Influence of the Bhagavad Gita in the Literary Works of the Western World: An Analytical Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2025.v10.n9.010Keywords:
Bhagavad Gita, Western literature, comparative literature, T.S. Eliot, Aldous Huxley, Hermann Hesse, transcendentalism, spiritual philosophy, Indian epicsAbstract
The Bhagavad Gita, a philosophical cornerstone of Indian spiritual thought, has profoundly influenced Western literary traditions. From transcendentalist poets to modernist novelists, Western authors have engaged with the Gita’s themes of duty, detachment, and spiritual wisdom. This analytical study examines the textual, thematic, and philosophical influence of the Gita on the literary works of Western writers such as T.S. Eliot, Aldous Huxley, Hermann Hesse, and others. The paper explores how the Gita shaped their perspectives, characters, and philosophical narratives, offering a unique cross-cultural literary dialogue.
References
Bhagavad Gita. Trans. Eknath Easwaran. Nilgiri Press, 2007.
Arnold, Edwin. The Song Celestial. London: Trübner & Co., 1885.
Eliot, T.S. Four Quartets. Faber & Faber, 1943.
Huxley, Aldous. The Perennial Philosophy. Harper & Brothers, 1945.
Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha. Trans. Hilda Rosner. New Directions, 1951.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Essays and Journals. Library of America, 1983.
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854.
Schweig, Graham. The Bhagavad Gita: The Beloved Lord’s Secret Love Song. HarperOne, 2007.
Minor, Robert N. The Bhagavad Gita: An Exegetical Commentary. University of South Carolina Press, 1986.
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This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
