Throughout his life T.S. Eliot struggled with religion and belief. He was raised in a Unitarian home where he was surrounded by religious ideology. Once Eliot left his home he began his own research of all the possible religions, and based his beliefs on his research. A large portion of his writings included religious illusions. The central subject of The Waste Land is really a religious one. The Waste Land illustrates for us the concrete image of a spiritual plan with the help of analogy. Religion in The Waste Land is taken from many different areas. Elements from Christianity,Hinduism, and even fertility rituals can be seen interspersed throughout the poem. Eliot is cited to be a christian but references to Hindu holy books in The Waste
…show more content…
or the repetition of "shantih" at the end of the poem. Other influences in The Waste Land are not so apparent. While researching, illustrations of life-in-death, I realized it is the ultimate deceit we consider life. The words spoken by the thunder are sanskrit and Eliot offers a clue to their meaning through a footnote directing the reader to the book "Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad," compiled by Indian philosophers that attempt to describe the nature of reality. Similar to Part V of the "Wasteland," the story that Eliot derives the sanskrit words from is also titled “What the Thunder Said.” The original story describes a scenario between the Creator and his three offspring: Gods, humans, and demons. Abraham is the highest deity and is asked what the most important lesson for them to understand, while Abraham says something to each of them they all hear something different. Demons hear compassion,humans hear to give, and Gods hears self-restraint. T.S. Eliot says this is an expression of opinions on the human race as a whole. The three thunder claps that sound in lines 400-423 basically retell the story of how thunder, the father of gods, men, and demons, told them that in order to be for sure they are living the way the should be they 'd have to practice the three DA’s, which apparently sounds like thunder in Eliots ears. These words are Datta, Dayadhvam, and Damyata, which mean giving, compassion, and self-control. ‘The Fire Sermon’’ emphasize self-control, which interestingly enough is the definition of ‘‘Datta.’’ Eliot feels that if we can learn these three things, we 'll at least be much better off than we 've been for the last
or the repetition of "shantih" at the end of the poem. Other influences in The Waste Land are not so apparent. While researching, illustrations of life-in-death, I realized it is the ultimate deceit we consider life. The words spoken by the thunder are sanskrit and Eliot offers a clue to their meaning through a footnote directing the reader to the book "Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad," compiled by Indian philosophers that attempt to describe the nature of reality. Similar to Part V of the "Wasteland," the story that Eliot derives the sanskrit words from is also titled “What the Thunder Said.” The original story describes a scenario between the Creator and his three offspring: Gods, humans, and demons. Abraham is the highest deity and is asked what the most important lesson for them to understand, while Abraham says something to each of them they all hear something different. Demons hear compassion,humans hear to give, and Gods hears self-restraint. T.S. Eliot says this is an expression of opinions on the human race as a whole. The three thunder claps that sound in lines 400-423 basically retell the story of how thunder, the father of gods, men, and demons, told them that in order to be for sure they are living the way the should be they 'd have to practice the three DA’s, which apparently sounds like thunder in Eliots ears. These words are Datta, Dayadhvam, and Damyata, which mean giving, compassion, and self-control. ‘The Fire Sermon’’ emphasize self-control, which interestingly enough is the definition of ‘‘Datta.’’ Eliot feels that if we can learn these three things, we 'll at least be much better off than we 've been for the last