Universitatea Alexandru Ioan Cuza Iasi

Facultatea de Litere
Specializare Studii Americane

LUCRARE DE LICEN,
The Self in Whitman and Eastern Philosophy

Coordonator
Asist.univ.dr, Lorelei Caraman

Absolvent,
Dobre Bianca Gabriela

Iai, 2016

Contents
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 5
Chapter I: Perspectives on the Self: Whitman, Buddhism and Taoism ................................ 12
I.1. The Self and Its Body: Spirituality and Sexuality .............................................................. 12
I.1.1. Sexuality in Whitman: a Transhistorical Approach .................................................. 12
I.1.2. Nakedness as Process of Identification ............................................................................ 15
I.1.3. Calamus: a Matter of Love and Spirituality ................................................................. 16
I.2. Whitmans Anticipation of Jungian Psychoanalysis and Deconstruction in Song of
Myself and Other Poems ......................................................................................................... 19
I.2.1.Deconstruction and Individuation ................................................................................. 19
1.2.2 Binary Opposites in Whitmans Poems ........................................................................ 21
I.3. The Self in Eastern Philosophy ........................................................................................... 25
1.3.1 General Considerations about Buddhism ..................................................................... 25
1.3.2 Self and Non-Self ......................................................................................................... 27
1.3.3. Taoism, Differences and Similarities with Buddhism ................................................. 28
1.3.4. Taoism: Conception About the Self ............................................................................ 28
II. Points of Intersection between Whitman and eastern philosophy .................................... 35
II.1. Similarities between the Upanishads and Leaves Of Grass ............................................. 35
II.2 The New Adam .................................................................................................................. 36
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II.3 Chinese Influences in Whitmans Leaves of Grass ............................................................ 39

II.4 Figure of the Superhuman in Leaves of Grass ................................................................ 40
II.5 Mysticism in Whitmans Poetry ......................................................................................... 42
II.6 Whitmans Leaves of Grass, Epiphany or Influences?....................................................... 43
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 46
Works Cited................................................................................................................................. 49

Abstract

The problem of the Self is a constant theme depicted in different domains discussing
human nature in relation to instinctive and rational ways of approaching mundane situations. If
psychology introduced the idea of a tripartite structure of the psyche: ego, super ego and id,
Buddhist approach emphasizes the dichotomy of self and non-self and, and underlines the source
of human suffering as the presence of Self.
The method utilized to discover any possible points of intersection is analyzing primary sources
from both Whitman and Eastern philosophy, books as Leaves of Grass, Tao te Ching and
Bhagavad Gita and secondary sources with critical opinions in relation to human science and
create an general idea about the way it affects being aware of the fullest potential of human
mind.
The opposition method created a clear delimitation between the originality brought by
Walt Whitman, a mosaic of personal experiences, native influences and a continuous process of
actualization in regard to the way of reaching the highest potential of human consciousness and
the Eastern way of seeing the divine in every man, an inner power, source of self-awareness of
fullest potential of human mind.

Introduction

The Self was a recurrent theme in the American Literature and had a different meaning
for every period marked by social and political aspects. That way, the Puritans were the first to
define the Self in relation to Freedom, a concept that shaped a nation and changed the historical
course of events. The Transcendentalist movement represented by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry
David Thoreau and Walt Whitman regarded the Self as the substance of their studies and
considered that the best way to understand Nature was Self-reliance, a concept introduced by
Emerson and defined as the need to follow ones instincts and refuse conformity as for the
Enlightenment period, the Self was defined by Immanuel Kant as man's release from his selfincurred tutelage which represented the inability of people to take decisions for oneself.
The following thesis concentrates on the way in which The Self in exposed in Whitmans
Leaves of Grass and in Eastern Philosophy. The theme has been approached by critics who
have argues in favor of and against Whitmans epiphany, reason why they used previous authors
examples to demonstrate that the same idea was presented long before Whitman and in a similar
way in subjects as psychology, science and literature.
The aim of this paper is let the reader make his own opinion with regard to the way in which
Whitman demonstrated the experience of a Mystic throughout the process of cosmic
consciousness. The influences that were observed in his work included Quakerism, Hegelian
theory of Master/Slave relationship and especially the theory of Deconstruction of Derida.
The bipartite structure of this research paper focuses on the way self is represented in two
different contexts, the American and the Indian, each with its particularities. Even though it is a

big difference in respect to the national society, the international and atemporal theme of the Self
seems to unify men at the psychological level.
The first chapter combines an overview regarding Whitmans work with respect to the
representation of indidual self and the Buddhist theory of atman, non-self. The Eastern approach
to self-depict an embracing-all attitude; a similar to Whitmans view about the ideal self, where
nothing is left out, everything is accepted and part of the whole.
When presenting the binary opposition, theory represented by Derida, the stress is on the way a
term is defined in relation to another, idea that is to be found in Whitmans depiction of structure
male/female, human/animal or vanquished/victor; a term gains power by acceptance. A similar
theory can be observed in Hegels Master/Slave relationship, where the balance of power can be
reversed any moment depending on each others attitude.
The Second chapter proposes a deeper knowledge into the poets life, in order to discover
the possible influences in the emblematical volume Leaves of Grass. According to the
biography, his life was described as an upward mobility due to his social ascension from
journalist to the poet of democracy. Early influences from the Quakers represented the starting
point for the poet interest in The Inner Light, a concept distinguished in the religious context,
as a divine grace protecting and surrounding the believers. Another major influence in
Whitmans work is considered to be Emerson whose publications were read by Whitman in the
preparation period for the volume Leaves of Grass, materials that contained Eastern influences
that could be notices in Whitmans work
Whitmans Leaves of Grass has been a referential work for Russian critics too; as an
example Kornei Chukovsky when encountering for the first time Leaves of Grass suffered a
revelation and considered Whitman a courageous people for exposing himself and his conviction

related to Human Nature and democracy in a period where there was little interest for such
things.
The first publication of

Leaves of Grass did not announce the waves of critics and

appreciations, in fact the first editions were print from the poets money and did not have success
since the author was ordinary until the year 1855. Among the first review of the volume was
made by Emerson, who found that Leaves of Grass were wonderfully like the Orientals
Considered the American version of Romanticism, Transcendentalism was a philosophical
movement that concentrated on the spirituality and individuality as key concepts to a moral life
and wholeness of the person. The ideal place of completing the process as self-awareness was
Nature, a space protected from societys laws, an area where one could find calmness and
harmony.
The concept of Nakedness as it appears depicted in the volume Leaves of Grass
received from the critics a double connotation, one the hand there is the purity and innocence of
the Soul that comes from communion with Nature I will go to the bank by the wood and
become undisguised and naked(Whitman, Song of Myself,29) and on the other hand there is the
Nakedness of the body, a feature that created the concept of homoeroticism as a consideration
for Whitmans disposition to openness . In relation to Nakedness, it emerged the concept of
Sexuality which is depicted as sheer and uplifting, hypothesis sustained by the biblical allusion
in the volume Leaves of Grass, Books, art, religion, time, the visible and solid earth, and what
was
expected of heaven or fear'd of hell, are now consumed (Whitman, Children of Adam, 83) and
also by the symbolic elements that are to be found in dictionary of symbols.

