In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagvat 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 Bramin, 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 Ganges. . Henry David Thoreau
About This Quote

Emerson, like Thoreau before him, was a naturalist. He saw the interconnectedness of everything in the world, and his philosophy was that we should be in harmony with nature. Like Thoreau, he also had a deep faith in the human spirit to overcome tyranny. In this quote, he is stating that even though the Indian holy men are so ancient and wise, they must still depend on modern technology to have their water drawn for them.

The part about meeting the servant of the Bramin is also clever because it mentions two other religions also being practiced in this area besides Hinduism. It’s an interesting way of blending both cultures together to show that all three are linked.

Source: Walden

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