\n
\n<\/p>\n
A complex
\nauthor whose interests varied from the history of religions to literature, Mircea
\nEliade was also known internationally, especially in the US, where he taught,
\nat the Chicago University, from 1956 until his death in 1986. Eliade was born
\non 9th March 1907 in Bucharest into a family originating from Moldavia,
\nRomania’s eastern province. His father was an army officer while his mother looked
\nafter the family. Eliade studied in the same high school as other important
\nRomanian cultural figures such as the writer and journalist Ar\u0219avir Acterian,
\nthe poet, writer and director Haig Acterian, the philosopher Constantin Noica
\nand the art critic Barbu Brezianu. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
As a
\nteenager, apart from literature, philosophy and history, Eliade was also
\ninterested in natural science, chemistry and the occult. His favourite writers
\nat this time included Honore de Balzac and Giovanni Papini. Eliade studied
\nletters and philosophy at the Bucharest University and graduated with a thesis
\non the Italian utopian thinker Tommaso Campanella. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Mircea
\nEliade’s work is extremely large and diverse and includes more than 80 books of
\nliterature and the history of religions, being one of the most influential historians
\nof religions in his day. In this field alone, he authored around 30 books that
\nwent on to be translated into 18 different languages. His literary output
\nincludes 12 novels, the most popular being Diary of a Short-Sighted
\nAdolescent, Bengal Nights and The Forbidden Forest, which you
\ncan find in English, as well as novellas like Miss Christina, With
\nthe Gypsy Girls, The Secret of Dr. Honigberger and The Snake. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Mircea
\nEliade was one of the first Romanian orientalists who immersed himself in the
\nculture of India. In love with India, he travelled there in 1928 to study in
\nCalcutta, where he learnt Sanskrit and became familiar with Indian spirituality.
\nHis novel Bengal Nights is in fact dedicated to the daughter of his Indian
\nlandlord. He fell in love with her but couldn’t marry her because of her father’s
\nopposition. In 1933 when he returned to Romania, Eliade wrote a doctoral thesis
\non yoga practices. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\narchives of Radio Romania’s Oral History Centre contain an exceptional recording
\nof an interview given by Eliade to literary critic Monica Lovinescu in the
\n1970s on Radio Free Europe. In this interview, Eliade described his Indian
\nexperience as a time that helped him understand the course of history as the
\ndialogue between cultures. His study of religious beliefs and ideas helped him
\nmake a step forward and opened up a universe that had been inaccessible to him
\nuntil then. Mircea Eliade:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
When
\nI came back from India I realised the limitations of western cultural
\nprovincialism; I realised that after WWII we must find a bridge between
\ndifferent cultures, between western culture, oriental culture and archaic cultures;
\nthat the simplest and most convincing introduction into a given culture is understanding
\nits tradition, which is always religious in origin and structure. It seemed to
\nme that a history of religions was the first step, the first stage in trying to
\nunderstand other cultures on an equal basis, through dialogue. So I was sure
\nthat these books would be received well and that they would interest people,
\nbecause historical reality was proving me right.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Mircea
\nEliade saw himself as both an academic and a writer. His academic work earned
\nhim a career at the Chicago University, where, together with the German academic
\nJoachim Wach, he founded Divinity School. But he also couldn’t forget his native
\nRomanian language and literature helped him return to his roots, as he
\nexplained:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
By
\nwriting literature I return to my roots, which is normal. It’s the language I never
\nwanted to lose and I need this dreaming and working in my language for the
\nhealth of my soul. I can easily translate certain literary texts into French or
\nEnglish. I can, perhaps, write them directly into English or French, but for me
\nit is important to maintain this desire not to lose contact with my own history,
\nwhich is obviously the history of a Romanian who worked both in Romania and
\nabroad.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
To those
\nwho said that the influence of religion was waning, Eliade responded that the
\ndesacralisation of contemporary world is in fact a process of camouflaging the
\nsacred, which people still need: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This
\nneed to listen to a story, at first mythical, about how the world came to be,
\nhow man came to be, how society was formed, etc., is a need that I believe is
\nfundamental. It is a layer of consciousness, not another stage in the history of
\nconsciousness. I don’t believe man can exist as a man without being told his
\nhistory and the history of the world in which he exists and which continues to
\nexist.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Mircea
\nEliade lived in exile in the West since 1945, when the communist regime came to
\npower in Romania. He died in Chicago on 22nd April 1986, leaving
\nbehind an impressive body of work. He was made a member of the Romanian Academy
\nposthumously, in 1990. (CM)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An introduction to one of Romanias greatest 20th century cultural figures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":130976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41141],"tags":[42868,34334,42814],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-130975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-history-show","tag-eliade","tag-history","tag-religion"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n