Walt Whitman’s “Passage to India” praises the achievements of mankind—modern and not— fusing all versions of humanity into a singular, divine version of itself. Although the poem is at times cynical and dark, the overall optimism and hope reflected in the verbiage attest to the conflicted but reluctantly faithful view Whitman held of humanity.

Throughout the poem, the speaker explores deeply existential themes—such as human destiny and God’s divine plan—through a comparatively concrete lens: mankind’s technological achievements. 

The speaker asserts that God’s vision for humanity is one of a unified people brought together by technology, marriage, and brute force: 

Lo, soul, seest thou not God’s purpose from the first? 
The earth to be spann’d, connected by network, 
The races, neighbors, to marry and be given in marriage,
The oceans to be cross’d, the distant brought near,
The lands to be welded together.

The speaker credits the Suez Canal for bringing the East within reach of Europe and, in doing so, bringing humanity ever closer. As a result, the speaker is able to access not only a new land but also a new landscape of thought. Likewise, the transatlantic cable creates a new world, one“connected by network.” 

This connection makes possible the speedy transfer of ideas and, thus, the unification of humanity. Similarly, the transcontinental railroad welds the land together, merging the East with the West. “Passage to India” suggests that the marvels of modern man play a pivotal part in achieving God’s divine plan for humanity.

Whitman wrote extensively in Leaves of Grass about the concept of human unity. In “Passage to India,” Whitman makes his boldest assertions about the importance of unity, merging the geographical connections of the physical world through technological wonders like the canal with the spiritual connections of man’s spirit. 

In the poem, the speaker also praises the unity of people through literal and metaphorical marriages, each of which is meant to represent the merging of realms, be it land, ideas, or people: “Year of the marriage of continents, climates, and oceans!”

Adding nuance to his universal conception of divinity, the speaker explains the unity of time—in his view, the fables, beliefs, and ideas of the past merge with and directly inform the present. This can only be interpreted by the speaker, as he is uniquely capable of appreciating the value of the past in the context of the present and merging the two into a single unified entity.

The unity of time takes up much of the poem, informing the opening stanza as the speaker sings the praises of modern achievements while praising the past, “For what is the present after all but a growth out of the past?” So overwhelmed is the speaker by the Suez Canal’s possibilities that he elaborates on the philosophies, ideas, and fables of the old world, even as the marvel of modernity brings the new world into proximity with the old.

The speaker claims that man’s ultimate purpose is exploration “in God’s name, and for thy sake, O soul.” Man, he says, is inspired to explore new technologies, new regions, and new ideologies in the service of God and the human soul. 

In section six of the poem, the speaker claims that only after the world—meaning its physical domain but also its spiritual depths—has been faithfully explored can God return. After all has been accomplished, he says: “The true Son of God shall come, singing his songs.” 

Throughout the poem, the speaker sings praises to God—whom he lauds as the creator of all things—while simultaneously praising man’s ingenuity and, thus, the creations that bring God’s purpose into reach. It is only through exploration that man is able to achieve God’s vision. The poem concludes with an assertion that more bold exploration is needed to reach God’s ultimate vision for humanity.