Transcendentalism

This blog is a response to a task assigned by Vaidehi ma'am, Department of English (MKBU). This blog is about the concept of ‘Transcendentalism’. For further information Click Here.

Transcendentalism

Transcend means to go above, beyond something, here it means to go beyond our senses and understand the true nature of ourselves. Transcendentalism is a 19th century movement of writers and philosophers in New England. It is an American version of English romanticism. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott, Margaret Fuller, Theodore Parker and Henry David Thoreau are pioneers of the movement. There are three major transcendentalist values: Individualism, Idealism and Divinity of Nature.

Q-1: Transcendentalists talk about the Individual’s relation with Nature. What is Nature for you? Share your views.

Answer:

In Transcendentalism ‘Nature’ is connected with two different concepts. First is the nature that can be considered as the nature in general in outer world trees, mountains, rivers, soil etc. The human being is also the part of nature it is not apart from it, instead we can say human is made out of the five elements: Prithvi(Earth), Jal (Water), Agni (Fire), Vayu (Air), Aakasha(Space) so we can't see the human as a different entity. And human beings are connected with nature in every way. For millions of years humans have been living in nature, so humans became a part of nature. When we go into nature we find peace there. So one should always be connected with nature. One very good Bollywood song ‘Sadda Haq Aithe Rakh’ that is based on this concept is from the movie ‘Rockstar’(2011). Here are a few lines from the song. The lyrics are by Irsad Kamil and it was sung by Mohit Chauhan.

“ओ इको फ्रेंडली, नेचर के रक्स मै भी हु नेचर

रिवाजो से समाँझो से क्यों

तू काटे मुझे क्यों बांटे मुझसे इस तरह

क्यों सच का सबक सिखाए जब सच सुन भी ना पाया

सच कोई बोले तो तू नियम कानून बताये

तेरा डर. तेरा प्यार. तेरी वाह. तू ही रख रख साले

सद्दा हक़, एथे रख सद्दा हक़, एथे रख.”

Second meaning of nature can be taken as the nature of oneself, soul or conscience of the human. It is quite a difficult idea to understand. Transcendentalism is more about individualism. So it also gives the idea about understanding oneself, our own behaviour and thought process about ourselves matters more than the society. The concept is against the traditional ideas and blind following of that. Humans should have their own true idea of idealism and one should follow one's intuition rather than the societal values that are imposed by the society.

Q-2: Transcendentalism is an American Philosophy that influenced American Literature at length. Can you find any Indian/Regional literature or Philosophy that came up with such similar thoughts?

Answer:

In Indian philosophy there are so many references to this philosophy. For example “Aham Brahmasmi” means I am the God. That is the concept of the soul that is in the every living being there is God. Another concept is “Tatvamasi” means that I am that. It conveys that I am that means God. These concepts are from upanishads where there is a detailed analysis of oneseld as an individual. In Indian philosophy it was a long time where we thought of these type of philosophies, that gives more importance to the individual self. 

There is one book also has been written on this concept in Gujarati language called “Tattvamasi” that talks about the journey of a man who becomes believer out of atheist. One movie adaptations is also made on that novel named ‘Reva’ in Gujarati cinema. Same philosophy one can find like individualism and the relation between human and nature.

Q-3: Write in short about your understanding of the following essays according to the topics given:"The Great Lawsuit" by Margaret Fuller.

Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movement. In her essay ‘The Great Lawsuit’ she talks about equality in reference to women's rights. The essay was published in 1843, during that period in America there was discrimination between men and women. So on that topic she wrote an essay.

In the essay we find the early way of feminism. Fuller argues that men and women should have the same rights, including the rights to own property and vote, she also speaks about the slavery. She talks about empowering women through inner strength. She says that women should get out of societal norms and traditional expectations. She talks about familial relationships, especially about the relationship of father and daughter and when the daughter gets married, she has to sacrifice her education then nobody supports her. She says women should become independent from men's influences.

In the discussion she gives examples of Johann Wolfgang Goethe's female characters like Mariana, Macaria, and Mignon, who are really strong individually and represent unique aspects of femininity. In the essay she also talks about Queen Victoria, after whom the whole age is named. In conclusion we can say that through this essay Fuller wants to send a message to the society that women and men are equal and women should fight for their rights.

Words: 833

Photos: 04

References:

Black, Brian. “The Character of the Self in Ancient India.” Google Books, Google, 2007. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024. 

Fuller, Margaret. “The Great Lawsuit.” Margaret Fuller--The Great Lawsuit, archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/fuller/debate.html. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024. 

Kamil, Irshad. “Sadda Haq Lyrics साड्डा हक़ -Rockstar-Mohit Chauhan.” LyricsMama, 20 May 2023, lyricsmama.com/sadda-haq-lyrics-rockstar-mohit-chauhan/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024.