No American writer has had as powerful an influence in as many parts of the world and on as many creative fields as the renowned nineteenth-century poet, essayist, journalist and mystic Walt Whitman (1819-1892). His profound impact on countless authors, artists and social thinkers stems from the spiritual insights and universal themes expressed in his works, which resonate with the message of all the great Masters of East and West throughout the ages, including our own Supreme Master Ching Hai.  

 

Born in Long Island, New York, Whitman was the son of a humble Quaker carpenter and farmer. In the course of his lifetime, he worked as a teacher, printer and journalist, and during the American Civil War (1861-1865) did extensive volunteer service as a hospital nurse tending to sick and wounded soldiers while living on a government clerk's salary and modest royalties from his writings. He spent all of his extra income on supplies for the patients he nursed, and to support his widowed mother and mentally handicapped brother.

During the Civil War in the U. S., Whitman also sympathized strongly with the efforts to end slavery and save the Union, while fervently advocating the liberty, equality and unity of all beings in the universe. At the heart of many of Whitman's poems is a radically new, sympathetic view of women and African Americans and their significance to his vision of an egalitarian society.

Whitman's masterpiece is the inspired verse collection Leaves of Grass, published in various editions from 1855 to 1892, and widely considered the first uniquely American work of poetry. It contains a distinctive blend of spirituality and science that was unique in his time. Such writing has led some scholars to compare Whitman with the great spiritual writers of the East, including the Persian Sufi poet Rumi and the Indian poet-saint Kabir.

Also, in both his poetry and prose, the similarity between Whitman's writings and Master Ching Hai's words is often quite striking. Whitman's Leaves of Grass, like Master's lectures and poetry, reveals a positive attitude toward life and the universe, a robust belief in the unity and goodness of all beings, and profound spiritual wisdom. Like Master Ching Hai, Whitman espouses the universality of the Truth underlying all religions. For example, in one of Her lectures Supreme Master Ching Hai says, "You may call it Buddhism, Catholicism, Taoism or whatever you like; I welcome all of them. I will tell you that all religions are good. All religious Masters are good, speaking the Truth and leading you to it." Similarly, in one of his poems Whitman says he accepts "a hundred, a thousand Saviors and mediators and Bibles." And about himself he states, "Of every hue and caste am I, of every rank and religion."

 
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