EDITOR

ABSTRACT

PUNE RESEARCH  

AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL IN ENGLISH

( ISSN 2454  -  3454  ONLINE ) (JIF 3.945)

 VOLUME 10, ISSUE - 6 ( NOV - DEC 2024 )

DR. CH. KRISHNA MURTHY

ABSTRACT

Abdul Kalam is an inspiring personality whose immense affection for the ordinary people of India is matchless. Both as a laudable scientist and great humanist, he has carved a niche for himself in an unusual way on the scientific and spiritual landscape of India. He had tremendous vitality, and his range of ideas mesmerize even the scholars. His very life is an open book and one can learn a lot from it. His simplicity and spirituality stuns people and makes them rethink about their attitude towards leading a simple life. Kalam’s book, Wings of Fire, an autobiography, is “worth its weight in gold”, says Bhawani Prasad Chattopadhyay. In fact, nothing could be more inspiring in one’s life than reading this invaluable book. It gives me an immense pleasure to touch upon the greatest qualities that one can draw from his life as expressed in his autobiographical book Wings of Fire.

DR. D. S. CHOUDHARI

ABSTRACT

Published in 1885, Thoreau’s book Walden is a timeless classic. Generations of readers have found inspiration and direction for happy living in the face of adversities through this of record of his stay at Walden Pond. The contemporary popular publications on minimalism and essentialism have shown the necessity of the thoughts expressed by Thoreau in his book Walden. Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus’s Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life are the recent examples of such numerous publications on the topic. This paper traces the elements of essentialism and minimalism in this book. Thoreau proves through his personal experiences during his stay near the pond that it is possible to have joy, and satisfaction away from the society. The significance of his experience and the contemporary relevance of the philosophy are elaborated on in detail in this paper. The book does not only offers practical advices but also the philosophy behind the necessity for such life. The philosophical insights help the readers to have long lasting behavioral changes. The philosophical insights are brought out in detail and their contemporary significance is also highlighted. Thoreau’s book Walden offers solutions to the problems of today’s highly distracted generation. 

Key words: Walden, Thoreau, Minimalism, Essentialism, Transcendentalism, Simple living, Philosophy.