The definition of the Self as given by Whitman is summarized in only one word
universality by identification with nature, men and woman ever born, and although he
describes a pattern of our journey in life, this seems to be unique for every individual, hes only a
teacher, a model, a self-made man. The idea of universality is presented in relationship with the
transitoriness structure of life No array of terms can say how much I am at peace about God and
about death. (Whitman, Song of Myself, 48) Death it is seen as a component of the circular
structure of life, and that who is aware of God, shall not be afraid of death.
Whitmans life has offered the perfect medium for Mysticism, as a man goes in search for
something greater than himself only by being aware of his condition. In relation to this belief a
pattern has been observed, in this sense the urge for self-realization depends on the family
support and unity. The term has been attached to Whitman for his realization and touch by divine
inspiration and because of the pattern followed, although from a geographical position, the poet
could not be included among the mystic-poet such as Kabir, Lao Tzu and Solomon.
The premise of this thesis is discover the presence of points of intersection or points of
contrast regarding the universal theme of Self in two different geographical contexts, America of
Nineteenth century, an antebellum period where individuals did not give much attention to the
Soul and the Indian territory from the Second century bc, where the concept of Self represented
the milestone of civilization.
The subject of this thesis was an intercultural exchange of ideas, an atemporal attempt of
unifying two continents which seems to be in total opposition in respect to moral beliefs and
political convictions. The striking image of total identification was explained using arguments
from psychology, religion and philosophy involving elements such as water symbolism, biblical
name, psychoanalytical constructions and number interpretation according to Buddhist meaning.

For example the title of the volume was a pun, by the meanings transmitted of the
association of words grass a term used by critics for works of minor value and leaves, the
pages the poems were written on, but he first response which came from Emerson was deeply
impressed by the poet response when being asked indirectly to create a poem that will describe
the American nation I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom America has yet
contributed." (Miller, 27)
Many critics were impressed by the work Whitman did, especially when exposing his-Self, a
representative of the community and an emblematic individual that stood for equality, liberty and
future.

PERSPECTIVES ON THE SELF: WHITMAN, BUDDHISM AND TAOISM

The first chapter contains an analysis of Whitmans poems in regard to the emblematic
theme of the Self depicted in forms of Nakedness of the Soul and body, a feature of transparency
of human Self that can be observed only in the ideal place, Nature. The descriptive images of
men and woman living in the same community but separated by the physical barrier or by the
social position, the depictions of female body as a part of mens body represent an example of
binary opposition where a term of the structure can achieve full meaning only by explained in
relation with its opposite.
The subchapter Eastern Philosophy depicts the image of a Self in relation to non-self, a
distinction created to render individuals aware that everything existence within a cause and by
eliminating the cause the Self disappears and at the same time the source to human suffering.

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Chapter I:
PERSPECTIVES ON THE SELF: WHITMAN,
BUDDHISM AND TAOISM

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Chapter I: Perspectives on the Self: Whitman, Buddhism and Taoism

I.1. The Self and Its Body: Spirituality and Sexuality

I.1.1. Sexuality in Whitman: a Transhistorical Approach

Sexuality appears in Whitmans poetry in four different forms: heterosexual,

homosexual, autoerotic and bisexual, (Mullins 177) all exposed within the volume Leaves of
Grass. Considering the historical context, the theme of sexuality seemed out of place, for that
reason the interpretation was transhistorical (ibid 132) due to the exposure to social resistance.
Whitman was aware of the dangers he was facing at that time in the nineteenth century, leading
him to reshape the truths using a poetic language for celebration of his own body and gradually
for the depiction of sexuality. The Ninth Section from I Sing the Body Electric is concerned
with exposing of the body as a feature of unicity and self-identification:

O my body! I dare not desert the likes of you in other men and women, nor the
likes of the parts of you,
I believe the likes of you are to stand or fall with the likes of the soul, (and that
they are the soul,)
I believe the likes of you shall stand or fall with my poems, and that they are my
poems (Whitman, I Sing the Body Electric 9)
12

The depiction of the body as well of that of the Soul coincides, according to Kummings with the
American historical context of the period, but also with the continuing social changes
experienced by the poet as a desire towards upward mobility: teacher, carpenter, journalist, and
government clerk. Besides standard themes such as nature, eroticism, the body and the soul, a
special attention is also given to war and to slavery transposed into the national context, events
that were foreshadowed. ( Kummings, 177-179)
Michael Foucault argues that as people perceived same-sex relationship as an insult to the
feminine and masculine, as an unnatural phenomena or a shift characterized...less by a type of
sexual relations than by a certain quality of sexual sensibility, a certain way of inverting the
masculine and the feminine in oneself (Foucault) Regarding homosexuality as it is depicted in
Leaves of Grass, the term was introduced into English by John Addington Symo in A
Problem in Modern Ethics. The author was an admirer of Whitmans work, and wrote to him
asking about Calamus where he identified homoerotic elements. The poets response was not
long awaited: Symonds is right, no doubt, to ask the questions: I am just as much right if I do
not answer them...my first instinct about all that Symonds writes is violently reactionary is
strong and brutal for no, no, no. Then the thought intervenes that I maybe do not know all my
meanings.(re-qtd in Kummings,166). His answer seemed self-explanatory but some questions
were left out in the sense that the only explanation we get is that all he wrote was the result of his
instincts that he refused to control.
The presentation of the soul and the body seems to have a unity that cannot function in
absentia of consciousness and such experience induces to the reader a semi-mystical state of
being regardless of its imagined or real status:

13

Swiftly arose and spread around me the peace and joy and knowledge that pass all
the art and argument of the earth;
And I know that the hand of God is the elderhand of my own,
And I know the spirit of God is the eldest brother of my own,
And that all the men ever born are also my brothers...and the women my sisters
and lovers
And that a kelson of the creation is love (Whitman, Song of Myself 29)

The poet acknowledges the Divine presence in every mans life, the presence of anima/animus in
every human being, and the coexistence of body and Soul, a complex image of the individual
torn between brotherhood and self-adulation.
A portrayal of sexuality can be found in Section 11 and 28 from Song of Myself where
the body is praised, a desire that need to be transposed into the release of energy. Section 11
features a woman catching sight of 28 naked men bathing; number 28 has biblical connotations,
a double connotation that will be expanded along the section A major mention of the number 28
in the Bible's text is found in Exodus 26:2 that tells us of the curtain that separates men from the
Holy of Holies: The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each
curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall have the same measurements. (Stanley,98 (Stanley)).
The woman is separated from the men by the physical barrier, the house she owns (Kummings
167): She owns the fine house by the rise of the bank,/ She hides handsome and richly drest aft
the blinds of the window.(Whitman, Song of Myself, 196-197). Except from the physical
barrier, there is also a clear distinction between social class, she is the owner while between the

