Today, Kris reflects on the new spiritual impulse spreading through Europe in the last half of the 19th Century, energised by scientific discoveries that questioned the dogma and doctrinal inertia of the established Christian churches. The disenchanted turned to alternative spiritual pathways. Interest in Occultism, Mysticism, Spiritualism, Kabollah, Buddhism, Yoga, grew and gave renewed impetus to movements such as The Theosophical Society, Freemasonry - and Unitarianism.
Kris's focus today is on the spiritual journey of the Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy, as reflected in his writings, and culminating in his ex-communication from the Russian Orthodox Chuch and his last opus, "The Pathway of Life" - published posthumously. We are left to ponder the pathways we have chosen on our spiritual journeys.
Expanding Horizons
The Pathways of Life
Today, Kris reflects on the new spiritual impulse spreading through Europe in the last half of the 19th Century, energised by scientific discoveries that questioned the dogma and doctrinal inertia of the established Christian churches. The disenchanted turned to alternative spiritual pathways. Interest in Occultism, Mysticism, Spiritualism, Kabollah, Buddhism, Yoga, grew and gave renewed impetus to movements such as The Theosophical Society, Freemasonry - and Unitarianism.Kris's focus today is on the spiritual journey of the Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy, as reflected in his writings, and culminating in his ex-communication from the Russian Orthodox Chuch and his last opus, "The Pathway of Life" - published posthumously. We are left to ponder the pathways we have chosen on our spiritual journeys.
- Broadcast on:
- 22 Sep 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
I would like to emphasise that everyone is welcome here. No matter what your background, sexuality, age, everyone is welcome here. And I recognise that we meet on the traditional lands of the Ghana people. We respect their elders past and present. I'm on my way from Missouri to help me this today. I'm on my way from Missouri to help me this today. I'm on my way, I'm on my way. You are listening to Expanding Horizons, the podcast of the Unitarian Church of South Australia, a home of progressive spirituality and free religious thought and action since 1854. The views expressed in these podcasts are those of the speaker, and are not intended to represent the position of the church itself or of the worldwide Unitarian Universalist movement. For more information, visit unitariansa.org.au. It is a traditional part of our service that we light a flame. Originally a symbol of liberation. Can you imagine a flame ahead of us, like a spirit guiding us to a right way of living, guiding us on the pathway of life? Let it be so. And now, a story for all ages, the puddle, there was a dirt lane between some suburban houses in the street, and Alice and Natasha were neighbours on either sides of the lane. It had been raining, and they went out to play in the lane. There was a lovely big puddle right in the middle. They had their little gum boots on, but Alice said to Natasha, please be careful, mum said I'd be in trouble if I got my clothes wet, and they carefully crept into the puddle together, but soon they were stomping in the puddle and having a great time, and what do you think happened? Well, at that point Alice's mum came out and said, oh, what's going on? I told you not to get where, what are you playing in the puddle for? Et cetera, et cetera. And Alice looked at Natasha and said it was her fault, which was naughty. And Natasha said no, it was her fault. And Alice's mum just went off at both of them. And hearing this commotion, Natasha's mum came out from the other house. Alice, what are you, said to Alice's mum, what are you doing having a girl at the girls? And then she explained, so then Natasha's mum started having a girl at the girls and said Alice's mum, and they're both having a girl at each other, don't talk to my daughter like that. And then the fathers in each house sort of heard the commotion, they came out too. And Alice's dad said, hey, can you just leave my wife alone, leave her out of it. And so Natasha's dad said, don't talk to me like that. And it all started, they kept on arguing, it was just mayhem. And meanwhile, the girls got a couple of bits of wood and dug a channel from the puddle down to the gutter on the road. And then, because the water started flowing out, they were putting little sticks down as ships floating down through the river to the sea. Meanwhile, all of this commotion's going, don't talk to her, no, she started, all that commotion's happening above them, until Cynthia, the lady in the wheels, came down the street and said, what are you all arguing about? And they explained, I told her, and she said, hang on a minute, look at the girls, they've already forgotten about it. What's the problem? They are wiser than you are. And that is the end of the story. But it's really about letting go of those little grievances and annoying things in life that don't really matter. [LAUGHTER] Let's sing a hymn together. [MUSIC PLAYING] And now, I'll invite Cleo to come forward with a reading today from Leo Tolstoy, who was actually the one who came up with the story this morning, was adapted, of course. And also, he will be the focus of my talk a bit later on. So Cleo, please come forward. In this life, we are all like horses that are being broken in and harnessed to a cart between shafts. First, we struggle, longing to live to ourselves. We break the shafts and tear the harness, but we fail to escape and merely exhaust ourselves. And only after exhausting ourselves, we forget our own will and submit to a higher will and start on our way. And then we find peace and happiness, the pathway of life. The famous Russian author, Leo Tolstoy, lived from 1828 to 1910. The Russian Orthodox Church was dominant in the society around him throughout his life, although adherence to Christianity never displaced the centuries-old beliefs in magic and superstitions among the great majority of the Russian population. In the second half of the 19th century, there was a new spiritual impulse which ran throughout the whole of Europe, and Russia was no exception. With scientific knowledge becoming more widespread and