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EMERSONt2oo Proceedingsf theInternationalB ce ten alCofe ence GiorgioMuriani(Confere ce Coo di nator) SoniaDi LoretoCarloMartinezAntn ScanunriniIgina Tottotri r/z-Y.- Al{,\( NIj Copvrieht OIf\'llVAI{ACNITtìDI I RICE S.r.l.$avwaracnccditrice.itinfò@)arrcnc-etlirrice.(X)17.1onaviaRafÌàclc(ìarofìlo,13.3A/B(06)7267tlf-(0(r)937iì10('5rclcfir7f(r7l2.J.l ISBNUu7999ì96X RtS,roluúiott or trrusLrtiott ot' atr.ylrrtof tl,is u'or|tL tlur17ylry1,'vz1lttiotL f tlu n?ltrì:!htort'tttr:is rtttl,1,,1t1I cLlirion:Novcnrbcr l(X).i <TheLight fromAsia>:OrientalCulturalandReligiousnfluencen Ralph WaldoEmersonandTranscendentalisthousht M,qntoFRRAor.-EUniversitài Trieste Wise,profoundin discernment,stuteaso whatshepathandwhat'snot;his ultimateoalattained:he'swhat calla brahmin.Dhammapado403Emersonadall thewisdomandspiritualiryf Brahmins[...].Amidst hisceaseless,sleeplessin andclashofWestemmaterialism,heheatofrestlessnergy, hecharacterof Emersonhinesponndiasereneshe eveningtar.ProtapChinderMo:oorndarI 885) I Iamcuriouso readyourHindoomythologies.One is aptto lamentover indo-lenceandgnorance.henhe reads orneofthese anguinetudentsf theEast-ernantiquities.hoseemo thinkthat all thebooks ofknorvledgend all thewisdomofEuropewice oldlie hid in thereasuresf the Brahminsnd he vol-umesofZoroastert.ISeeDhammapadandProtapChunderMozoomdar67. espectively.tLettertoMary MoodyEmerson.merson's unt,writtenn 1822.SeeCabot:80 81.AsquotednDas329. 297 298 Mario Faraone Emerson's irst contactwithOriental houghtand cultureshows hosesameprejudicesndmisunderstandingsowardsEastern ulture andre-ligions,w-hichwereso commonamongpeopleof eruditionbetween heendoftheeighteenth enturyand he beginningof the nineteenth3. ore-overEmerson'snitialskepticismsunderstandable: illiam Famham,arelativeof theyollngRalph Waldo. had comebackfrom India and re-portedo the family the curiosities ndstrangenessf that country.Andin 1821, he seventeenear*oldauthorhad writtenapoemfor the Har-vardCollege Seniorexhibitioncalled<lndianSuperstition>.ortrayinglndia in bondage o superstitions.ruelpracticesndfanaticism. ntirelyunder he tyraruryofBrahmins.Nonetheless,n this verypoem,head-miresndia'sancientwisdom,appreciating er happiergoldenageof thepast,rying tovisualizeer ieedom iom British domination". rIt is imporlant o notehat criticismcontemporaryo Emerson ften condemnsissubsequentascination ithand studyingof Oriental hought,whoseevidences re pro-lific intheauthor's vritingsuringhis ife.Themaincharges on a religious asis, on- demninghis affìliationwith Eastem vritingson thegroundof heresyand detachmentfrom the official Christian eligion.At least.hat'swhatelxergesfomthe statementsfsornef his orvn contemporaries.uchas the caseof CharlesSanders eirce 1839l9l4): <l wasbom andearedntheneighborhoodf Concord- I mean n Cambridge-at the time of Emerson,Hedge,and their friendswere disseminatingheideas hatthey hadcau-shtiomSchellinc, nd Schelling iom Plotinus. fom Boehm.or from Godknowswhat mindsstrickenvithhe monstrousmysticismof theEast>6:86).'As a matterof fact. Emersonomesbackagainand again o this issueof the British dominationf India.as shown n severalntries n hisioumals.See orin-stance.,/MA.III: [:nglishpossessionflndia $as ndcalculated. ut fèll b1 degrecso their alcnt&rnassir,eharac-ter.engineso those vhocanuse llenr.Christianiq,s in their lav. It is necessan o disounhe mis-sionaries. hel mal remainChristians. ut il is by" heir ntellectual rnoralenergicshat he1canreach he lindoos.