Walden by HDT?

Question

In "The Pond in Winter" section, what does " Thus it appears that the sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, of Madras and Bombay and Calcutta,drink at my well." mean, and what's the point of the statement?

Answer 1

Thoreau truly loved Walden Pond, and in his imagination, he sees the water from Walden being used by the people of India. That reminds him, that since he is reading their philosophy, found in the Bhagavad-Gita (much older than religious texts elsewhere), that he is really drinking their sacred water. In going to his well for water (since he had no well, this is a figure of speech), he meets the servant of the Hindu gods who is also drawing water from the same source, and their buckets touch, even though thousands of miles apart. Thoreau then sees the water from Walden and from the Ganges (the sacred river of India) flowing together in the ocean past all the fabulous places of history and legend. Walden and "Civil Disobedience" had a profound effect upon Gandhi, and thus the inspiration from Walden did mingle with the inspiration from India, and that current flowed through Birmingham, Alabama, and is still flowing today.