Expressions of the “Over-Soul”

If “Self-Reliance” is about non-conforming individualism and the further reliance on the self, then the “Over-Soul” is about how an individual can further transcend the limitations that society places upon him/her, all the while relating metaphysically and participating in all that exists, terrestrially and cosmically. One of the most profound and influential figures in Transcendentalist and mystic thought, Ralph Waldo Emerson had brought a conglomerate of mysticism, eastern, Vedic insight, and a few other Romantic philosophies into the western consensus as a further evolution of Transcendentalism. In Emerson’s 1836 essay “Nature”, he closed it by calling for a revolution in human consciousness to emerge:

So shall we come to look at the world with new eyes. It shall answer the endless inquiry of the intellect, - What is truth? and of the affections,— What is good? by yielding itself passive to the educated Will. .. Build, therefore, your own world. As fast as you conform your life to the pure idea in your mind, that will unfold its great proportions. A correspondent revolution in things will attend the influx of the spirit. (Emerson 377)

From his emphasis on non-conformity and individuality, the goals set were forming better, newer concepts for the betterment of society, all the while relying on intuition, rather than being complacent and docile in an increasingly uniformed society. Later, Emerson in his 1841 essay excursion, “The Over-Soul”, further expounded upon those themes in a much more grandiose metaphysical approach and became the best source of information about the spiritual/religious underpinnings of America’s premier Romantic. His ideas were syncretistic at best, pertaining to the beauty of nature and the ultimate power behind existence. Much of these integral themes presented throughout his work can indeed are found within other sources of philosophy, spiritual being and romantic perceptions, mentioned earlier.

Within the essay, “The Over-Soul”, Emerson sought to explain it with beautiful narrative through the use of poetic descriptions. Emerson defined this spirit as a unity, “within which each man’s particular being is contained and made one with all other” (Emerson 237). This particular passage is a prime example of what spiritual teachers refer to as mysticism. One of the chief aspects of the spiritual concept and practice is that one can obtain union or experience within the divine reality or God all the while, undergoing an ego detoxification process. Mysticism, however, is also subjective and can be found within all of the world’s major religions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam as they give such spiritual concepts with their own diverse terminology. Thomas J. McFarlane describes mysticism as “the belief, based on the testimony of mystics, that God, Truth, or Ultimate Reality can be directly known through a profound unitive realization.” This is reflected in the Transcendental philosophy of “The Over-Soul”:

That Unity, that OVER-SOUL, within every man’s particular being is contained and made with all other; that common heart, of which all sincere conversation is the worship, to which all right action is submission; that over-powering Reality which confutes our tricks and talents, and constrains every one to pass for what he is, and to speak from his character; and not from his tongue, and which evermore tends to pass into our thought and hand, and becomes wisdom, and virtue, and power and the whole; and wise silence, the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related; the eternal One. (237)

This particular excerpt, very much expresses the concepts of non-duality and the idea that all that appears to be separate is nothing more than an illusion. All the while our consciousness or spirit shares part of one collective infinite unit. The source of unity is the Over-Soul, which has a relationship with man and nature. If man was somehow in touch with the Over-Soul, he would not see nature as separated into disjunctive parts, but as a unified whole. According to Hinduism, the world that people normally perceive is said to be no more manifest then a lucid dream, called the “Maya”. Duality is also a symptom of “Maya” according to those who see Oneness with the cosmos. Another symptom of the delusion the human family is veiled under, is the lack of comprehension or awareness of the Divine, along with the indulgence of ego and negativity, the world operates and functions in a disunited and divided fashion. The end result is suffering and attachment; consequences of the Maya unreality, recognized also by Buddhists.

Conspiracy theorist and mystic David Icke in Tales from the Time Loop, also reiterates upon the same themes, “…we are the cosmos, we are every cell and atom, and there is no ‘past’ or ‘future’. The five-sense prison - the Time Loop - disconnects us from the understanding that we are all One. Indeed this perception of division is the prison.” (342). The “Time Loop” for David Icke, is also the “Maya” that most of humanity is entranced under. Coincidentally, Emerson had also written a poem called “Maya”, reflecting increasingly Hindu and Buddhist influence:

Illusion works impenetrable,

Weaving webs innumerable,

Her gay pictures never fail,

Crowds each other, veil on veil,

Charmer who will be believed,

By man who thirsts to be deceived.