-54-l)ln lndia thc English cpairhe old & Jig neu canals br thc irrigatronf the countn. cross heim-mensempire ith Macadarrroads.ducatehenativepopulationngoodschools. dvance atirestopublicemplovnrenl.nd aim(toelevatemore&morehe socialcondition f thcpeoplesf Hin-dostan. toputhem nconditionto)oladnrinisteringheirorlnaf'Íairs. ne day.by aidofthcprin-ciples& the a*s1of*hichluhoseutiliry England ill havetaught).ìadchemo comprehend.carefilll laught henr hebenelìcient pplication> Butevenmore evolutionary',tleast orthe ime, s the followingpassage,romthe same olumeof thediaries: [39]l\lagnificent his. hegradualdetachmenl f the colonies vhichshehadplanted.vhichhavesro\vnto empires.&thenarerlithdignitl & fìrll consentofthe Mother Country. releasediorn alle-giance.GohavegivenEnglish anguage.aus. manners. isanglicaniseourselt.fvou canl> <TheLightFront .1.siu> 299 In addition. n theprevioLlslyuotedetter o hisaunt.Emersontresseshis nterestor issues tillbervildering swellasattractiveo lim: When lie drearning n thepossibleontents fpagess dark o meas he char-acters n thesealof Solomon,consolemyselfwithcalling t learning'sl Do-rado.Everymanhasa fairy and ustbeyond hecompass f hishorizon...]andit isverynatural hat literaturet largeshouldookfor some ancifulstores fmindwhichsurpassedxamplendpossibilityAsquotedn Das329) Emerson'sontacts,vithEasternhoughtwere a lifetimepreoccupa-tion. Startingas early as 1820.when he n'asustseventeenearsold, lÌebecamemore or less acquaintedwith the majorOriental systemsof . ,5 thought'. Japaneseultureand religion eft markson his mind andpro-ductiononlylate n lifè. whilethe useof Chinesemetaphorsnd ropes sdefiniteli,more substantial.he landsr,vhereiblical culturewasbomearesurprisinglycarcelyresentn his works. withthe exceptionfPer-sianpoetry.whichdeeply nfluencedhimin composingseveralpoems. This issueof the necessityor Indiao fiee herself rom fbreigndomination spresentalso n <lndian Superstition>,ogetherwitha_qenuineoncern or India'sfate.<Howlong shallanxious ges ollarvar'. Umblestwithpromiseof approach-ing day,Ere ndia'sqianteniustrongly'u'ake?>Cameron,ndian52)5Though t is impossibleobe absolutelyositiveaboutvhenexactlydidErner-son firstreadanymajor ndian vork,1822 s moreorlessconsidered s an accept-abledate. n fact, t is in the Journalsf this1,earhatwefrnd he very tìrst engthyquoterom the IndianpoemHinnto ,\uruvenu, n the translationf Sir WillianrJones. olumeIof the.4siatickMi.sc'ellary'.See he Ll'orkso;f'HIilliam ones.1807),XIII.308-309,ines8-17 and MN,l. l5il5,i: Ofderv-bcspangled eavcsand blossoms rightHence!Vanish iom mlsrght.Delusir,pictrrres.nsubstantialhervs!NI1soulabsorbed. nll oneBeingknoss" Of allperceptior.rs-ncabundant oLrrce.Henceeverl'objecl-even' momentlous.Sunshence erive herr ìrrce.I Iencelanetsearn heircoursc.Llutsunsand fatling orlds I l'ierv no rììore.God only Iperceive.odonll' aclorel Emerson's ifè-long fascinationor thispoernwassuch that he'uvouldubse-quentlyncludet in his'urnttssusBoston.875). isanthology f favouriteoemsandpoets.And it isgenerallyonsideredo haveprovidedhe seminal dea 'orEm-erson'sìrst maiorwork.Nalure.