14

28 men there is also the homeliest. Because, of the isolation she experiences, even the
homeliest of them is beautiful to her. (Kummings 167) She is just a witness, the participation
happens only by means of imagination You splash in the water there, yet stay stock still in your
room./Dancing and laughing along the beach came the twenty-ninth bather,/The rest did not see
her, but she saw them and loved them. (Whitman 180-183)

I.1.2. Nakedness as Process of Identification

A MASKa perpetual natural disguiser of herself,

Concealing her face, concealing her form,
Changes and transformations every hour, every moment,
Falling upon her even when she sleeps.
(Whitman, Leaves of Grass, 217)

The status of nakedness as an asset in Whitmans poems automatically repeal the

feminine mask in Visord, as she appears in contrast to the poets attitude in (Hahn 11) Song
Of Myself: I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked.(Whitman,
Song of Myself). The mask portrayed in Visord must be a woman as the nakedness and
sincerity will always be attributed to masculinity. (Gilbert and Gubar, 136) Whitman shows the
same purity and candor in his way of living, arguing in favor of nakedness, which he did not
consider indecent. Moreover, nakedness can actually represent a method of living life to the
fullest: those who have not experienced the free exhilarating extasy of nakedness cannot
possibly know what faith or art or health really is. (Erkkila and Grossman, 213)
15

Ezra Pound identifies himself with the poet, the only difference being in the way of
exposing ideas: Mentally I am a Walt Whitman who has learned to wear a collar and a dress
shirt (although at times inimical to both). (Folsom and Allen 151). The themes of nudity and
nature are embraced by both with the only distinction that Pound does not agree with the natural
part of Whitmans message. Every seeking for a definition of himself made by Ezra Pound was
in correlation with Whitmans identity. When trying to explain his condition as an American
expatriate artist he mingled the Adamic nudity of Walt Whitman with Whistlers dapper
dandyism. (Bornstein 81) Roy Harvey Pearce draws a clear line between the poetic
temperaments The opposition is between a poet who would infuse his world with a sense of self
and then, and only then, accept it, and a poet who would infuse his self with a sense of his
world. Where Whitman would include, Pound would discriminate(ibid,84) Although the sense
of embracing all, Pound would observe a tendency in Whitmans writings to decline European
culture in favor of America. (Bornstein ,85)

I.1.3. Calamus: a Matter of Love and Spirituality

The poem Calamus was seen as an example of Whitmans fulfillment of

eroticism, an insult to the American Society due to the main topic exposed. Its interpretation has
found answers in Whitmans previous poem Democratic Vistas where he states his democratic
ideal as follows:

Intense and loving comradeship, the personal and passionate attachment of man to
man -- which, hard to define, underlies the lessons and ideals of the profound

16

saviours of every land and age, and which seems to promise, when thoroughly
develop'd, cultivated and recognized in manners and literature, the most
substantial hope and safety of the future of these States, will then be fully
express'd. (Whitman, 247)

Whitmans visionary ideal has been roughly experienced during Civil war, where he
benefited from the personal attachment that he longed for. The purity displayed in the letters
towards the war companion emphasized the type of relationship Whitman announces: Dear
Pete, dear son, my darling boy, my young and loving brother.(Whitman 85) The way of
transposing the feelings into a different kind of language transcends them to a spiritual and
purifying universe.

The concept of love as shown in Whitmans poems, especially in Calamus

represents a recontextualisation of the historical understanding of sensitivity. The kiss appears as

a motif of brotherly love, a love that has no boundaries in caring for the other all the forenoon
knocking around the water is my favorite recreation I could spend two or three hours every day
of my life here, & never get tired. Some of the pilots are dear personal friends of mine some,
when we meet, we kiss each other. (Miller, Jr, 252)
The title attributed to Whitman by the Indian readers poet-saint has little to do with
physics boundaries and more with the features encompassed within the label associated with the
poet. First, the meaning of the word saint in it Western acceptance is not equal with the religious
commitment, suppression of the earthly pleasure and suppression of the Dark, but in Calamus
and Children of Adam it is depicted a different sense of sanctity.. The events that led to
attaining this state are related to the experience Whitman had, an extraordinary state of

17

consciousness known as samadhi: the highest stage in meditation, in which a person

experiences oneness with the universe. (web).
The transformative process may occur in many instances and each poet experiences the
epiphany in a different way which usually takes form of a poem. For example Kabir presented it
like a visit with an awaited friend:

Kabir says Listen, my friend,

there is one thing in the world that satisfies,
and that is a meeting with the Guest.(Kabir, web)

The same mystical experience was described by Whitman in erotic terms:

I mind how we lay such a transparent summer morning,

How you settled your head athwart my hips and gently turnd over

uponme,

And parted the shirt from my bosom bone, and plunged your tongue to my barestripped heart,
And reachd till you felt my beard, and reachd till you held my feet. (Whitman,
Song of Myself, 80)

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I.2. Whitmans Anticipation of Jungian Psychoanalysis and Deconstruction in Song of

Myself and Other Poems

I.2.1.Deconstruction and Individuation

The Self represents one of the major preoccupation in both psychology and literature as it
stands for discovering all the factors that brought to a split of the psyche in more than one entity.
The main representative figures in psychology are Carl.G. Jung a psychiatrist who founded
analytical psychology, Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis and Jacques Lacan, the
most controversial psychoanalyst since Freud. (Murray 151) Although the first two agreed on
the existence of a part of the psyche that people were not aware of, the unconscious, they had a
different vision about its components.
Freud came up with the revolutionary idea of a tridimensional psyche that included: the
ego, the super-ego and the id. He referred to the psyche as a place filled with repressed memories
and unfulfilled desires, an idea from which he developed the theory of psychoanalysis. Jung
identified five primary functions of the psyche and established the archetype theory: the persona,
the ego, the shadow, the anima and the self.
The major goal of Jungian therapy is Individuation through the integration of the Ego and
the Shadow. (Carl Jung & Analytical Psychology, web) This is a key concept that can be found
both in the Eastern way of thinking and in Whitmans vision of the Self. One way in which unity

19

can be achieved is centroversion or the innate tendency of a whole to create unity within its
parts and to synthesize their differences in unified systems. (Mitchell, web).
The archetype has been associated with the figure of God, an angel or a demon due to the
form of quaternary which symbolize unity. Number four has spiritual and psychological
connotations and Jung identifies four orienting functions: intuition, sensation, thinking, and
feeling. . He stressed the importance of applying and developing them all equally (C. Jung)A
similar idea is to be found in Eastern Philosophy where atman (soul) identifies with Brahman
(totality).
When discussing about Christian Trinity, Jung defines it as incomplete due to the
contradictory rapport between Spirit and Nature "the gulf that Christianity opened out between
nature and spirit enabled the human mind to think not only beyond nature but in opposition to it,
thus demonstrating its divine freedom, so to speak" (Jung, 261).
Whitmans ability to embrace the duality and especially the equality of gender is visible
was presented in the first two poems of Leaves of Grass. For instance, in One-Self I Sing, he
says: [t]he Female equally with the Male I sing. (Whitman) Although there is no clear
connection between Jung and Whitman, both have arrived at the same conclusion about the
Trinity, a reinterpretation where the Quaternary contains: Father, Son, Devil and Spirit are a
reconciliation of opposites and hence the answer to the suffering in the Godhead which Christ
personifies. (Jung,The Problem of the Fourth, 57)

