Thoreau's Quest: Mysticism In the Life and Writings of Henry David Thoreau

By Paul Hourihan and Anna Hourihan

Open the Heart of Self-Discovery through the Profound Life and Works of Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was a lover of Nature and a believer in living the simple life. Using his literary gifts to write "Walden," an account of his two-year experiment at Walden Pond, he became one of America's most important writers of the 19th century. His writing has influenced leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. and continues to inspire young and old alike.

But what distinguished him and made his work great was his spiritual strength of character and determination to live an authentic life. "Thoreau's Quest: Mysticism in the Life and Writings of Henry David Thoreau" concentrates on this aspect of Thoreau's life, which hadn't been adequately researched and studied. In this work, you'll find out how Thoreau's principal work "Walden" was inspired by his spiritual revelations and struggles and what the deeper meanings are in key passages.

Depression and the role it plays in the life of the spiritual seeker is one of the subjects Paul Hourihan delves into in light of Thoreau's extended depression after publishing "Walden," his masterpiece.

Dr. Hourihan also addresses the challenges we face living our spiritual lives today. He asks "Is Thoreau's way the way for us?" And explains the special difficulties we have compared to Thoreau's time.

By understanding the wisdom and strengths as well as the faults and failings of this great man of letters and seeker of truth, we can know ourselves better.

"At a time like this, Dr. Hourihan performs a valuable service by his courageous reaffirmation of what is of permanent value in the life and works of one of the most original minds in American literature." - Dr. V. K. Chari, author of "Whitman in the Light of Vedantic Mysticism"

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookIt.com
• Release date: Apr 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781931816151

Book preview

Mysticism in the Life and Writings

of Henry David Thoreau

PAUL HOURIHAN

Edited by Anna Hourihan

Vedantic Shores Press

Redding, CA

Published by: Vedantic Shores Press

P.O. Box 493100

Redding, CA 96049 U.S.A.

[e-mail]

http://www.VedanticShoresPress.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any manner, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage retrieval system, without written permission from the Publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact [e-mail].

COPYRIGHT © 2013 by Estate of Paul Hourihan, ePub Edition.

Most of the material in this book was originally published in Mysticism in American Literature: Thoreau’s Quest and Whitman’s Self, ISBN: 978-1-931816-03-8. See Editor’s Note for more information.

Publisher’s Cataloguing-in-Publication

Hourihan, Paul,

Thoreau’s Quest: Mysticism in the Life and Writings of Henry David Thoreau / Paul Hourihan ; edited by Anna Hourihan.

Includes index and bibliographic references.

ISBN13 978-1-931816-15-1 [ePub edition]

1. Thoreau, Henry David, 1817-1862—Religion. 2. Mysticism in literature. 3. Religion and literature—United States— History—19th century. I. Title.

PS3231.R4H68 2012 810.9’382

Editor’s Note

Thoreau’s Quest is the second volume of a three-part series on Mysticism in Literature by Paul Hourihan. It was originally included in Mysticism in American Literature: Thoreau’s Quest and Whitman’s Self, a study of the spirituality in the lives and writings of Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman. In order to make this work accessible to more readers who may be interested in one and not the other of these great American writers, we are publishing each separately. Whitman’s Self was the first installment in the series. The series will conclude with the mysticism in the life and writings of William Blake, the English mystic and poet.

Here we present the Thoreau part of Mysticism in American Literature with revisions mainly to the Introduction and Epilogue to provide more information relevant to Thoreau alone. More material transcribed from the original lecture tape recordings has been added to this text.

Walden is usually presented, discussed, read and lectured about as a literary work, but here we’re interested in the man and not the literary devices. Henry David Thoreau poured his being and mystical insights into the writing of his masterpiece Walden and accordingly this study focuses on excerpts representing this aspect in Thoreau’s Walden, which has become a classic of American literature.

Author’s Note

Most of the material used for this volume first appeared as lectures in a course on mysticism given some years ago and hence the oral influence that still lingers inevitably in many places.

. . .

My deepest gratitude to Anna Hourihan for her editorial assistance in the preparation of this volume.

- P.H.

