Thursday, March 25, 2010
Hamlet as a closet Hindu?
Something that caught my eye when I was reading Hamlet was a part of Hamlets conversation with Horatio in act III scene II when Hamlet says:
"Sh'hath sealed thee for herself: for thou hast been
As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing,
A man that Fortune's buffets and rewards
Hast ta'en with equal thanks; and blest are those
Whose blood and judgement are so well commenddled
That they are not a pipe for Fortune's finger
To sound what stop she please. Give me that man
That is not a passions slave, and I will wear him
In my heart' core, ay, in my heart of heart."
This particular quote seemed to be relevant to The Bhagavad Gita in a few different ways which i will attempt to explain but will probably only further confuse. First is the way that hamlet describes "one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing" this reminded me of the importance of unity in Krishna's counsel of Arjuna. Krishna says "They live in wisdom who see themselves in all and all in them" when I read this with Hamlets line "A man that Fortunes buffets and rewards/ Hast ta'en with equal thanks" I was immediately reminded of the way that Krishna advises Arjuna to remain above and unaffected by both pleasure and pain, good and bad:
"When the senses contact sense objects, a person
experiences cold or heat, pleasure or pain. These
experiences are fleeting; they come and go.
Bear them patiently, Arjuna. Those who are
unaffected by these changes, who are the same
in pleasure and pain, are truly wise and fit for
immortality. Assert your strength and realize this!" ch 2 lines 14-16
By finding a sense of unity and remaining unaffected man is able to reach a higher state and "suffer nothing." Krishna goes on to say more about this saying:
"They are completely fulfilled by spiritual wisdom and Self-realization. Having conquered their senses, they have climbed to the summit of human consciousness...Because they are impartial, they rise to great heights." (ch 6 lines 8-10)
"The supreme Reality stands revealed in the consciousness of those who have conquered themselves. They live in peace, alike in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, praise and blame." (ch6 lines 7-8)
It would seem to me that when Hamlet says "Give me that man/That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him/ In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart" he is basically asking for Krishna, finding the same ideas valuable as demonstrated in The Bhagavad Gita. I am not really sure if this is actually what is going on or not, or if I was just reading this looking for something that related to The Gita!
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