They say that when the Russians observed the advance of the II SS Panzer Corps of the German Waffen-SS, they placed dynamite in the Tolstoy family estate, in Yasnaya Polyana, and on the tomb of the famous writer, so that the site would not be usurped. However, they did not dare to dynamite it.
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian, the Nazi general in command of that armored column, did not dare either. Knowing the place where he was, he ordered the removal of enemy mines to preserve that site. And Leo Tolstoy continues to arouse as much admiration today as he generated in some circles in his life.
Called to be an idle young man of the Russian aristocracy, his existence changed hand in hand with literature, until he ended up becoming one of the most influential thinkers of the 19th century, something that the most limited minds of the time would never forgive him.
The existential crisis that would mark a before and after
Son of Russian nobles and orphaned since childhood, Leo Tolstoy abandoned two university courses and, now freed from the pressure to study something that did not interest him, he gave himself to an idle life in Moscow and Saint Petersburg to end up going with his older brother to the battle front in the Caucasus.
Disgusted by the war, he began to write and retired to cultivate his farm and educate the peasants’ children. Already married, with children and several books written behind him, Tolstoy entered his 50s with a full-blown existential crisis.
Curiously, as his public notoriety increased, the writer felt that his purpose in life diminished, something that plunged him into a state of deep depression and melancholy.
Nothing satisfied him. Everything seemed empty. He began to question who he was and what meaning his life had. He felt so lost that he even thought about suicide. He looked for the answer everywhere, from science and faith to philosophy, but when he didn’t find it, he decided to look inside himself.
Thus was born Leo Tolstoy, a philosopher who criticized both religion and rulers, who proposed the path of non-violence and peaceful resistance as alternatives to change the state of things while embracing vegetarianism and criticizing the hypocrisy of the majority of the social movements that actually “Destroy well-being and the human soul.”
The four ways to face life
Tolstoy was a keen observer of the human soul, so when he began to wonder how to live with purpose and what meaning there was in life, he turned his eyes to those around him for answers. “I discovered that for the people in my circle there were four ways out of the terrible situation in which we all find ourselves,” he wrote, referring to the awareness of our mortality and the meaning of our days.
1. Ignorance. In this group, the writer placed people who chose not to know and not to understand, those who embraced what could be called “motivated ignorance.” They were those who preferred to close their eyes to the basic questions of existence and settled comfortably in ignorance.
2. Epicureanism. They are those who prefer to focus on the positive, despite being aware of the negative, assuming a kind of naïve optimism. Tolstoy believed that most people choose this path by not questioning anything and simply taking advantage of the moment. “Their moral dullness allows them to forget that the advantage of their position is accidental… and that the accident that today has turned me into a Solomon may turn me tomorrow into a slave of Solomon,” as the writer described them.
3. Strength and energy. They are people who “burn” life. These are exceptionally strong and resilient people who, although they perfectly understand the problems of human existence, prefer to live quickly, burning through stages and opting for drastic solutions without reflecting too much on the consequences since they are convinced that it is better to put life into the years that add years to life.
4. Weakness. “It consists in seeing the truth of the situation and yet clinging to life,” Tolstoy wrote. These types of people wait for a kind of divine rescue to occur or for an escape route to open up before them as if by magic. Although they do not find meaning in life and do not feel satisfied, they continue forward on autopilot. In fact, that was the position with which the writer himself identified. Tolstoy felt lost and powerless.
The fifth way supported by the 5 pillars to live with purpose
Grieved by his existential questions, Tolstoy discovered the “solution” in those who lived in the simplest, purest, happiest and most satisfactory way. From them he extracted great learnings that would help him find the meaning of life and guide him for the years to come:
1. Understand that reason has limits
Tolstoy concluded that “Reasonable knowledge does not give the meaning of life, but rather excludes it.” At this point he reached a dilemma: “Either what I called reason was not as rational as I supposed, or what seemed irrational to me was not as irrational as I supposed.”
It is not that the writer denied the importance of reason, but like many Eastern philosophical currents, he realized that the most important things are experienced and often cannot even be put into words. He was referring to the need to experience (rather than understand) the meaning of life, something that cannot be found solely through logical diatribes but by immersing oneself in experience.
2. Search within yourself
After seeking answers in religions, science and philosophy, Leo Tolstoy concluded that spiritual awakening and inner transformation can only come from within, from that process of introspection that leads us to ask ourselves the right questions and pushes us to embark on a unique journey of discovery.
The writer believed that true fulfillment and purpose in life could be found through a deep connection with the inner self. The answers are not outside, but within us, waiting for us to dare to undertake that journey of self-discovery.
3. Find spirituality
Tolstoy concluded that we can live fully thanks to faith: “It alone gives humanity an answer to the questions of life and, consequently, makes it possible.” However, the writer excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church for his fierce criticism of religion and his revision of the Gospels, was not referring to religion in its strictest sense.
For Tolstoy, whatever the faith, “It gives to the finite existence of man an infinite meaning, a meaning that is not destroyed by suffering, deprivation or death.” He believed that “Faith is not simply ‘the evidence of the unseen’ or a revelation, it is not just an agreement with what one has been told, but […] the force of life.” That which “Connects the finite with the infinite.” Therefore, the Tolstoyan faith is not a religion but a deep spiritual conviction from which our strength emanates.
4. Learn to accept
Tolstoy also found in the simple way of life of those around him an ethos that connects with the Buddhist philosophy of acceptance: “I understood that, if I want to understand life and its meaning, I must not live the life of a parasite, but I must live a real life […] merging into that life.”
The writer embraced the “destiny” of him. He understood the importance of applying radical acceptance and not resisting events, instead developing a calm and firm conviction that everything would go as it should. As he wrote: “True life is lived when small changes occur.” It was in acceptance where he found the spiritual peace he needed to dissipate the existential clouds of his.
5. Embrace simplicity
The mature Tolstoy was not the young man who bought land in Bashkiria at extremely low prices to do business, a decision that would later torment him and which he recorded in “How Much Land Does a Man Need”, the best story ever written, according to James Joyce.
In contrast to what he had seen in his privileged circle and what he himself had experienced – where his entire life was spent in idleness and fun, but also with much dissatisfaction – Tolstoy made simplicity his own and began to practice detachment from material possessions.
He understood that to live with purpose we must stop clinging to things and lead a more minimalist life in contact with nature. As he wrote: “There are those who cross the forest and only see wood for the fire.” Focusing on what is truly important takes us away from banal mental musings and problems that are not such while bringing us closer to a more contemplative and meaningful life. When we stop chasing material possessions or social status we have more time to develop as a person and find inner satisfaction with what we have at our disposal.
Tolstoy was denied the first Nobel Prize for his anarcho-Christian stance, but the writer was not too fazed by the snub, which did inflame many of the writers of his time. In fact, everything seems to indicate that embracing that life of simplicity and detachment ultimately compensated him because it is stated that on his deathbed, his last words were: “I love everyone.”
Sources:
Perrett, R. W. (1985) Tolstoy, Death and the Meaning of Life. Philosophy; 60(232):
231-245.
Flew, A. (1963) Tolstoi and the Meaning of Life. Ethics; 73(2): 110-118.
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