Transcendentalism

The day is August 15th and the location is Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. The time is 6:30 p.m. I just took a walk around Walden — it’s about a 1.8 mile hike  — and I stopped for a while at the site of Thoreau’s house. They’ve roped off an area where they discovered the foundation. Occasionally a car is driving back and forth here. It’s a sweltering evening. It was in the 90’s all day, and the pond is a mecca to swimmers right now. The pond, for those of you who don’t know, serves as a beach in the summer, and it has some of the cleanest water in New England. 

Our subject tonight is transcendentalism — the awareness of eternity in the present. We ask questions. What is life? What is its purpose? Does it have a meaning? What is our role in the lila and the cosmic game? How can I find where I belong? Do I belong in this world? Is there a God? If there is a God, what kind of God would make a place like this, where everyone suffers and dies and experiences some transitory happinesses and pleasures?

Download this talk (free MP3)