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1.2.2 Binary Opposites in Whitmans Poems

The starting point for the tripartite structure of the Soul has its origin in Platos work. He
offers a version of the nature of the soul by comparing it to a chariot. In this sense he introduces
a comparison between Gods and humans and their role as charioteers, who are driven by their
pairs of horses described as noble and of noble breed for the former and for the latest as
mixed. (Gray 43-45) The archetypes discovered and studied by Jung in relation to the human
psyche show the necessity of an opposition as a term must be defined in relation to the other. In
the list of the examples the most representatives are: The Ego/Self, Conscious/Unconscious, or
Eros/Logos. (Samules73-74)
In the Phenomenology of Mind, self-consciousness is presented as an antithesis of
identities which are both unwilling to recognize others authority in order not to lose its
significance (45).The Slave does not want to be reduced to silence, the struggle for domination
makes it impossible to control its power and it loses the focus because he does not work for
himself, he represses his instincts in relation to an idea, a concept. (Kojeve48) The struggle for
domination presented above is a mirror of the binary opposition system in the sense that both
parts are essential and one cannot function without the other; one is defined in relation to the
other. The paradox of freedom includes a limited amount of power for both concepts, a power
which has to do with the position imagined by each other. The Master exists only by granting of
recognition from the Slave and even the authority experienced is limited because the shift of
power can occur any moment. (Hegel, 24-28)

21

The human psyche has been analyzed in order to explain the structure of the collective
unconscious. The Jungian archetypal pairs such as anima/animus or the persona/the shadow may
be said to represent the psychoanalytic version of the Whitmanian approach to binary opposition.
The theory of Deconstruction as formulated by Derrida, involves the idea of Western binary
logic. The concept of binary opposition is also to be found in Western thought where a term is
usually privileged over the other. In this sense Derida presents the opposition between speech
and writing with the mentioning that the first is always favorite because it is original while the
second is just a copy of the original, and he goes deeper by completing with the analogy of
presence/absence coined under the name logocentrism. (Klages54-55)
One of the aims of Whitmans writings is to know human nature with all its components
and the way he manages to do this by embracing the good and the evil and by placing elements
in contrast to emphasize the duality of the human character. In a study regarding the similarities
between Romantics and Jungians it was proven that the two confronts the same subject the
expansion of the self, the only difference being in the way of approaching it. The Jungian theory
exposes the presence of both shadow and ego as a necessary condition for wholeness while for
the Romantics the focus was on the functions Self in relation to the Enlightenment:
psychologically speaking, Romanticism was to Enlightenment what the Renaissance was to the
Dark Ages--its repressed other, its shadow. (Moores,2)
Whitman succeeds in a unique way to integrate into consciousness previously repressed
unconscious contents, an image that he constantly depicts in Leaves of Grass. The image of
binary opposition is introduced in the poem I Sing the Body Electric by the structure
man/woman: The love of the body of man or woman balks account, the body itself balks
account/ That of the male is perfect, and that of the female is perfect.(Whitman,Leaves of

22

Grass, 122) The poet makes a continuous depiction of the love of the body as well as the love for
the soul and the opposition male/female accounts for necessity: one is defined in opposition to
the other. The key point in these stanzas, however, is the nature of embracing all, good/evil,
body/soul, male/female. The depiction of both the male and the female body as perfect reminds
one of the biblical depiction of Adam and Eve (Oliver 101).
The poem Song of Myself also embraces the opposition between Nature and Society.
The first term is the perfect medium where a person can find her-Self, a mystical place
surrounded by peace and solitude: I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised
and naked, /I am mad for it to be in contact with me. (Martin 25) The nakedness of the soul is a
constant theme in Whitmans poems and it stand for the pleasure associated with nature, a
corrupt place for the Puritans but a place for human connection, especially, for the poet, the
connection to the soul.
The opposition human/animal also appears in Song Of Myself: I think I could turn and
live with animals, they're so placid and self-contain'd/ I stand and look at them long and long.
(Whitman, Song of Myself) It represents the human psyche, a shadow/Ego structure that
encompasses

both

good

and

evil

as

structured

by

Jungs

elaboration

on

the

conscious/unconscious. Moreover, the victor/vanquished structure emphasizes the recognition of

the importance of opposites: Have you heard that it was good to gain the day?/ I also say it is
good to fall, battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won. (ibid) The battle
participants are of equal importance and of great honor: Vivas to those who have fail'd! (ibid)
The attitude towards the game creates the illusion of total acceptance regardless of the side of the
stand the player finds himself on.

23

The idea of opposition is not only a psychoanalytical approach to Whitmans poetry, it is

also inferred in the poem Song of Myself: Out of the dimness opposite equals advance, always
substance and increase, always sex/ Always a knit of identity, always distinction, always a breed
of life. (Whitman) The pattern of opposition creates a chain of elements for which it is essential
to be presented in a relation of antagonism to fully understand meaning. A poet of cosmic
consciousness, he shares the same chain of ideas in which a person becomes a whole by being
aware that individuality is related to the cosmos.
The enlargement of consciousness along with the approaches to human psyche created
connection with the Jungian theory of individuation: individuation is the process by which one
confronts the shadow and deals with it not by elimination and/or doubling but by making room
for its energies in consciousness. (Moores 4) Jungs theory of the Self makes a clear distinction
between the empirical connotations of the numbers 3 and 4, representing the basis of the theory
of archetypes. Observing the effects that number three produced in fairy tales or on his patients
dreams, the psychiatrist described it as incomplete, while number four even had healing
properties.(ibid, 5)

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I.3. The Self in Eastern Philosophy

1.3.1 General Considerations about Buddhism

Buddhism is most of the time associated with the phenomena of Enlightenment that was
experienced by Buddha on the Indian territory sometimes between the 6th and 4th century BC,
event that could be approached from two different points of view: objective and subjective, that
is metaphysical versus psychological. The first approach is formulated in two features of
humankind that remained constant during history regardless of the changes suffered along time:
(1) that all things are transient as they are composites (Skandia or khandha) and go on
disintegrating all the time, that there is nothing permanent; and (2) there is therefore nothing
worth clinging to in this world where every one of us is made to undergo all kinds of sorrow and
suffering. (Suzuki 33)
The answer to human suffering took shape in the doctrine of the non-ego (anatta or
anatman) according to which all things are impermanent, sorrowful and egoless. But the moment
we realize that we prefer their absence in our lives, we walk towards the path to moral rectitude.
Buddhist philosophy has at its core the following four Holy Truths:

i) life is frustrating, subject to dukkha, or 'suffering', and all components of

personality are dukkha, in the sense of being unsatisfactory';
ii) the main cause for this situation, and for repeated rebirths, is craving of various
kinds;

