T. S. Eliot had a wide-ranging poetic sensibility by incorporating in his poetry not only the best of European culture and American mind but also Indian thought and tradition. He used Indian ideas elaborately in his poems. This study focused on the elements of bhakti yoga depicted in his poem Four Quartets. Bhakti is one of the three major ways to salvation in Hinduism. It refers to the attitude of devotion to God. The bhakta usually devotes himself to a personal God, such as Kṛṣṇa. Eliot introduced this representative personal God Kṛṣṇa in the Four Quartets. Bhakti yoga emphasizes on loving devotion and surrender of the self to the personal God, leading a devotee to inner transformation through grace. Bhakti yoga considers “humility” as an essential tool to seek the love of God. Going through “East Coker ,” one may encounter bhakti yoga’s ideas on humility. “The meditation on the great teacher” who guides a devotee by example is one of the various paths to bhakti. “The meditation on the great teacher” was depicted in “Little Gidding .” “The concentration” on God is also a very important way to approach God. The spiritual condition does not arise spontaneously, so man must take up the practice of concentration. Concentration requires a devotee to abandon egoism and desires. By this practice, the man may gradually make himself fit for the steadfast directing of the spirit of God. The religious idea of concentration was transformed into poetic expression in “Burnt Norton.” In his poem, Eliot has drawn the ideas of bhakti yoga. The use of these ideas confirms Eliot’s assimilation of bhakti yoga. There is no denying the fact that such ideas of bhakti yoga left its marks on the Four Quartets.

• 전종봉(서일대학) | Jong-Bong Jeon