The nature of our concept of reality determines the nature of our actions because every ethical act is performed within a metaphysical framework. In his writings, John G. Neihardt has investigated this relation of attitude to action, of metaphysics to ethics; and especially two of his lengthy poems The Divine Enchantment, a poem of Hindu mysticism, and The Song of the Messiah, a poetic treatment of the Sioux ghost-dance religion, demonstrate his statement that "our conception of values, by which we live, must grow out of our genuine belief as to what is real." (p. 205)

The Divine Enchantment recounts the tale of the virgin Devanaguy who, according to ancient prophecies, would bear Christna, the incarnation of Vishnu. The tyrant Kansa has imprisoned her to prevent this, yet Vishnu nonetheless "overshadows" and impregnates her. "During the term of her gestation, Devanaguy was transported by a continual ecstatic dream." It...