25

iii) if craving is destroyed, dukkha is destroyed, this end of suffering being

nibbtina
iv) the Path to the end of dukkha is the Holy Eightfold Path, which consists of
cultivating various aspects of virtue, meditation and wisdom (Harvey 47-72)

According to Buddhist teachings, life is a long line of sorrows produced by ourselves

because of material needs, and the only way of escaping this burden is letting go of the pursuit of
temporary happiness and start focusing on the souls needs. Buddhism concentrates on
discovering the true notion of the Self in every being and for that reason it analyzes the
personality which consists of five khandhas:

i) rupa: '(material) form', meaning the body;

ii) vedana: 'feeling', the hedonic tone of any experience, its aspect
as being pleasant, unpleasant or neutral;
iii) saflfiii: 'cognition', that which recognizes, classifies and interprets
objects of the senses and mind;
iv) the sahkhiiras: a number of 'constructing activities', of which the
typical one is cetanii, or volition; others include such things as
emotional states and attention;
iv) viflfiiif)Q: generally translated by the rather vague term
'consciousness', but, as argued in chapter 9, better seen as
'discernment': sensory or mental awareness which discerns the
basic parts/aspects of its object.( ibid, 14)

26

1.3.2 Self and Non-Self

A psychological approach to the Self in relation to Buddhism introduced the relation
between meditation and psychoanalysis, more specifically the unconscious, as a key concept for
the therapeutic function of meditation. The ideal Self is contained in the infant stage where the
symbiotic union between child and mother creates an ideal of the individual psyche that encloses
narcissistic elements. The ideal personality has similar features with Buddhism in the sense that
reality must be perceived without distortion as a complete process of the Nirvana.
The transformation of the individual must be completed to accede to the ideal version of
him SELF and the starting point is represented by the transformations suffered as a psychological
level in order to remove the infantile reminescents that functioned as material for the experience.
(Epstein 20-23) The Buddhist doctrine of non-self/annata was interpreted from two different
perspectives: one that argues for the denial of a permanent self-entity and one that believes in a
Self which is not identical with any of the constituents (khandhas) of the empiric individuality
taken severally or collectively, but which transcends them at both levels.(Karunadasa 107).
The term annata has received four different interpretation based on the Pali suttas (Indian
teachings): the first one emphasizes the opposition between dependence and independence in
relation to the Self and underline the necessity of a cause for every aspect of our life, this is
within it there is no self-enduring substance or a self-entity existing by its own power. (ibid)
The second approach introduces the concept of transition and the example offered is the way in
which human senses can function as Self detectors A third sense implies the function of the Self
as an agent of the action: through sense-impression is conditioned feeling and the fourth sense

27

is formulated as a debate regarding the way it affects the Self, the place and manner of living and
also the kind of life one decides to live. (Karunadasa 2)

1.3.3. Taoism, Differences and Similarities with Buddhism

The origins of Taoism are often associated with Lao Tzu, the author of Tao te Ching,
although the book itself contains reference to other ancient masters: Huang Ti and Fu Shi who
lived almost 2.200 years before Lao Tzu. Due to its universal approach, Taoism was split into
philosophical and religious Taoism. Each of them treats a different aspect of human life: the
secular aspect and the pantheon of deities.(Issitt and,Main 234) A distinction has been made
between Taoism, Buddhism and Zen Buddhism. There is continuity between the three doctrines
with the mention that Buddhism focuses on suffering while Taoism is an optimistic approach to
daily life and Zen Buddhism represents the mixing of Indian and Chinese thought.
Taoisms ultimate goal is to provide us with wisdom. It is also concerned with the
practical use, the way it is applied to everyday life. At the personal level, the Tao includes the
principles describing the human sphere and its representations: love, hate, violence. (Lin 15-18)
Once we realize there is no self, we can liberate ourselves from the burden of emotions that can
bring either suffering or pain. The Self is elusive and clings to nothing, he is like a shadow, if we
are aware of it, he exists, if not, he doesnt: Since the Self has no-Self, what is the purpose of
Self-love?(Clearly 116)

1.3.4. Taoism: Conception About the Self

Taoisms conception about the Self has a similar connotation with Ego in
psychoanalytical theory in the sense that Tao embraces the Universe and it contains all, Tao in

28

humankind and the Self too. (Courtney and Lee 133) The milestone work for Taoism is
represented by Tao te Ching, a book that functions as a kind of Bible, depicting human
concepts throughout the Indian territory. The beginning introduces the mood and context for the
following information: the Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao/ The name that can be
named is not the eternal name. (Lin 29) We cannot speak of Tao because human mind cannot
fully perceive it and also Tao cannot be summarized in a definition; it is beyond words
limitation. Talking about Tao is not equivalent to experiencing it and name seems to be selfdefined, the way.
Tao is described as the biggest mystery that the human psyche needs to discover in order
to see above physical limitations. It is a way of getting closer to primordial truths or the mystery
of mysteries, the door to all wonders. (Lin 31) The image of the door is the link between Human
and God and only by entering that door can we attain the ultimate purpose of Tao: Nirvana. The
second Section underlines the total acceptance and all-embracing nature of the Tao. In Taoism,
as in Whitmans Leaves of Grass, nothing is neglected; all is embraced and seen as part of ourSelf: When the world knows beauty as beauty, ugliness arises/ When it knows good as good,
evil arises /Thus being and nonbeing produce each other /Difficult and easy bring about each
other. (ibid 30) According to Taoism, every term can have value and meaning only by
appreciation and difference with its opposite: by experiencing the bad we can appreciate the
good.
People are wrong to evaluate every aspect of their life by putting a price on everything
and thus losing sight of the bare necessities of the Soul:

Do not glorify the achievers

29

So the people will not squabble

Do not treasure goods that are hard to obtain
So the people will not become thieves
Do not show the desired things
So their hearts will not be confused (Tao Te Ching)

The way in which we appreciate things as being valuable or less valuable could be
subjective, based on our perception. For that reason their evaluation could be wrong and
groundless. By putting a price on things we stray from the real meaning and we induce ourselves
the feeling of sorrow by getting attached to impermanency.
Section 8 uses the metaphor of water to describe the roots and destination of Tao:

The highest goodness resembles water

Water greatly benefits myriad things without contention
It stays in places that people dislike
Therefore it is similar to the Tao (Tao Te Ching)

In A Dictionary of Symbols, water appears in many significant forms for each religion:

In the Vedas, water is referred to as mtritamh (the most maternal) because, in

the beginning, everything was like a sea without light. In India, this element is
generally regarded as the preserver of life, circulating throughout the whole of

30

nature, in the form of rain, sap, milk and blood. Limitless and immortal, the
waters are the beginning and the end of all things on earth. (Cirlot 364)

A portrayal of wealth and its effects on the human soul is depicted in Section 9:

Gold and jade fill up the room

No one is able to protect them
Wealth and position bring arrogance
And leave disasters upon ones (Tao Te Ching)

The more we collect, the more suffering we create by attachment to material world.
Arrogance rises from awareness of a higher social position brought by gold and jade. In the
Dictionary of Chinese Symbols jade is associated with femininity and purity (Eberhard 184),
whereas in the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, gold is seen as a valuable, permanent and
durable object, this is why it was one of the three gifts brought to baby Jesus by the wise men.
(Ryken, Wilhoit, Longman III, 341) Lao Tzus depiction of wealth using standard symbols is
nothing but an invitation to disaster upon human life and also upon the Soul: and leave disasters
upon oneself. The target of wealth seems to be human degradation and by attachment to
impermanent things, people end up spiritually poor.
The theory of the Self illustrated in Section 13 formulates the answer as an open
question:

What does the greatest misfortune is the self mean?

