What Is The Meaning Of Life, The Universe, And Everything?

The life and books of Leo Tolstoy can be considered an answer to this difficult question. It can be even argued that this question guided him when he wasn't aware of his life's purpose. Thus, by considering this question, we can understand the philosophical answer and the great meaning of his work. In short, this page helps you see the essence of true life through Tolstoy's eyes. By examining his struggles with faith and excerpts from his philosophical work, meaning of life can inspire you.

However, there's no simple answer that can be given in one sentence. Rather, there are some ideas that can help anyone live a more meaningful life. So let's consider how Tolstoy's spiritual quest for the meaning of life manifested itself in his life and books. Then, in that context, let's consider his quotes about the meaning of life from his book "For Everyday".

Was Tolstoy A Christian?

He was baptized into Orthodox Christianity in his childhood. However, he was indifferent to religious questions in his youth. Thus, in his literary work "Confession", he wrote the following:

"I was baptized and brought up in the Orthodox Christian faith. I was taught it in childhood and throughout my boyhood and youth." ... "When I abandoned the second course of the university at the age of eighteen I no longer believed any of the things I had been taught. Judging by certain memories, I never seriously believed them, but had merely relied on what I was taught and on what was professed by the grown-up people around me, and that reliance was very unstable."

Only at the age of 27, Tolstoy wrote the following in his diary:

"The discussion about deity and faith led me to a great, enormous thought, to which I feel capable of dedicating my life. This thought is the foundation of a new religion, corresponding to the development of humanity, a religion of Christ but cleansed of faith and mystery, a practical religion, not promising future bliss but giving bliss on earth."

In spite of these religious thoughts, Leo Tolstoy eventually found himself in a depressed state.

How Was Life Meaningless For Tolstoy?

Life's wasn't always meaningless for Tolstoy. As a matter of fact, significant part of his adult life was dedicated to charity work. But there was a period of life during which he was suffering from suicidal thoughts. That period of life followed the period during which he was practicing Orthodox Christianity.

During the period before suicidal thoughts, Tolstoy observed fasts, participated in religious services, and performed the rites of the Orthodox Church. But he felt disillusionment.

Around the age of 40, near the year 1868, having achieved great success in literary activity, even literary fame, family well-being, and a prominent position in society, he began to experience a sense of life's meaninglessness. He was haunted by thoughts of suicide, which seemed to him an "exit of strength and energy". But the way out offered by faith he didn't accept at that time, as it seemed to him "a denial of reason".

A feeling of meaninglessness, aggravated by suicidal thoughts, continued to plague Tolstoy throughout the late 1870s. His literary work "Confession" (written in 1879 and 1880) demonstrates that:

"I, a happy man, hid a rope from myself to avoid hanging myself on the crossbar between the cupboards in my room, where I was alone every day while undressing, and I stopped going hunting with a gun to avoid the temptation of too easy a way out of life. I didn't know what I wanted: I feared life, I sought to escape from it, and yet, I still hoped for something from it."

However, Tolstoy didn't give up on his spiritual quest for the meaning of life. His resilience pushed him forward. Thus, between the years of 1880 to 1881, Tolstoy wrote "The Gospel in Brief: The Synthesis and Translation of the Four Gospels". That work fulfilled two of his long-standing goals. First, to offer the world a faith devoid of superstitions. Second, to remove, what he considered lies, from the Christian sacred texts. For these and other reasons, in the 1880s, he denied church doctrine. Partly as a result of that, official Russian censorship banned some of his works.

What Were The Reasons For Leo Tolstoy Excommunication?

The quest for the meaning of life caused Tolstoy to break his relationship with the church. He rejected official church doctrine. His books document that.

However, in order to have an objective viewpoint, let's consider the decree of the church that was published in February 1901. This was the Orthodox Church decree that publicly condemned Tolstoy and declared him outside the Church. That official excommunication document from the church is under the following subheading.

Decree of the Most Holy Synod from February 20-22, 1901 No. 557, with a message to the faithful children of the Greek-Russian Orthodox Church about Count Leo Tolstoy

