Gandhi And Transcendentalism Essay

Gandhi once said, “a man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.” Gandhi was a free-willed thinker and was the famous leader of the movement for Indian independence; he based his teachings on non-violence and truth. Being born and raised in India, he saw all the aspects of how British rule was controlling, but not knowing of any of the troubles of the British control, Gandhi set off to study law in England. He soon leaves for South Africa and opens a law office. But it was here in South Africa that where Gandhi organizes his first protest against anti-Indian laws in South Africa and was imprisoned. When he was released he returned to India and seven years later was put on trial and was sentenced to six years in jail. In jail, Gandhi began his “great fast” in protest of British control. But Gandhi was persistent to win the battle with no violence so he repeatedly was thrown in jail and fasted continuously. Even being imprisoned for years, nothing stopped the great independence leader of India. Gandhi once said, “you can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.” Gandhi’s beliefs can easily be translated into transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is a philosophy that promotes spiritual thinking and be one with nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson who wrote Nature and Self-Reliance and Henry David Thoreau who wrote Civil Disobedience and Walden are two famous examples of transcendentalists. They believe that people should not conform to society’s ways and beliefs and instead listen to their own conscious even if we are to be judged by others. They are true to themselves and find themselves through nature and being in solitude. Most nonconformists in the world were...

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...e succeeded. Gandhi is known as the father of India but he can also be known as a transcendentalist because of his acts of civil disobedience, his careless thoughts of what others thought of him, and his persistence for racial and gender equality.

When comparing transcendentalism and Gandhi, we can clearly see how closely related their philosophies were because like transcendentalism, Gandhi was self-reliant, a nonconformist, and believed in equality. Gandhi set examples for many others leaders to help gain independence because like all other actions it begins with ideas, and with ideas anything is possible. Everything can be accomplished if we all step outside of the pressures of society and find ourselves and be the person we intend to be and not society’s puppet. Like Gandhi once said before, “a man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.”