31

The reason I have great misfortune

Is that I have the self
If I have no self
What misfortune do I have? (Tao Te Ching)

By being aware of the Self we tend to expect appreciation from everyone as a label for who we
are, but this whole process represents the cause of sorrow and disgrace.

32

POINTS OF INTERSECTION BETWEEN WHITMAN AND EASTERN PHILOSPHY

The Second Chapter creates an overview regarding the influences found in Whitmans
work: Mysticism, the biblical figure of Adam, Chinese allegory to the political context and the
impact Whitmans work produced on the Russian poet Chukovsky. The elements that are to be
found in Leaves of Grass positionate Whitman among the mystic-poets, sees him as a second
Messiah due to the world created according to his life principles and describes him as the eyeopening element that produces epiphanies.
The capacity to produce a work such as Leaves of Grass was the result to of a similar
Enlightenment experienced by Buddha, a revelation that totally changed his vision upon life and
the essential aspects on human consciousness. According to some critics, the moment that has a
great impact in poets life, known as the love hypothesis was the encounter with a woman
during his journalist career in New Orleans, process that produced some quickening of
emotional self-consciousness(33)

33

CHAPTER II:
POINTS OF INTERSECTION BETWEEN WHITMAN AND
EASTERN PHILOSOPHY

34

II. Points of Intersection between Whitman and eastern philosophy

II.1. Similarities between the Upanishads and Leaves Of Grass

Although there seems to be no connection between India and Walt Whitman, analyzing
the Gita and the Upanishads, Chari notices that no American had caught the Oriental spirit of
mysticism so well as Whitman. (397) The masterpiece of the poet was closely explored by three
early regional Indian writers: Kshitindranath Tagore, who saw the poets value as a prophet of
democracy rather than as a mystic, the Tamil national poet Bharati, who saw in Whitman an
innovative spirit liberating verse from conventional prosody, The Punjabi poet Puran Singh, who
admired the poet for his immense and cosmic consciousness. (Chari 399)
The incessant assumptions about the possible points of interference between Whitman
and Upanishads were remarked by critics such as Malcom Cowley, who emphasizes that
Whitmans poem is best understood when studied in relationship with the mystical philosophies
of the world, especially those found in the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. For Edward
Carpenter, Whitman's work is reminiscent of "the subtle and profound passages" (re-qtd. in
Chari,397) in the Upanishads. Moreover, Thoreau himself stated that Whitmans poems were
"wonderfully like the Orientals (idem)
According to Nathaniel Preston, Whitman could be seen as a Messiah figure with his
unique revelation about the hypothesis of Brahman (Superconsciousness/Ultimate Reality) and
atman (the soul). At the same time, he lays the speculation that Whitman could have had access
to libraries in which he could have read about The Orientals from articles such as: Extracts
from the Heetopades of Veeshnoo Sarma, from the July 1842 number of The Dial (84)., J. D.
Whelpleys article, Laws of Menu, published in the May 1845 number of The Whig Review
35

and anonymous review of translations of the Mahbhrata and the Rmyana entitled Indian
Epic Poetry which appeared in the October 1848 number of The Westminster Review ( Preston,
246-256).
Considering the relationship between mysticism and Song of Myself, Buddhism, which
is seen as an Enlightment is similar to the way in which Whitman received his revelation for the
volume. The Enlighment which occurred can be analyzed from two points of view: the objective
and the subjective approach. The metaphysical method consists of a series of questions related
to the discovery of the non-ego, what a man is supposed to let go in order to liberate himself
from the sorrows: The doctrine of non-ego not only repudiates the idea of an ego-substance but
points out the illusiveness of the go-idea itself. (www.sacred-texts.com, web) The physical
approach refers to the way we perceive reality through the analytical eye, a channel which
makes it distorted and different from the real one because of the intuition, prajna-eye.
(Suzuki 34-37)

II.2 The New Adam

So far we have seen Whitmans work in association with the American and Indian
Territory but now it is time to intersect the Divine with Human Nature: the Adamic Figure.
Whitmans ability to recreate himself and the world surrounding him, resulting in his God-like
position was due primarily to the capacity of returning to the primitive condition. He managed
to be reborn from the ashes by wiping out his social, cultural and family background as to create
a self in a vacant, vast surrounding.(Re-qtd in Lewis, 50) Whitman shaped a world in which
he absorbed life for years, and when he contained enough, he let it go out from him again, he

36

embraced it and then reinterpreted it, so his ability of to rediscover and name makes him both a
maker and a name. (ibid, 51)
In order to establish that Whitman's works spring from the same depths in the
human psyche as do the Upanishads there have been identified four "stances" of Whitman in the
development of his "self. These perspectives are not identical with the four "states of
consciousness" described in the Upanishads but could be strongly identified with parallel stages
described by Swami Prabhavananda in the following words:

Many apparently differing conceptions are to be found in them . . . to be found in

al1 of them. Not distributed. One in one Upanishad. another in another . . . The
Partitions between Upanishads might therefore, for al1 practical purposes, be
completely done away with, the whole hundred and eight being reduced to one.
(msu.edu, web)

He appears before us in many positions: as a visionary, as the spokesman of

America, as a poet-prophet of democracy, as a transcendentalist, and, above all as a mystic. All
these features are curiously mixed in him and find their expression ultimately in his mysticism.
Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. I am large, I contain
multitudes.(Whitman, Song of Myself, 51) Whitmans Song of me is the longest and the most
important from The Leaves. Although it is lyric I its structure, has epic value and significance. If
the titles imply that the poet celebrates himself, in reading it we notice that is more a song of
America, a panoramic view of the values and ideals that constitutes America.

