The Waste Land의 인도사상적 접근

An Indic Approach to The Waste Land

Though Eliot publicized his religious point of view as an Anglo-Catholic in the preface to For Lancelot Andrewes, he is much interested in the East-ern religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism. Such interest is verified in his biography and by his words, and expressed in his poetry. The Waste Land was published when he was absorbed in the Eastern religions and seri-ously thinking of becoming a Buddhist. I think, therefore, The Waste Land shows the effect of those relígions. Eliot could not overcome the cultural barrier between Eastern and Western thoughts, and moreover his pursuit of the tradition and orthodoxy led him to become an Anglo-Catholic. This poem shows the mixture of Eastern and Western religious thoughts. But I tried to interpret the symbol and content mainly in the light of Eastern reli-gious thought. I have examined Eliot’s definition and means of salvation in the light of Eastern religions. In The Waste Land, life on earth is thought to be subject to the Law of Karma and metempsychosis. This poem is based upon the ephemerality of reality and metempsychosis which are the sources of human suffering. To end the suffering is to get out of the state of metem-psychosis and change, and to get out of them is Nirvana itself. We can reach Nirvana by becoming aware of human limitation and surrendering ourselves to the recognition that reality is not permanent and everlasting. Only then can one be blessed with salvation. The protagonist (speaker) of this poem becomes aware of this but does not follow the recommendations of the thunder. If we act in accordance with its recommendations, the Waste Land will get out of its parched state. But knowledge alone is not enough. Eliot finishes this poem with the word “Shantih which means “The peace which passeth understanding. This word, which is repeated three times, is a formal ending to an Upanishad. We can, therefore, conclude that Eliot tried to think of this poem as at least a kind of his confession of his re-ligious thought and to find the means of salvation from the Waste Land in the Eastern religions, though he used many Christian symbols, allusions and quotations. Because what is important is action, not knowledge, if we “give, are compassionate, and restrain ourselves, the salvation from this parched state of reality will be attained here and now.