disenchantment with the unchanging doctrines of the established Christian churches, many free-thinking people were exploring occult and mystical pathways and societies. There was a burgeoning interest in spiritualism, kabbalah, Buddhism, yoga, and so on. The Theosophical Society and Freemasonry flourished. We can consider Tolstoy's adoption of a radical interpretation of Christianity in that context. He wrote his great novel "War and Peace" in the 1860s. In fact, about a year ago, I was preparing Sunday morning reflections on the topic of Tolstoy's War and Peace when another phase of the Israel-Palestine War erupted, and I focused on that, instead of the Napoleonic invasion of Russia, which was the subject of war and peace. As a thinking man, Tolstoy had never been favourably impressed by the institutional Christian approach which dangled the sticks of hellish punishment and the carrots of heavenly pleasures before the believers. After finishing his monumental novel, Tolstoy experienced that disturbing kind of spiritual episode which was called by some of us "The Dark Night of the Soul". It's not known if there was a specific incident that prompted this, but by his own account, in the middle of the night, during his travels to a distant province of Russia, he lay in bed overwhelmed with a sense of the futility of life, existential angst. He burned with the question, "What is the point of anything if we are born to exist for a short time and then cease existence absolutely?" It was not death itself that terrified him, but a sense of horror at the prospect of a life without meaning. He contemplated suicide. As he ambled about the local town listlessly in the following days, he was struck by an epiphany. He observed the local peasants as they dealt with death in their families and their own mortality. They accepted this fate calmly. Tolstoy observed that it was their simple faith that allowed them to cope serenely with their wretched lives and the end of their life on earth. Eager to explore whether such a faith was open to him, the intellectual who had lived a comfortable life, he picked up the gospel stories of Jesus, Yeshua, and read them with fresh eyes. As he describes in his book "What I Believe," he experienced a revelation upon reading a particular section of the words attributed to Yeshua as part of the famous Sermon on the Mount. In the book ascribed to Matthew, chapter 5, verses 38 to 42, you've heard it said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I tell you, don't resist someone who does you wrong. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other one to them, and if someone wants to sue you for the shirt off your back, let them also have your coat. If someone forces you to go one mile with them, go two with them. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." Now, about some difficult teachings such as this, you'll hear some Christians saying, "Well, you can't take a literally." I mean, it doesn't really mean the obvious, surely, but perhaps it does. This teaching is actually so preposterous, so contrary to human nature, that it might actually be an accurate record of what Yeshua was teaching. I mean, you couldn't make it up. In any case, Tolstoy was overcome with a striking insight upon rereading this passage. He was converted to Christianity, but it was not the Christianity of the Church. He came to understand that Yeshua was a great teacher, a man of God, but not a God Himself. Tolstoy's beliefs came to be very close to the Unitarian beliefs of his time, if not now. As he said, "One may say with one's lips, 'I believe that God is one and also three,' but no one can believe it because the words have no sense." It struck him as a radical teaching to repay the injuries and insults of others with kindness and love. He understood that a violent response to violence simply continues the cycle of violence. Again, think of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Tolstoy's hope was that a loving, peaceful response to violence would set up a cycle of peace and love. Is it possible? It's certainly a beautiful thing to imagine. Tolstoy's revelation that force should be foresworn in human relations had profound implications. On a personal level, he adopted vegetarianism, at the time, to do less harm to animals. At the level of human society, it meant that governments should not be forcing citizens to comply with state laws under threat of financial penalty imprisonment or death. As he wrote, "The truth is that the state is a conspiracy designed not only to exploit but above all to corrupt its citizens; henceforth I shall never serve any government anywhere." You could call him the first conspiracy theorist, perhaps. But for a true follower of Yeshua, Tolstoy concluded, "There can be no allegiance to the state, there can be no punishment for not attending church, no punishment for rejecting church dogma, no punishment for not listening to the priests. It leaves people to follow their own sense of God, their own spirit, to the best of their understanding, no matter what anyone else forces them to do. For example, his work The Kingdom of God is within you. He emphasized the critical responsibility of the individual to work toward closeness to God, regardless of the state and regardless of the church. Tolstoy's approach has been called Christian anarchism. Publication of works with this message led to censorship by the Russian state. His persistent criticism of the institution of the church led to his formal excommunication by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1901 when he was 73 years old. This explains why the pathway of life was published only after his death. Tolstoy wrote the pathway of life as he was approaching his 80th birthday. It sums up his thoughts on religion, ethics and how to live well. In each section, he offers insight through parables, rational analysis and quotations drawn from Christianity, Buddhism and ancient philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Confucius. For Tolstoy, love is the key to the pathway of life. Tolstoy was deeply influenced by Eastern philosophies, particularly Buddhism and Confucianism, as well as Western philosophical traditions like Stoicism and the teachings of early Christian fathers. He wrote, "Wisdom is not the possession of any one