I would like to tell you in a few simple words how I deal with that great issue which I call 'the metaphysical problem' - a problem that haunts our thought and is actually a headache for anyone of us. And do not tell me that it is not a headache for you too; if that is the case, it is improbable that I can congratulate you.. In issues of that nature, a headache sometimes wards off other more serious illnesses. Do not also tell me that you simply avoid such issues and that you do not confront them: escape is also a way of dealing with a problem - only that it is the worst way.
In any case, what I am about to tell you, I do that only because it is what I believe and not that I have to justify myself to anyone for my belief not that I claim authenticity of any kind. What I am about to recount is simply the conclusions which I have freely arrived at, and with complete, absolute freedom of my conscience, to which I only have given reasons. And I feel that I am obliged to disclose to you these conclusions, whether in one way or another, may be anyhow useful for your research, too.
The first premise from which I would like to begin is the following: my experience has shown me that what we call matter, or material nature, not limited by reality. It cannot, in other words, be argued that'the only thing that exists is matter and that everything can be explained by the laws that govern matter. This, specifically results in the following, as far as the human body is concerned: It cannot be argued that the human body can be equated with man or that the essence of being can be measured in so many pounds of flesh. This theory of materialism, of course, was supported in the past century. In fact, a representative of this materialistic ideology, Feuerbach, had reached the point of stating "You are what you eat". This was, however, supported in the mid-19th century and few today take this ideology seriously. Materialism has been abandoned by science and it only appears in various disguises where there is an intentional need for it. Few remember Feuerbach's adage today. Yet, one is obliged to say this phrase and repeat it if one accepts that we are nothing but flesh. It is simply impossible to say that we are what we eat. We are not what we eat; we are not made up only of flesh and bones. Over and above the body and matter, there is an active power within us, which decisively directs our existence and the course of our lives; it is a power that does not obey to the laws of nature; it is a power that lies beyond them. Whether you call it a supra-material power or spiritual strength, the manifestation of eternity, the spirit or the spiritual factor, it is a matter of terms. The point is this: this higher power in man indicates that there is a power above matter in this world, a supra-material world. There is an eternal, spiritual world, which lies far beyond the atoms that comprise the body, the material universe or the billions of galaxies.
If this power is not matter, nor the energy produced from matter, then of course it does not fall under the control that man can wield over matter and it cannot be perceived by the senses. This does not seem strange to us, just as it does not seem strange that sound cannot be perceived by the sense of sight or color by the sense of hearing. Thus, it should not seem strange that the spiritual, the supra-material, does not fall in the realm of any of the five senses. However, the existence of this eternal, supra-material power in many of its manifestations does become discernible by the senses and becomes an almost tangible reality. I will refer to only two its manifestations.
The first is the appearance of psychosomatic symptoms, where we see the spiritual factor influencing the body to the extent that the results are discernible by the senses. Medicine has already started researching this issue1. There are some who believe that the spiritual factor can even affect surgery. In any case, however, the fact remains that the spiritual factor also influences the body, indeed in a much forceful manner than the material factor, that is, food and medicine. There are many cases of illnesses where the spiritual factor brings about a much better cure than any food or drug. In any case of illness or health, spiritual exaltation influences the body more than any slab of meat can.
The second manifestation of this eternal spiritual power, which overrides matter, is what is called the conscience. It would be an exercise in vanity for anyone to try and convince himself that he does not possess a conscience. I do not know if there are any people who are totally lacking a conscience, but if they do exist, their lack of a conscience is not a normal condition but rather a disability. The fact that there are people missing an arm or a leg does not refute the fact that a normal human being should possess both limbs. Thus, the incidental existence of people without a conscience or with a "spoiled " conscience does not refute the fact that a normal human being should possess one.
This conscience, of course, is not part of a material power. This is proven by the simple fact that the conscience often leads to the destruction of the material factor. The material factor in man is instinct. Conscience, however, is the spiritual, the supra-material, and the counterbalance of instinct. Instinct stems from the body and seeks to be satisfied. On the contrary, the conscience derives from a supersomatic power — a spiritual power - and is the manifestation of eternity often blocking the satisfaction of instinct and occasionally leading to the sacrifice of bodily needs. No instinct would be in accordance with laying down one's life for an ideal. This sacrifice is the result of a power, which lies beyond and above the body and compels the body to hsacrifice itself for these ideals. Do not object by saying this sacrifice is carried out because of the belief in an afterlife and that in this way the instinct for self-preservation is displaced into eternity. In other words, it is not that the one who makes the sacrifice knows he will be rewarded in the afterlife or eternally punished for evading sacrifice. This of course happens and it happens often, but it is not always the case. In fact, those who are motivated by self-interest alone, find a way to avoid sacrifice and fool themselves into believing that they can both avoid sacrifice in this life and enjoy the afterlife.