"The well-known writer, Russian by birth, Orthodox by baptism and upbringing, Count Tolstoy, in the seduction of his proud mind, boldly rose against the Lord and His Christ and His holy inheritance, openly renounced before all the Mother Church that nurtured and raised him, the Orthodox Church, and dedicated his literary activity and talent given by God to spreading teachings among the people contrary to Christ and the Church, and to eradicating in the minds and hearts of people the ancestral faith, the Orthodox faith, which established the universe, by which our ancestors lived and were saved, and by which Holy Russia still stood strong and firm. In his writings and letters, spread by him and his disciples all over the world, especially within the dear Fatherland, he preaches, with the zeal of a fanatic, the overthrow of all the dogmas of the Orthodox Church and the very essence of the Christian faith; he denies the personal living God, glorified in the Holy Trinity, Creator and Provident of the universe, denies the Lord Jesus Christ - the God-man, Redeemer and Savior of the world, who suffered for the sake of men and our salvation and resurrected from the dead, denies the immaculate conception by humanity of Christ the Lord and the virginity before and after the birth of the Most Pure Virgin Mary Perpetual, does not recognize the afterlife and recompense, rejects all the sacraments of the Church and the gracious action of the Holy Spirit in them, and, scoffing at the most sacred objects of the Orthodox people's faith, did not flinch to subject to ridicule the greatest of the mysteries, the Holy Eucharist. All this Count Tolstoy preaches incessantly, by word and writing, to the scandal and horror of the entire Orthodox world, and thus unambiguously, but openly before all, consciously and intentionally cut himself off from any communion with the Orthodox Church. The attempts made for his enlightenment did not succeed. Therefore, the Church does not consider him its member and cannot consider him such until he repents and restores his communion with it. Therefore, attesting to his apostasy from the Church, we also pray that the Lord may grant him repentance to the recognition of the truth (2 Timothy 2:25). Merciful Lord, who does not wish the death of sinners, hear and have mercy and convert him to your holy Church. Amen."

Meaning Of The Excommunication Document Above

From a theological perspective, that document isn't a curse on the writer. Rather, it's a statement of the fact that he's no longer a member of the Church by his own will. Also, the church stated in other way that Tolstoy could return to the Church if he repented.

Tolstoy's Reaction To Excommunication

In his "Reply to the Synod", Leo Tolstoy confirmed his break with the church: "It's entirely fair that I've renounced the church that calls itself Orthodox. But I renounced it not because I rebelled against the Lord, but on the contrary, only because I desired with all my soul to serve Him."

Tolstoy objected to the accusations made against him in the synod's decree. He objected with the following words: "The Synod's resolution is generally flawed. It's illegal or intentionally ambiguous; it's arbitrary, unfounded, untruthful, and moreover, contains slander and incitement to bad feelings and actions." In the text of the "Reply to the Synod," Tolstoy elaborated on that, acknowledging a number of significant discrepancies between the dogmas of the Orthodox Church and his own understanding of Christ's teaching.

Tolstoy Thoughts About Religion Before His Death

In 1909 (one year before his death), Tolstoy wrote the following about religion: "I do not want to be a Christian, as I would not advise or wish that others were Brahmanists, Buddhists, Confucianists, Taoists, Muslims, and others. We all must find, in our own faith, that which is common to all, and, by giving up the exclusive, our own, hold to that which is common."

The Meaning Of Life As Reflected By Tolstoy's Charity Work

During the famine of 1891 and 1892, Tolstoy organized aid institutions for the starving and needy. He opened 187 soup kitchens that fed 10,000 people, as well as several children's dining rooms, distributed firewood, and provided seeds and potatoes for planting. He also helped purchase horses for farmers who lost them because of the famine."

Tolstoy's Personal Life: Meaningful Conclusion

Gradually, Tolstoy renounced the comforts of a rich life, engaged in physical labor, dressed in the simplest clothes, became a vegetarian, gave his considerable fortune to his family, and renounced copyright of his literary works. On the ground of this striving for moral perfection, the third period of Tolstoy's literary activity began. That period became characterized by the denial of all established forms of state, social, and religious life.

The Meaning Of Life According To Tolstoy's Book

Leo Tolstoy wrote this book during the final years of his life. Written between the years of 1906 and 1910 (year of his death), "For Everyday" is a collection of aphorisms. Thus, it contains the wisdom of his life. Just like its name suggests, it offers thoughts for everyday that can help us become better. Below are some of these aphorisms that I believe contain its essence and will help you.

Greater Unity

"The entire history of humanity, as far as we know it, is a movement towards greater and greater unity. This unity is achieved by the most varied means: through trade relations, communication routes, telegraphs, printing, and, most importantly, by increasing love and respect among people. Those who work towards this unity serve it, and even those who oppose it inadvertently contribute to it. Thus, unity is one of those visible goals that humanity is destined to approach."

"Therefore, to fulfill the law of human life, we should support everything that unites people and distance ourselves from anything that divides them. By following this law, we inadvertently, even without desiring it, attain the greatest good available to people."

Spiritual Life

What Is The Meaning Of Life? To Become Better And Better.