Similarities Between The Strange And Curious Tale Of The Last True Hermit
Annomeka Nesadurai Word Count: 1593
260633427
RELG 252 001
Teaching Assistant Julia Stenzel
Section: 004
The Question of Self and Dharma for a Hermit
At the mere age of 20, Christopher Knight parked his brand new 1985 Subaru Brat car and he walked away from the rest of society. For nearly 30 years, Knight lived in the North Pond forest in Central Maine, in isolation and seclusion from the rest of society. In Finkel’s “The Strange & Curious Tale of the Last True Hermit,” through a Hindu perspective, one can see that by excluding himself from society, Christopher Thomas Knight is able to focus on his self through isolation. By living by himself in the forest, he is able to gain insight into the concept of non-duality. As a forest renunciant, …show more content…
Through visesea dharma, we could see it as Knight was trying to live as a renunciant in the forest like the sadus and he only stole basic items so he could survive. Sadhus in India would be able to get charity though food, water and other necessities (Pinkney 7 October 2014). But, there was no one in the forest who could offer him food. Asking the people he stole from would mean that he would have to return as a regular member of a society since people could report a man living in the forest, in which he would have to return to society. Also, he did not steal riches or materialistic objects. He stole objects which could help him survive such as clothing and food. Furthermore, Knight also did not have any desire to steal. He mentions that he “[k]new it was wrong, [and] felt guilty about it every time” (Finkel 5). Although he felt guilty, he still continued to do because it became sort of like a routine. He describes how stealing was “not a comfortable act” (9) for him. Thus, the fact that he actually did not want to steal and also feels like he deserves to be punished may justify his
260633427
RELG 252 001
Teaching Assistant Julia Stenzel
Section: 004
The Question of Self and Dharma for a Hermit
At the mere age of 20, Christopher Knight parked his brand new 1985 Subaru Brat car and he walked away from the rest of society. For nearly 30 years, Knight lived in the North Pond forest in Central Maine, in isolation and seclusion from the rest of society. In Finkel’s “The Strange & Curious Tale of the Last True Hermit,” through a Hindu perspective, one can see that by excluding himself from society, Christopher Thomas Knight is able to focus on his self through isolation. By living by himself in the forest, he is able to gain insight into the concept of non-duality. As a forest renunciant, …show more content…
Through visesea dharma, we could see it as Knight was trying to live as a renunciant in the forest like the sadus and he only stole basic items so he could survive. Sadhus in India would be able to get charity though food, water and other necessities (Pinkney 7 October 2014). But, there was no one in the forest who could offer him food. Asking the people he stole from would mean that he would have to return as a regular member of a society since people could report a man living in the forest, in which he would have to return to society. Also, he did not steal riches or materialistic objects. He stole objects which could help him survive such as clothing and food. Furthermore, Knight also did not have any desire to steal. He mentions that he “[k]new it was wrong, [and] felt guilty about it every time” (Finkel 5). Although he felt guilty, he still continued to do because it became sort of like a routine. He describes how stealing was “not a comfortable act” (9) for him. Thus, the fact that he actually did not want to steal and also feels like he deserves to be punished may justify his