Simplicity Day 2020: How Bhagwat Geeta inspired American philosopher Henry David Thoreau

NEW DELHI: National Simplicity Day or Simplicity Day is observed annually on July 12 marking the birth anniversary of American essayist, poet, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862). Thoreau, one of the most cherished American philosophers, is best known for his book Walden and his essay Civil Disobedience, which inspired notable figures such as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Thoreau's birthday is celebrated as Simplicity Day because of the amount of emphasis he laid on living a simple life. Thoreau stood against slavery and his subjects of interest included natural history, theology and ecology.
Thoreau's India connection
What might stand-out about Thoreau is his connection with India and the sacred texts synonymous with India that inspired his philosophy. The American philosopher was an abolitionist, vocal against slavery and a transcendentalist, someone who believes in the inherent goodness of people and nature. Transcendentalism as a movement was strongly inspired by Hindu texts like the Upanishads, in addition to German and Swedish philosophers.
In Walden, Thoreau refers to Bhagwat Geeta in the first chapter titled "Economy", in which he writes how "much more admirable the Bhagwat Geeta is than all the ruins of the East!"
In Walden chapter 16 titled "The Pond in Winter", Thoreau also equates the Walden Pond with the sacred river Ganga.

American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia has categorised Thoreau as one of the several figures who "took a more pantheist or pandeist approach by rejecting views of God as separate from the world"—a key characteristic of Hinduism.
Thoreau's diet was largely based on rice, he liked to play the flute—reminiscent of Lord Krishna—and also did Yoga.
What is Simplicity Day and how to celebrate it
Thoreau wrote Walden after he moved into a cabin near Walden Pond for two years, two months, and two days and penned down his reflections of the world around him.
Thoreau ardently advocated a simple way of life and set an example by living one in the woods in a cabin for two years. An excerpt from Walden reads as follows: “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail.”
Thoreau's excellence lies in how his work is still relevant in modern times. To commemorate a philosopher known for his delicate and genuine sense of surrounding it might be a good day to put some gap between us and all our devices which make our life easy but also add to a consumerist culture that confuses us about what we want and what we need.
In a competitive world, made more complicated by a pandemic, it is probably a perfect day to pick up Walden and unwind from the worldly stress to remind ourselves how our worries are just thoughts.