated him.

The immortal works of both W. B. Yeats and T. S. Eliot show a deeper understanding of Indian Knowledge System. 

"The Wasteland" is a modern epic, a tapestry of encyclopedic knowledge of Eliot, a richly reference laden text. Here the most important reference in the last section of the poem is of  Brihadaranyak Upanishad.

In the poem, Eliot describes loss of stature of modern human, how lack of heroism and goodness has led to the decay of humans in general. The description shakes the reader inside out. At the last, the answer comes from thunder, Da, Da, Da. The first Da stands for "datta" which means that humans must give in charity. The referred Upanishad tells us that selfless giving is a way for humans to redeem themselves. The second Da stands for "damyata" which means that in all conditions, humans must practice compassion. To be kind is the Supreme virtue. The third Da stands for "dayadvam" which means self-control. Humans must exercise self-restraint when it comes to greed, violence and lust. There is no life without self-regulation. Eliot establishes that if human race wants to live in peace and glory, it must follow the moral of the Upanishads. It is powerfully narrated poem which can change the perspective of the reader forever.

Similarly, W. B. Yeats has deep Indian leanings in his thought process. The whole structure of the mental scene of W. B. Yeats revolves around the key concepts of Atman and Brahman.

"Metempsychosis also called, Transmigration or Reincarnation, is a religious or philosophical belief which states that the soul or spirit, after the death, starts a new life in a new body that may be human, animal or spiritual.  The reincarnation depends on the deeds of the previous life.  The term metempsychosis takes its origin from the Greek philosophy.  Religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism holds a strong belief in reincarnation, all of which arose in India. It is a fundamental doctrine of several religions in India among which one thing is very evident and common, that is, doctrine of ‘karma.’ It states that whatever we do in this present life will have its effect on the next life. In Hinduism, the cycle of birth and rebirth, that is, the transmigration of souls, is an endless process until one achieves moksha, or liberation. Moksha is the realization that the eternal core of the individual (Atman) and the physical form (Brahman) are one... Through this one can escape from the cycle of death and rebirth (Samsara).

In Hinduism, several paths had been validated toward liberation... First one is the ‘karma-marga’ (path of duties and actions); second is the ‘jnana- marga’ (path of knowledge) and the third one is the bhakti-marga (path of devotion). One can select any path out of the above mentioned and is available to all. As mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, that the action is inescapable, hence, it is better to think of all the three paths of simultaneously which definitely will add in achieving the goals of dharma and moksha.  This could be seen in one’s social and ritual duties whether it is about family or profession. This enables to maintain a broader stability in the world. The Indian philosophy of Metempsychosis permeates the poetry of Yeats." (Tracing The Indian Philosophy of Transmigration in The Poetry of W. B. Yeats, Mahesh Kumar Bhagat, Ranchi, Jharkhand, International Journal of Applied Research 2023. 9(4).

There is an important book, A Search in Secret India by Paul Brunton. Brunton describes his circular journey within India seeking a Guru. He narrates his life with yogis, mystics and Gurus. His pursuit of self-knowledge ends with Sri Ramana Maharshi and he finds peace. The appeal of the book lies in its journey. Written in a lucid manner, the book describes everyday events in India and how spirituality is part and parcel of the day-to-day fabric. 

There are hundreds of examples from English Literature where structure of thought comes from Indian Knowledge System. The time has come when Indians themselves realize this wealth of Indian Knowledge System and start imbibing its elements in their lives and behavior. 

References:

1. Walden; or Life in the Woods. Henry David Thoreau. 1854. Princeton University Press, USA.
2. Collected Poems. Ralph Waldo Emerson. 1904. Library of America Edition. 
3. The Wasteland. T. S. Eliot. London. 1922. Repro Books Edition. 
4. The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats. 1945. London. Simon & Schuster.
5. A Search in Secret India. Paul Brunton. 1934. London. Rider.


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