Poem: Brahma

BRAHMA

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,
And I 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.

"Brahma" is miraculous in its blend of Eastern and Western thought. Emerson claimed that those baffled by the poem might be aided if they replaced the Brahma of the title (Brahman is the Hindu god of creation) with Jehova, indicating a belief that Eastern and Western religions could in large part be reconciled. Emerson is able to use clever, yet complex paradoxical logic in order to present his philosophy in poetic terms. Throughout the poem, Emerson alludes to Hindu mythology. The knowledge of which he gained through reading the Bhagavad-Gita and other Hindu scriptures. In Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem, "Brahma", the overall theme is the divine relationship and continuity of life and the unity of the universe.

The poem has been described as one that explores the 'continuity of life and the unity of the universe', the 'I' in the poem being God who is in all things, thus explaining why all seeming contradictions are as one. The overall theme of Brahma is the divine relationship and continuity of life and the unity of the universe. To begin with, this is explained through the concept of re-incarnation, which is expressed in the first stanza. He says that if a killer thinks he has killed another or if the dead think that they are truly well, they do not fully realize his power; for he, Brahma, can create, destroy and re-create. In the end the "red-slayer", or the Hindu God Krishna, and his victim are merged in the unity of Brahma. When Brahma re-creates or "turns again," it is known commonly as the concept of reincarnation. Thus, the continuity of life is expressed through Brahma's eyes. Second, Emerson clarifies it the second stanza in which he states that the universe lives in harmony ad not opposing forces such as good and evil. Lastly, Emerson calls upon the reader to abandon praying for material thoughts or asking him, Brahma, for asylum as join him in the ultimate unity of the universe. Thus, the request that he makes is for the reader to join him in the ultimate unity of the universe, also known as the Hindu philosophy of Mukti.

In writing "Brahma," Emerson boldly crosses new bounds by assuming the perspective of a God and by cleverly mixing Eastern and Western thought.