37

E. Miller looks upon it as a rich mine in which the reader may make exciting
discoveries. He calls it the dramatic representation of an invested mystical experience. Miller
divides Song of Myself into seven stages:

1. Entry into the mystical state (1-5)

2. Awakening of self; (6-14)
3. Purification of self (15-32)
4. Illumination of the dark night of soul (33-37)
5. Union (faith and Love) (38-43)
6. Union (perception) (44-49)
7. Emergence from the mystical state (50-52)

According to Saxena:
A number of influences operated upon Whitman from childhood onwards,
influences which went into the making of his genius, and which gave to it a
particular shape and direction. First and foremost among such influences was the
influence of his parents. Whitman as a child was greatly influenced by his fathers
radical democratic ideas and his mothers Quakerism, and they left an indelible
impression on his life and work. These influences went to a long way towards
making him a poet of democracy. A faith in the dignity of the individual and in
equality and fraternity is the very life blood of his poetry. (Mysticism in Walt
Whitmans Poetry, web).

38

II.3 Chinese Influences in Whitmans Leaves of Grass

Whitmans epitome Leaves of Grass has been a controversial volume from his
first published edition (1855). A reluctance from both Eastern and Western worlds due to the
impossibility of fully understanding the poetic message because of the social and political
environment. For instance, one of the representative figure for the Chinese culture, Zhao Luorui
has identified in the Fifth Section of Leaves of Grass a different kind of love, different from
the homosexual perspective offered by the American critics the artistic way of Whitmans
thinking is reduced to the abstractization of the union body and soul each representing ones
opposite but functioning as an unique concept. (Huang,82)
The Russian poet Chukovsky had an epiphany when reading Whitman for the first
time Never before had I read anything like this. Clearly it had been written by an inspired
madman who, in a state of trance of delirium, fancied himself absolutely free of the illusions of
time and space.(334) the experience was transmitted throughout all his senses I was shaken by
these poems as much as by some epoch-making event. The chaos of my emotions at that time
was in perfect harmony with the chaotic composition of the poetry.(Idem). The encounter with
Whitmans poetry offered him an overview upon societys influence in contemporary poetry.
The originality of Whitman lies in the way of renouncing to himself in exchange of
promoting the individual, the common American man No doubt the poet's ability to renounce
the personal in himself and identify his own existence with that of every other individual
completely answered my own spiritual urgings at the time, even though I myself was unaware of
them. I felt that these lines were addressed directly to me.(ibid, 335) Whitmans poetry wanted
to produce a mass awakening, in the sense that every man needed to be aware of the nature of his

39

soul but also of his rights and duties in the community and the best example the poet offered was
his own.
Chukovsky made a portrayal of Whitmans style by identifying a mosaic of psychological
features his ecstatic call for human brotherhood, to the radiant hymns he sang to labor, equality
and democracy, to the joy he took in the simple things of everyday life, and to his daring
glorification of emancipated flesh.(Idem). He took interest in everything; he even praised the
divine characteristics of man, as the first step towards mysticism. Human brotherhood as it
appears in Leaves of Grass implies more than the sentiment of love, it is caring for each other
and above all, acceptance.
In relation to Whitmans sources of inspiration, Zhao mentioned that was a combination
of meditation, specific to Eastern Philosophy, actual life and observation of the surroundings
(81). Although a series of critics insisted on Whitmans Mysticism as a result of intense reading
of the Upanishads, Zhao points out that such reviewers failed to see his profound realism and
full affirmation of material existence and advanced sciences(ibid,82)

II.4 Figure of the Superhuman in Leaves of Grass

Whitmans anticipation of the theory of evolution as exposed by Henry Bergson
and the use of stream of consciousness as formulated by William James seems to represent the
effects of cosmic consciousness experiment that was experienced by the poet as a feature of
Mysticism (Fontenot, 5)
Whitmans work is considered to be a pre-Darwinian attempt of exposing the theory of evolution
but the difference was represented by the change of focus, the body was replaced by the human
Soul
40

Of this old theory, evolution, as broach'd anew, trebled, with indeed all-devouring
claims, by Darwin, it has so much in it, and is so needed as a counterpoise to yet
widely prevailing and unspeakably tenacious, enfeebling, superstitionsis fused,
by the new man, into such grand, modest, truly scientific accompanimentsthat
the world of erudition, both moral and physical, cannot but be broaden'd in its
speculations, from the advent of Darwinism. Nevertheless, the problem of origins,
human and other^ is not the least whit nearer its solution (Whitman, 278-279)

As first view of the volume Leaves of Grass, there are no clear implications about
evolution, but the attitude the poet shows in respect to the themes approached confirm that
everything tends directly or indirectly towards the evolution of man (Fotenot, 11).
Isaac Platt has identified similarities between Nietzsches Superman and the man of evolution in
Whitmans work. (ibid, 12) According to Nietzsche, God does not exist but in exchange it exists
a new type of man, Superman who was free from any religious laws or moral obligation,
regulations that could detain a person of being her-Self but also the ultimate aim of happiness
was represented by being aware of your own power.(Barkman, 111)
Platt wrote about Whitmans Superman
where we are going to find this Superman I do not know; but I know that where
the city stands which has the noblest men and women, there the great city stands,
and that I learned from whitman. Did I learn it from Whitman? Did he not show
me that I knew it all the time? I believe so. I believe the greatest evidence of
genius is to show people what they knew and did not know that they knew. I

41

believe the Superman will be ground out of the mills of the gods in due time and
will attend to his own breeding, and I think that is what Walt thought (Platt,183)
The greatness of Whitman lays in the way he present the general knowledge as an eyeopener, he invites us to use our consciousness as a weapon for self-knowledge, as a key towards
inner journey. Even though both Whitman and Nietzsche shared the same concept of the
Superman, each of them identified a series of features that individualize them. If for the
philosopher the Superman was a refugee from the mundane, for the poet, the Superman was the
ideal version of humanity, a model that aspired towards evolution (Fotenot, 14)

II.5 Mysticism in Whitmans Poetry

Mysticism is described as secret, closed; something is encountered unknown to the
ordinary intellect, the confrontation of a new mind, which was innately there. It is life, it is
Consciousness, the Self that we experience in Mysticism, and then become. (Hourihan, web)
One of the main figures of American Transcendentalism, Walt Whitman was deep into the
exploration of subconscious, an innate power in man that transcends the intellect and the
senses (ibid, web)
The publication of his masterpiece Leaves of Grass represents the union of his previous
acquaintances with the strongest influence of the Quakers, through his mothers family but also
his own mediocre family, an inspirational source for his mystic research. Due to his mental
instability, Whitman found himself around the family as a stranger, an opportunity to seek for
self-realization.
Whitman was a self-educated person, who began his work career from a fragile age,
although he hadnt higher education, he found himself fond of literary work. The first attempts
42

to write poetry did not seem original and neither his work for the newspaper editing in New York
and Brooklyn, but his experiences with the Civil War, as a male-nurse had shown an
humanitarian side of him, as he considered both Northern and Southerners his brothers for whom
he felt nothing but compassion.
Ralph. W. Emerson was the only one to support Whitmans potential and one of his
major formative influences, due to the thematic approaches related to the Transcendental idea of
the Oversoul, the divine nature of men, his immortal destiny (ibid, web).
In the same period, were translated for the first time the Upanishads, a collection of texts that
contain some of the central philosophical concepts of Hinduism, which had transformed the
chaotic life of the poet in an ideal version of the Self. The year 1855, represented the
accumulation of his life work transposed in the volume Song of Myself in which he praised the
soul and shared the symphonic celebration of his discovery of a new Self (Hourihan, web).
As an accumulation of factors that participated to the realization of Leaves of Grass
theres a set of striking influences such as: the Quaker religion with its preoccupation for the
Inner Light, the Upanishads and a series of European Romantic philosophers such as Goethe.
Transcendentalism, the American Romanticism, played an important role in the position of the
poet as a representative figure of the XIX century. A new wave of thinking brought to light the
individual, an introspective view and a continuous search for the Self.