The most characteristic example of this spiritual power can be found in those materialists who voluntarily sacrifice their lives for an ideal despite the fact that they do not believe in any afterlife whatsoever. In specific, there is the case of the dialectical materialism, that of the communist, who although does not believe in any kind of immortality - therefore, in no form of redemption - yet he heeds the voice within him, (that man contradict all that he proclaims), telling him to sacrifice himself for ideals higher than any instinct for self-preservation. The communist idealist, the materialist riddled with contradiction, the one who proclaims that material needs are above all, none the less he sacrifices them for a higher ideal (sacrificing oneself for the material needs of another, i.e., giving my life to fill another's stomach, cannot be considered as the expression of materialism2, for my body dictates me to satisfy my own needs, not those of another). This sacrifice constitutes the most brilliant manifestation of the eternal spiritual power in the body.
The very existence of the eternal, of the supra - material, shows how contrived or how entirely at odds with experience it is for one to desire to explain everything through matter, omitting the eternal and using only matter. On the contrary, it is so much more effortless and in accordance even with experience to accept that the material universe is the creation of this supra - material Power, a Power that transcends matter and the material universe. Even if we consider the material universe as being immense, from the view point of space, however it is not all that exists. The Universe itself is not everything that exists. Above it there exists that Great Power which has created it. In addition the human mind of either Anaxagoras, or Hottentots, or the average modern man or a contemporary Wiseman, is not laboring under a delusion when it accepts the existence of a Power, that of the Creator, whose creation is the material universe, whose creation is both you and me.
Of course, accepting the existence of this Creative Power is an admission of faith, for no one has witnessed the creation of the temporal, the creation of you and me. But man must one day be freed from the delusion that he can see whatever exists. How infinitely minimal is the portion of reality that man sees or has seen! Let us finally learn that "I cannot see it" is not an argument against the Invisible!
Besides, this admission of faith in the creation of the universe by a Creator transcending the universe is in total accordance with experience in the sense that, as experience is enriched, it falls completely in line with this faith and the realization of how limited experience actually is. Therefore, since we are obliged, because it is a vital need that wells up within us, to proceed beyond experience, the only logical and simple thing to do is not to torture ourselves by trying to convince ourselves (and this a feat indeed) that we are the result of chance, but to tell ourselves directly that we are the creation of a Mind which is the Creator of 'things visible and things invisible' -[Golossians 13] and consequently of our very selves.
On the other hand, it does not take much thought to arrive at the conclusion that this Creator is not blindly omnipotent, but a Mind — in the highest, most perfect sense we can imagine — which must have contact with Its creations. It is our Father who provides for us, His creations. The rejection of this Providence could only be founded on one idea: that it is a creative but blind and savage power; this is materialism in its most monstrous form. Whoever cannot accept this monstrosity will logically accept this Sovereign Power not only as One that created once and then abandoned the world to its fate, but One that also loves its creations and provides for them as a Father. There is of course the question of theodicy3, that is, explaining the existence of evil, ethical or natural, in the world in the face of God's goodness and justice. But the issue of theodicy does not support the argument for materialism. The fact that I cannot see the reason for certain things does not mean there is no reason. (As we said before "I cannot see it" does not constitute a sound argument.) As C.E.M. Joad4says, "I don't see why the universe must be something conceivable by the small mind of 20th century man." And in the final analysis I do not see why the universe, the life of the universe and my own life should be governed in a way that can be comprehended by my small mind. He, however, who is led to the rejection of the Creator through these issues must be very careful because from the problem of theodicy he will fall upon another problem which I shall call 'a-theodicy'. Say the question posed is: how there are so many inexplicable things in the world order since there is a Provident Creator? Then looms the other inexplicable question of how can there be so much orders if there is no Creator5? Consider this analogy: Someone is strolling through a beautifully cultivated garden. Here and there are some flowerbeds that seem uncultivated. If one asks how it can be that there are uncultivated beds since there is a gardener and consequently concludes there is no gardener, then he must answers the incomparably more difficult question of how there is ^so much cultivation, how the rest of the garden is so beautifully cultivated - and what a garden it is! And how well cultivated! - Since he holds that there is no gardener. To take this logical argument one step further, this Creator cannot be imagined as a being, which stands aloof. The idea of distance, the belief that some being has created us and then abandoned us and distanced itself, as a concept, is truly the most monstrous of all. Yet man often forgets this and calls on the Lord as if He is far away, " they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he is not far from us: for in Him we live, and move, and have our own being; ". [ Acts 17:27 ]
You must keep in mind that your Heavenly Father is not far away at all. In a sense He is already within you. You live in Him; you swim in Him, in addition, it is incomprehensible to think He does not love you. This love of that Father is something which is immeasurably more wondrous than all His other creations, than any miracle called a starry sky, or a colorful rainbow or any natural beauty. And if anything exists in this world, it is this love that exists. At this point, however, some things need to be made clear.