Emerson wrote in his essay, “Nature”, “The reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is because man is disunited with himself” ( 371). With this, Emerson was obviously speaking about why the world and mankind in general, can be in such disarray, all the while recognizing the concepts of non-duality and Oneness, one of the foremost aspects of the teachings of mysticism. Again, Thomas J. McFarlene reiterates with this theme of non-duality as even transcending duality, “…the mystical path often involves a reorientation toward the changeless, unitive, spiritual aspect of reality, often with an implicit or explicit turning away from the changing, pluralistic, material aspect of reality.” Through his ideas, Emerson suggested that therein lies a cosmic struggle between spirit and matter: God being immanent and permanent; matter resisting and impermanent. Through reaching permanence (The Divine) through self-realization through "Gnosis" (dubbed by the Gnostic initiates, meaning knowledge) beyond impermanence (material/illusion), can one be united with the “Over-Soul”.

According to Edward Wagenknecht, the idea of the “Over-Soul” stems from Plotinus as a “ocean of light” or reservoir of spiritual power rather then the Hebrew version of God within His heavenly adobe, watching over His children/creation (206). The Ocean, of course is the Over-Soul. This concept of the divine Over-Soul is also quite similar to that of the Hindu Brahman. The human consciousness (also called spiritor soul) is in essence identical with the one supreme Reality, or Oneness which Ralph Waldo Emerson called the “Over-Soul”. The Vedic “atman” is also the divine spark or soul that resides within the self, not the ego; that essence that completes us. In fact, according to Camille Paglia, “…the very word “Over-Soul” is a translation of the Sanskrit word, atman, meaning supreme and universal soul.” Emerson relates this very idea that the humanity’s inner essence is equal to the divine reality, in which is also the very key in Hindu religious thought as the Indian philosopher, Sri Sankaracharya put it, “All Atman’s are equal to Brahman, and so all are the same; to differentiate from one person’s Atman to that of the next is false, as it implies a false identification of the Atman as personal.” (“The Philosophy of Sri Sankaracharya: Advaita Vedanta”) Since each person or their “atman” shares the same continuity, unity and connection with the “Brahman”, then ideally, mankind should live life by that principle in concordance with all other humans and nature, which was something Emerson placed much emphasis upon in his essays.

Throughout his life, Emerson emphasized diverse ways on becoming one with the Over-Soul. He sent the message to his readers of avoiding discord in their lives and of seeing the beauty and unity of nature and the cosmos. He also advised on trusting one’s own intuition and to channel by seeing things through the creative faculty. Thus, Emerson also suggested to go within and listen to this voice within instead of conforming to what others or society pressured as he relates in “Self-Reliance”: “Trust thyself; every heart vibrates to that iron string” (133). He took into account the eastern metaphysical explanations of human existence and the interconnected relationship with the Over-Soul and placed them into a mystic, philosophical cauldron of ideas on how humanity can best grow beyond the earthly, seemingly stagnant templates of conformity and society - all stirred together to further craft Transcendentalism. However, Emerson stated in his 1842 lecture, “The Transcendentalist” that this outlook on life was impossible to achieve in practice:

You will see by this sketch that there is no such thing as a Transcendental party; that there is no pure Transcendentalist; that we know of no one but prophets and heralds of such a philosophy; that all who by strong bias of nature have leaned to the spiritual side in doctrine, have stopped short of their goal. We have had many harbingers and forerunners; but of a purely spiritual life, history has afforded no example. (85)

And yet, mystics all over the world differ from Emerson’s gradually more pessimistic point of view in his lecture of attaining true self-reliance, detachment and unity in permanence, beyond the “Maya”. Finding harmony in theme throughout all of Emerson’s works is, however, by no means difficult. One can attain true fulfillment and unity by not laboring under other people’s perceptions, fleshing out individuality from conformity and finding harmony within nature and the rest of humanity - all the while realizing and transcending within the highest spiritual plane of the Over-Soul.

Works Cited

Atkinson, Brooks. The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. New York: Modern Library, 2000.

Wagenknecht, Edward. Ralph Waldo Emerson: Portrait of a Balanced Soul. New York: Oxford University Press, 1974.

Icke, David. Tales From The Time Loop. Montana: Bridge Of Love, 2003.

McFarlane, Thomas J. Genuine Mysticism. Summer 2000. The Center for Integral Science. 7 Feb 2005.

Narasingha, Swami B.G & Rosen, Steve. East Meets West: Ralph Waldo Emerson. Gosai Publishing Company. 6 Feb 2005.

The Philosophy of Sri Sankaracharya: Advaita Vedanta. The Hindu Universe. 6 Feb 2005

Paglia, Camille. “Cults and Cosmic Consciousness.” Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics. vol. 10, no.3 winter (2003): 10. 7 Feb 2005.