YJA Convention 1994 07 Chicago IL First

Author(s): Young Jains of America (YJA)
Publisher: Young Jains of America YJA USA

Page 61

Action in Jainism Contributions of Thoreau
"The mass of men lead life of quiet desperation," writes New England Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), author of Walden. Who is Thoreau? Historically Thoreau holds a vital place in the continuing exchange of ideas between East and West. He took inspiration from the Vedas, and Gita, and the Gulistan. In India's time of need, Gandhi practiced civil disobedience after Thoreau's example. Gandhi, in turn, influenced Martin Luther King. Today especially, Thoreau's ideas have direct relevance for Jainism.
A comparison of Jain ideals with Thoreau's beliefs shows common direction, especially in addressing exactly the concerns that frequently stand between knowledge/intention and action. Thoreau's life is well suited to address the practical matter of action in religion, for having discovered no substitute for spiritual enrichment except self-experience, he directionally evolved his life and thoughts with a conscious endeavor to seek a higher life. He writes in Walden, "It is never too late to give up our prejudices. No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted with proof."
Thus at age twenty-five, facing dissatisfaction and spiritual emptiness, the Harvard graduate left the city to live in the woods near Walden Pond:
I went to the woods to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor do I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life...
A full account of his experiences is detailed in Walden. He does not have the austerity of a true Acharya, nor the endurance of Gandhi, but modern America identifies readily with Thoreau.
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By Vinit M. Doshi
The strength of Walden is that readers recognize their own inherent thoughts eloquently expressed, leading them to reveal themselves. Thoreau is no monk or preacher; he is the common man, living in the open world, facing all the hardships of economy. Economy is the first and most elaborate chapter of Walden, and appropriately so, because most questions of relevance to society are questions of economy that is, of bread and butter, and how to acquire them. All other questions come after economy, or are irrelevant: "The necessaries of life in this climate may be distributed under Food, Shelter, Clothing and Fuel; for not till we have secured these are, we prepared to entertain the true problems of life with freedom and a prospect for success."
Thoreau recognizes the necessity of making a living, and addresses this problem extensively. However, he believes that making a living should remain the means to a greater purpose, all the while observing that the few individuals ever reach the "finer fruits" of art, music, religion and the essence of spirituality.
Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them.
To Thoreau, the industrial revolution brought on unprecedented materialism and alienation as life became unnecessarily complicated. He complains that life is being "frittered away in detail," while the greater part of one's time, life and energies are spent in making a living, preparing to make a living, and getting and spending.
His words still seem current today. The state of this society's economy with respect to spiritual liberty has not changed substantially, except that life seems more complicated and