people or faith. It belongs to all who seek it earnestly and live in accordance with its principles." In the pathway to life, he encourages us to look beyond our own culture and embrace a more inclusive universal perspective on truth and virtue. Who else would do that? If your personal river runs dry, know that there is plenty of living water available to you. Now, onto this grand book that Tolstoy wrote, it's some 900 pages. I can't really do it justice in a short time today, but I can introduce you to the book. The first few chapters define key terms such as faith, God and the soul. Then Tolstoy explains that love is the key to the pathway of life. After anchoring his understanding on love, Tolstoy then comments on a range of what he calls "sin's errors and superstitions." These include what we have called the seven deadly sins and I have talked about them before, but also the errors of social inequality, coercion of others, and the futility of punishment. In this section, finally, there are comments on false religion and false science, despite the devout and the knowledgeable in both religion and science. Tolstoy could find examples of the ignorant and dogmatic. Human violence and pacifism are essential to right living, according to Tolstoy. Quote, "There can be no justification for violence. To harm another is to harm oneself, for we are all connected by the same spirit of life. Violence only breeds more violence, and peace can never be achieved through force," unquote. The idea of non-violence was revolutionary for its time. I suppose it still is. Tolstoy's works, including the pathway of life, inspired Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. in their understanding of non-violent resistance and civil disobedience. Halfway through, the book turns towards the positive recipes to get on and stay on the pathway of life. It requires effort, living in the present, doing good, kindness, restraining one's passions, being careful with the spoken word, and even being disciplined in our thoughts. Humility and truthfulness are highlighted as a means to keep on the spiritual path. Tolstoy admired simplicity. He viewed material wealth and worldly power as distractions from spiritual growth, and he believed that true wisdom could only be found through humility and modest living. This emphasis on simplicity was a reaction to the materialism and opulence of Russian aristocratic society, Tolstoy's former background. He wrote, "True wisdom is found not in the accumulation of knowledge or possessions, but in the ability to live simply and humbly." He was heavily influenced by the Stoic tradition, which placed great value on mastering one's desires and finding contentment in the present moment rather than in external wealth or status. After this positive guidance, the next section of the book reflects on matters of life and death, such as the inevitability of suffering and the end of this life. There is also commentary on what happens after death. The commentary is necessarily brief because what exactly happens after death is in Tolstoy's view unfathomable. This whole section is more than compatible with Buddhist philosophy. This part of the book ends with a chapter on life as blessedness. Tolstoy believed that suffering could serve a spiritual purpose. "Suffering is not something to be avoided, but something to be understood. It can be a teacher showing us the path to greater compassion, humility and wisdom." For Tolstoy, suffering is a way of stripping away the illusions and distractions of life, forcing people to confront their own mortality and the deeper questions of existence. The final part of the book is a compilation of the teachings of Jesus, Yeshua. It distills the Christian gospel books, however there are no miracles to be found here. There is no declaration by Yeshua that he is a god on earth. Yet the Sermon on the Mount and the various parables are faithfully rewritten in a simple, credible, rational language. In summary, Tolstoy believed that the only way to achieve happiness and peace was by living the right way. Right living is not tied to following rituals or adhering to religious institutions, but rather is based on a deep personal commitment to truth, kindness and simplicity. One must look within oneself to find the pathway to God and life as opposed to seeking external validation. "It is not enough to be honest with others, one must also be honest with oneself, for only through self-honesty can one achieve true moral integrity." To find the pathway of life, one must cultivate a sense of self-awareness and a rigorous commitment to the truth no matter how painful or inconvenient it might be. The pathway to life also sets a high value on education and continuous self-improvement. Tolstoy encourages us to seek knowledge, to reflect on our actions and to strive for spiritual growth, but above all, one must love. And for Tolstoy, love is not just an emotion or a passive state, but a series of actions which require sacrifice and a commitment to the well-being of others. He says, "Love is the only thing that can unite all people. Where there is love, there is no domination, no conflict, no hatred. Love brings us closer to God, for God is love." Tolstoy there is not emphasising theology but rather offering a practical guide for how people should relate to one another. He's calling for a radical shift in behaviour, turning away from self-centredness, greed and violence and embracing love as the driving force behind all of our actions. Or pathway of life offers wisdom that transcends cultural and religious boundaries, encouraging inner purity, self-awareness and compassion. Let us join him in moving beyond materialism, violence and institutionalised religion. It only remains for me to say that I pray that all of you find the guidance you need to be on the pathway of life. You simply be kind, be true. We hope you have enjoyed this expanding horizons podcast. These podcasts are the intellectual property of the presenter. They can be used only with the express permission and appropriate acknowledgement of the presenter. This permission can be obtained by emailing admin@unitariansa.org.au. Please feel free to leave a comment or visit us on Facebook or Twitter by searching essay unitarians or by visiting our website at unitariansa.org.au. (upbeat music)