Eliot's Delving into the Oriental Wisdom: A Cross-Cultural Study

Abstract

The last century has witnessed an upsurge in literature triggered by the cross-cultural study of literary texts. This unprecedented event has transformed the various literary texts and genres that are being deconstructed to suit the changing times. T.S.Eliot has not been spared by the universalized world order. Eliot’s works are concerned with wisdom, the one which overlaps religion and is true for all men, at all times. By quoting from other sources, Eliot creates the deeper sense which forces the reader muse more effectively over the vital question of life and human destiny. In his poems, The Waste Land, and Four Quarters, and some of his plays, Eliot has withdrawn significant ideas from the Indian Scriptures, especially from the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Zoroastrian Classics. He was thus influenced by the Indian philosophy; the trenchantly told in the mentioned texts helped him arrive at a unified sense of life. By drawing upon the sources of the ancient wisdom of the East, Eliot tells in telling terms that modern desolation and self-damnation can only be fought at the level of deeper subjectivity. This paper attempts to discover Eliot’s response to the amazing corners of the oriental wisdom which does not seem to have received a significant attention by the researchers.
Key words: Eliot; Wisdom; Religion; Culture; Buddhism; Hinduism