Kaivalya

To: Education@Walden.Org , 09 July, 2004. Dear Sir/Madam, I am an ardent admirer of Thoreau and am an avid reader of his influential essays. I cannot tell in words the kind of motivation I derive from studying Thoreau. I have a few collections of Thoreau's essays, including Walden, Civil Disobedience and Life Without Principle. I seem to have natural ideas similar to what Thoreau seemed to elucidate in his writings. I am to admit that he is the most influential factor in my life. I would like to do a comprehensive study on life, thoughts, philosophy and literary contributions by Thoreau. So, I write to you to know of any way of getting this done. I know of the fact that to undestand Thoreau, the best way is to read his own works. I am reading Thoreau, but I consider that I have only limited access to his profound collection of thoughts. Kindly advice me, how to begin a comprehensive study of Thoreau as a philosopher rather than a naturalist. My primary interest in Thoreau is of ...

I read an essay "Slavery in Massachusetts", which was in fact an address Thoreau delivered at the Anti-Slavery Convention at Framingham, MA, on July 4, 1854. It was also printed in the LIBERATOR for July 21, 1854. This is another example of the great man Thoreau, who during the times human slaves in America was not against the law, yet, had advocated on the true spirit of humankind on liberty and freedom. Here a few wise quotes and remarks from this address I wanted to record here in my blog, most of which are still very relevant today, here in America, so also in India and wherever there is injustice in one form or the other towards any individual : 1. Nowadays, men wear a fool's-cap, and call it a liberty-cap. 2. I wish my countrymen to consider, that whatever the human law may be, neither an individual nor a nation can ever commit the least act of injustice against the obscurest individual without having to pay the penalty for it. A government which deliberately enacts...

I recently got the movie I wanted to see for a long time now: "Dead Poets Society". The movie stars Robin Williams as the English teacher John Keating in a high school, of which he was also a student once. While the essence of the movie is "Carpe Diem!!" a Latin phrase for "Sieze the day", and as the teacher Keating further says.."Make your lives extra-ordinary", the movie gives you more than that. Message to young, do only that what you LOVE the most. Message on the pedagogy, FREEDOM (as in THINKING for one's self) is more important than DISCIPLINE (as in being dogmatic) while educating the "growing minds". Message to the parents, don't DEMAND your children to DREAM your DREAMS. But don't you worry, it is not that a serious movie, there's a lot of fun there too. I bet you'll remember your high-school or college days too!! The other characters of the students are also very interesting and all the actors have done ver...