Contents

Editor’s Note

Author’s Note

Introduction

Henry David Thoreau

The Quest - Walden

Epilogue

Notes and References

Index

About the Author

Publisher Information

Introduction

Henry David Thoreau was a lover of Nature and a believer in living the simple life. By writing about his two-year experiment at Walden Pond, he became one of America’s most influential writers of the 19th century. Using his literary gifts to recount his experience living a minimalist and self-reliant life in Walden, he’s given us a classic book that continues to inspire young and old alike. But what distinguished him and made his work great was his spiritual strength of character and determination to live an authentic life.

I went to the woods because I wished 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.1

Henry Thoreau wanted to discover the meaning of life and the full potential of being human. This quest led him to the path of mysticism. Mysticism is an experience of the Truth that goes beyond the mind and senses and expresses itself in countless ways. Literature being one way as we see from Thoreau’s poem Inspiration:

I hear beyond the range of sound,

I see beyond the range of sight,

New earths and skies and seas around,

And in my day the sun doth pale his light.

Thoreau’s mystical experience was such that even the sun lost its effulgence in comparison with it. Mysticism is described as secret, as something encountered beyond the intellect and senses. But then isn’t Mysticism ineffable? How can we really discuss it for what it is? The supreme mystical experience or higher union with Godhead—the ultimate samadhi—is no doubt beyond our power to communicate or grasp. Mysticism is not only this supernal peak, but thousands of intermediate experiences—moments, insights, decisions, epiphanies that come to us along the way. Its transforming power leads us to a whole new way of life with attitudes, motivations, incentives, and assumptions that undergird such an existence.

Henry Thoreau was one of the leading figures in the Transcendentalist movement. The Transcendentalists saw Life everywhere charged with mystical possibilities ... in art, music, science, literature, the world of the intellect and in ordinary life. Consider our experience of human love at its best—how deep, how transforming this experience is—how ineffable. Mysticism in Nature, what we call nature-mysticism hardly needs to be mentioned.

Fortunately, we know much about Thoreau’s inner development from his journals and personal letters. These, along with his writings, give us a psychological as well as literary approach to the more important matter of his spiritual transformation and journey. In his case, and perhaps with every great man, the outer works are only a footnote to the true story that is going on, which is the evolution of his spirit, the gradual manifestation of his true self. If he’s a writer and seeking truth, his works will reveal milestones along the way, enlightening us about much more than his literary progress.

The subject of depression and its part in the life of the spiritual seeker is also discussed, especially in light of Thoreau’s extended depression after publishing Walden.

Thoreau stands as one of the preeminent originals in American literature in his century. He was a living example of what he preached. His enduring words continue to inspire us to be explorers of whole new continents and worlds within us.

. . .

Since the focus of the present volume is mysticism, two aspects of Thoreau’s Walden that are covered extensively by other studies will be passed over. One is its interpretation of Nature. True nature lovers read Walden from that standpoint, which doesn’t much concern us here since it seems incidental to the mysticism. Another is the social criticism that flows through everything Thoreau writes. Although his essay Civil Disobedience had far-reaching influence, it is a phase of his creatureliness and is mentioned in brief. He is aware of evils in the world and criticizes them, just as he is a naturalist observing trees, lakes and wildlife, which are expressions of his earthly personality whereby he fills the time with congenial activities or writings; but behind them all is the spiritual theme, the life of the potential mystic, with which we will be mostly concerned.

Henry David Thoreau

______________________

Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.

- Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Henry Thoreau (1817-1862) is an archetypal figure. We have lived lives like his—or will. His is a universal quest pursued with fervent single-mindedness to pluck out from the heart of the universe the secret of its mystery. Alone—with no guru (Emerson disappointed him grievously because of his esthetic approach to life), no encouragement.

Thoreau is the grimly serious, impassioned, defiant young man who sets out on a pilgrimage to discover the meaning of life and is determined to let nothing stand in his way. He seeks to achieve perfection.

He becomes a pilgrim to himself—to his new self, to the life he has resolved to bring into being. He wants to discover all the possibilities of becoming new-born and to report his findings back to men. As he will do in Walden.

The journals he wrote in his