Brahma Poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson : Summary and Analysis

If the red slayer think he slays,
Or if the slain think he is slain,
They know not well the subtle ways
I keep, and pass, and turn again.

Far or forgot to me is near;
Shadow and sunlight are the same;
The vanished gods to me appear;
And one to me are shame and fame.

They reckon ill who leave me out;
When me they fly, I am the wings;
I am the doubter and the doubt,
I am the hymn the Brahmin sings.

The strong gods pine for my abode,
And pine in vain the sacred Seven;
But thou, meek lover of the good!
Find me, and turn thy back on heaven. 

Summary and analysis :

Ralph Waldo Emerson was deeply interested in Indian philosophical concepts.

If the blood-stained killer thinks that he has killed someone, he is wrong and if his victim thinks that he has been killed, he is equally wrong. They do not know the mysterious ways of Brahma, the almighty. It is he who lives, he who dies, and he who is born again. It is he who is both the creator and the destroyer. He is the real doer of all things. Brahma is the speaker in this poem and entire poem is his appreciation. Brahma presents himself as the center of this universe. Whatever activities happen in this world they happen because of Brahma.

Brahma is timeless and spaceless, immortal and permanent, omnipresent indeed. Therefore distance does not matter to Brahma. Things past and forgotten are to him as near as things that are present. To him shadow and sunlight are the same. To him the vanished gods appear to be present and to him fame and shame are the same.

They are wrong who believe that they can ignore Brahma or escape from him. When they fly away from him, then Brahma himself is the wings that carry them away. Brahma himself is both the doubter and the doubt. Brahma himself is also the hymn that the Brahmin sings.

Even the strong gods looking for Brahma’s protection. The seven sages (Sapta Rishis) also try in vain to attain his shelter. But the humble lover of Dharma finds Brahma and can enter in heaven.

 

'Brahma' is one of the popular poems of Emerson. A discerning reader of this poem can easily see the influence of Indian thought on the author. According to ancient Indian thought, there is one Supreme Power that governs and guides the whole universe. This Supreme Power is the origin of all beings and the final destination of all souls.

 

This is in fact a poetic expression of American romanticism known as transcendentalism. According to this philosophy, we all of us are the product of the same soul. We are born out of the same parent. If the father is same, children are equal. The self of one individual is as important as the self of the other individual. But only thing is that we should learn to rely on ourselves. From this point of view, self-reliance is an important aspect of American transcendentalism.