First, God's love for you does not mean that the world or your life will go exactly the way you want it to. Is there, in fact, any father who, out of love for his child, would arrange the child's life according to the dictates of a child's mind? Why not accept that the distance which separates your small mind from the Great Mind is at least as big as the distance that separates a child's mind from your own? This is why Divine Providence and faith in God should not lead you to the conclusion that since there is a God and that God loves you, everything will go well, that is, everything will go the way you want. Although such a belief is not entirely dismissible, it is naive; it belongs, let's say, to a lower level of faith and leads to tribulations, for it ignores the need for the struggle of life, for the bearing of a cross, for the battle that our Almighty God has set out as one of the laws of life, which will be discussed later on. The higher faith, an arduous yet beneficial one, is not that God will arrange things the way we want, but that we want things the way God arranges them. I recognize that it is difficult to believe in this, but it is truly beneficial. Set a goal in your life: to live by this motto and you will experience happiness not only knocking on the door of your soul, but entering your soul and fulfilling your personality. But beware! It takes practice. This cannot be achieved from one day to the next. It takes both time and trouble, but as soon as you start trying to live by this motto, it will be the start of happiness in your life.
And another thing: know that this Father is a father in the sense that He is understanding. He understands when you sin. He understands even when you lose faith. This is why, while you should live according to God's commandments (and we shall say something on this later on), you should not be overly distressed about your struggle for virtue. Just as you are prepared to be understanding when your child makes a mistake, you should realize that God is too. You must not think that our Heavenly Father is incapable of this kind of understanding. Such a belief would be outright blasphemy.
You can be sure that this Paternal understanding will be there even when your faith is shaken. Know that the Heavenly Father understands even your doubts. Do not worry and fret whether you have faith. Only keep a constant watch over yourself to keep from straying from your beliefs. This is what you should keep in mind, but again, without distress. Pray with courage to the Heavenly Father who understands your downfalls as well as your doubts.
In any case, this Father of yours is near you. And this 'near you' has a further consequence: that this Father is open to communion with you and this communion can be achieved through prayer. Prayer is the way in which eternity becomes tangible. There are, of course, prayers, which are nothing but chatter and degrade human dignity. Is there no such thing as a forged coin or adulterated food or medicine? Likewise, there is the adulterated prayer. Yet the genuine, true prayer is the communion man has with the eternal. And to the one who mocks you for praying you can retort that praying is a noble act and cannot be doubted and that it is even physically beneficial I do not believe can be doubted either: it is the best way to calm the nervous system and to relax the body even to point of sleep. Now as far as the fact that it truly constitutes a communion with the eternal is concerned, the most any rationalist can say is that he is dubious. But is this dubiousness such a strong argument as to sway you from such a redeeming source of help and relief, even if to you it is not so apparent how you commune with the eternal through prayer? Allow me, therefore, to give you a piece of advice: do not neglect prayer even when you are plagued by such doubts. And do not be afraid that Heaven will not accept a prayer, which is sent in doubt. Of course, it should not be sent in hypocrisy, unfairness or impiety. But when a prayer is said in innocent doubt, then your Father - that's why He is a Father - will understand this doubt.
On the other hand, you should not think that prayer is a kind of order, which you formulate and to which God is required to add His signature. The prayer made up of, " My God, I want this and that. Give the order so that my wish may be carried out," although not entirely dismissible, does not however, always make up what I would call a 'higher prayer'.
A higher prayer that would make you happy is the one elevates your life, with all its joys, fears, to Heaven; the prayer that lays your life before the Heavenly Father and then says, "And now, God, do whatever You want. Ancient Greek philosophy often quoted the phrase, "And now, Zeus, bring whatever you think best." The Christian faith does not fall short of the ancient saying, but expresses the same thought in both a more divine and more human way, and, may I add, in a way that is closer to reality: "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." This is the higher prayer. And when this becomes, - after much persistent spiritual exercise -, your belief, it will make you happy!
From this faith in our Mutual Father we are led to another admission of faith, which is the acceptance of brotherhood among all men regardless of race, color or creed, of a brotherhood among the fair and unfair, among the sinners and the virtuous, among those who pray and those who do not, among those who believe and those who do not. Your brother, brother of mine, is the sinner (and who has not sinned?). Even the one who is lacking in faith and is full of doubts is your brother. The one who struggles is your brother. