"Svaraj and Self -Reliance: Translating the Self and Its Rule From the ""Bhagavad -Gita"" and ""Manusmr&dotbelow;ti"" to the Works of Emerson, Thoreau, and Gandhi"

The Bhagavad-Gita and the Manusmr&dotbelow;ti view the self as the locus of divine authority, but they struggle with the social implications. Jones and Wilkins filtered their translations through a Neoplatonic Christian lens with a liberal Enlightenment tint, while also weakening the political implications. Emerson, fueled by the Romantic drive for originality, restored these elements: the power of self-trust arose from reliance on God within. Thoreau cultivated himself by the asceticism of The Laws of Manu, and he transformed the Bhagavad-Gita's reflections on action into the grounds for political resistance. Gandhi recombined the Transcendentalists with Indian ideas to develop his satyagraha (holding to the truth in a good cause), swadeshi swadharma (self imposed duties of self-reliant individuals for their own communities), and true swaraj (self control as the key to political independence). The idea of self-rule was extended by these interconnections, from the self-mastery to harness the power of truth of classical Hinduism, to the liberal truth and emancipated self of European thought, to the reforming power of soul-force. It developed as a result of its translation by active interpreters.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Comparative Literature

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Adisasmito-Smith, Steven Eric

Contributors dc:contributor

• Palencia-Roth, Michael
• Christopher Minkowski

• Religion, General

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3101790

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/87284