Thinking Activity on "The Waste Land"By T.S.Eliot

Respected sir,

     'The Waste Land' is the masterpiece of T.S.Eliot. Eliot describes rotten state of human life in 20th century. The waste Land is the land where is nothing can be grown. The waste land is the Land of fertile, fruitless, and hollowness of human Beings in Modern age. 

As we all know that the poem ' Modern Epic ' divided into five parts. Each part is  juxtaposes fragments of various aspects and it is just like episodic events which seems like 'Story within Story.' 

As per my understanding, I try to give answers of questions which is mentioned here.

1) What are your views on the following image after reading 'The Waste Land'? Do you think that Eliot is regressive as compared to Nietzche's views? or Has Eliot achieved universality of thought by recalling mytho-historical answer to the contemporary malaise?

T.S. Eliot and F. Nietzche


                          Frederic Nietzsche was a German philosopher who gave the term ' Übermensch', which means superhuman, a human being with remarkable abilities. Say for example Mahavira swami who was born in royal family and then left his home in pursuit of knowledge. He lived in the 5th-century BC contemporaneously with the Buddha. Both were normal human being and both have practiced intense meditation. Though they were not gods but were having super human quality as compared to other humans. one become leader in Jainism and another become leader in Buddhism but with passing of time they were considered as god. Eliot is regressive as compared to Nietzsche, he have used many myth in his poem waste land, there is nothing wrong in being regressive because people learns from past. If people have done something wrong in past they can recover or learns not to repeat same thing in present. Eliot gave example of myth in the context of present.



2) Prior to the speech, Gustaf Hellström of the Swedish Academy made these remarks:

T.S. Eliot and S. Freud

What are your views regarding these comments? Is it true that giving free vent to the repressed 'primitive instinct' lead us to happy and satisfied life? or do you agree with Eliot's view that 'salvation of man lies in the preservation of the cultural tradition'?

                        Frued and Nietzsche both are the contemporaries but their background and field of working is different. Frued is believed in individuality and talk about "primitive instinct" where as Eliot believed in preservation of cultural traditions which means all together. 

Frued was wrote that for progress of any individual primitive instinct was needed but in order to preserve tradition Eliot says that their is need for to grew together, for that example of Buddha was perhaps suitable. 

3) Write about allusions to the Indian thoughts in 'The Waste Land'. (Where, How and Why are the Indian thoughts referred?)

Give your responses as 'Comment' in the comment section below this blog post.

                             There are many Indian thought in waste land. Eliot was well read scholar and he includes Indian Upanishad also in his poems.

Ganga was sunken, and the limp leaves
Waited for rain, while the black clouds
Gathered far distant, over Himavant.

By these Eliot refers to wisdom of India for spiritual salvation of modern humanity.
Eliot uses three DA, which he has taken from " Brihadaranyaka Upanishad".


DA
Datta: what have we given?
My friend, blood shaking my heart
The awful daring of a moment’s surrender
Which an age of prudence can never retract
By this, and this only, we have existed
Which is not to be found in our obituaries
Or in memories draped by the beneficent spider
Or under seals broken by the lean solicitor
In our empty rooms
DA
Dayadhvam: I have heard the key
Turn in the door once and turn once only
We think of the key, each in his prison
Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison
Only at nightfall, aethereal rumours

Revive for a moment a broken Coriolanus
DA
Damyata: The boat responded
Gaily, to the hand expert with sail and oar
The sea was calm, your heart would have responded
Gaily, when invited, beating obedient
To controlling hands



Datta means to give; not only charity but giving oneself for some Nobel cause.
Dayadhvam means to sympathies yourself with the sorrows and suffering from other
Damayanta means self control, control over one’s passions and desire ( sexual desire).


Shantih shantih shantih - this last line is about ultimate peace which every human being is craving for. This can be considered as universal human law.

Thank you....