II.6 Whitmans Leaves of Grass, Epiphany or Influences?

Whitman began his career as a journalist and no one had expected the volume Leaves of
Grass to bring such a major turn of situation. The volume brought a new vision of an American
towards Society, Government and The Self. He was the first poet to incorporate the free verse as
43

a particularity of his understanding of freedom, a concept that will took shape for several poems
from the volume. Let us all, without missing one, be exposed in public, naked, monthly, at the
peril of our lives! (Whitman, Poem of the Propositions of Nakedness, 319)
The radical changed that occurred split Whitmans attendants in two groups, each with a
different

field of investigation. The hypothesis generated around the possible Enlightenment

suffered by the poet between 1851 and 1855, led to the research of the small details from his
personal life that might have had an impact on his view of the world. According to Juan A.
Herrero Brasas, there were two different perspectives regarding the process of transformation:
the mystic hypothesis and the love hypothesis. The latest had no solid foreground, except for an
adventure experienced by the poet during his journalist career in New Orleans, fact which
produced some quickening of emotional self-consciousness. The former also called the strong
hypothesis was a result of the Cosmic Consciousness a state of mind that only a few people
experienced. The term was introduced by Bucke in A Study in the Evolution of the Human
Mind and was described as a higher form of consciousness than that possessed by the ordinary
man."(1) Bucke established three forms of consciousness, each with different peculiarity: Simple
Consciousness that is found in both animals and mankind, Self Consciousness specific only for
humans who included reason, thought and imagination and the Cosmic Consciousness, as a
feature of exceptional people(ibid,2).
The author attributes this term when discussing about: Gautama de Buddha, Jesus the
Christ, Dante, Mohamed, Francis Bacon. As a common characteristic for the above mentioned
realizing keenly the miseries of the human race, desired

above all things to do something to

abolish, ar at least lessen, them (ibid,69). Whitmans Mysticism was first suggested and
sustained by Emerson who claimed after reading for the first time Leaves of Grass, that was a

44

mixture of Bhagavad Gita and The New York Herald (re-qtd in Davis,74). If about the latest it is
inferred to be a newspaper that existed between 1835 and 1923 which represented a starting
point for Whitmans formation, the former was a milestone for the Hinduism, the scripture that
encompased a synthesis of Dharma conformity to religious law, custom, duty, or to one's own
character. (/www.thefreedictionary.com/web)
A passage from Song of Myself it is believed to be the expression of the Epiphany
I mind how once we lay such a transparent summer morning,
How you settled your head athwart my hips and gently turnd over upon me,
And parted the shirt from my bosom-bone, and plunged your tongue to my bare
stript heart,
And reached till you felt my beard, and reached till you held my feet.(Whitman,6)
The moment described above it is believed to have occurred in the June of 1853 when the poet
turned thirty-five.
Even the Mystic theory has acquired double significance according to the point of view
of analyzing the process of transformation. A group sustains Buckes version of the blending
between religious and ethical worldview that contributed to the inexplicable spiritual revelation
but the focus is on the result of the process, whether he found his inspiration in the mystical
revelation seems total irrelevant. The Mystic theory approached the question of love as exposed
in Whitmans work. On a metaphysical level, love is seen as a feature of Universal Brotherhood,
with strong sexual imagery

45

Conclusion

The theme of Self proposes to be discussed within this thesis has created connections
between domains that seemed to have a total opposite centering and different meanings for the
same terms. In this respect the Self represented a lifeline between Eastern and Western world,
between democracy and communism, antithetic polity that have been unified by the power of
acceptance. As presented in this thesis, the stress is not whether Whitman was or was not
influences by the Orientals and the concepts of Brahman and atman but the anticipation he did on
subjects like binary opposition, the evolution theory ,the cosmic consciousness experience that
transformed his vision into an epiphany for the rest.
If one would analyze each authors work, he will notice a pattern in the way early
influences or personal events are to be reflected in his work, and help reshape the meaning of
simple, plain words. As for the nonce the preparatory period for Leaves of Grass did not
represent only the data collection but the personal transposing of the information into a personal
experiment that will modify his visions on world.
The second chapter brought to light not only similarities between concepts but only
points of contrast among the views referring to moral attitudes and divine implications in
individuals life. The question on how did Whitman know about the Eastern view of the Self and
Mysticism without any direct contact is to be rewarded with a partial answer, that according to
which Whitman was exposed to a spiritual process of transformation, cosmic consciousness
The theory implicated in the process of examination, underlined the thin line between arts and
their area of investigation and revealed unexpected points of similarities between branches of
studies as science and psychology although one makes use of ration and the other is based on
46

experience, concept further developed by Empirism, tabula rasa according to which human
mind is at the beginning a complete blank sheet of paper that modifies with the accumulation of
experiences. The proofs gathered for the theory of influence in Whitmans work have a solid
base when tracing information about the places the poet visited, the books he read and the people
he met. His starting career as journalist did not announce the revelation it will bring in relation to
individuals as centers of community, as part of the universe, as the universe themselves.
The same notion of Self in Emily Dickinsons work could have been a subject for points
of contrast in the sense that the way self in depicted in her work, a minimalist approach Soul,
wilt thou toss again? By just such a hazard( Dickinson , Life, 139) was a contrastive vision of
Whitmans universal Soul. She preferred the enclosed space rather than going to Nature for
inspiration, her poetry was defined as Zero at the bone. Her obsession with the death arriving,
made critics label her as she died all her life, she probed death daily (Aiken, 192)
The intersection of Orient with the Western world proved to be a social experiment that
took me to the conclusion that the only barrier separating us is that of the mind, we are led by the
same principles but the way of exposing them created the illusion that the Asian continent is a
whole different world, when the reality is that we are more alike that it seems. The mixing of
religious beliefs, political views and meditation are features included in every culture and every
continent when discussing the theme of Individual and community, or the way of attaining moral
perfection.
Throughout the history the same concept is to be found in Puritanism, religious
movement who as Whitman did regard Nature as source of moral perfection, a virgin territory
untouched by human meanness and social regulations. The above example shows a pattern in

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human discovery for the truth Self even before the making of the greatness nation, America
which is itself a poem.
Considering the historical and psychological theory with regard to the Self, the
preliminary conclusion can be formulated as follow: The Self, a linking condition unperceived
because of the psychological stereotypes.

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