Alexandra G.

asked • 03/07/17

The meaning of a quotation from Life of Pi

“This is more than Brahman with a serious case of stage fright. This is Brahman selfish. This is Brahman ungenerous and unfair. This is Brahman practically unmanifest.” (62) 
Is anyone able to help figure out this quotation? 

Heather W.

tutor
Hi, Alexandra! Here, "Brahman" is referring to the soul or spirit. In Hindu, Brahman is the entity / spiritual force that pervades / connects everything. It's the ultimate reality, but Brahman is not necessarily a divine entity. "Stage fright" here implies that there are certain circumstances / environments in which people will be understandably nervous because they are doing something significant in front of others while they are being evaluated closely. One may act negatively as a result of that nervousness, but they probably would NOT act this way under normal circumstances. However, this quote implies that the subject (Brahman) is acting negatively on purpose because this is not a case of nerves ("stage fright"). Rather, this implies that Brahman CHOOSES to act selfish, ungenerous and unfair. Many people might think of spiritual concepts in a positive manner, but this quote emphasizes that Brahman can be a deliberately NEGATIVE (my emphasis) force if Brahman chooses to be so.
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07/01/24

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Josh M. answered • 10/28/24

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Life of Pi is an interesting novel about perspective. The main character is imagining himself on a boat with many different animals who are behaving in different ways that are symbolic in nature. My first questions would be what is your knowledge of the term Brahman and how it is used throughout the novel? How is it supposed to be, and why is it now "unfair" and "unmanifest?" That will be your key to unlocking analysis of this quote.

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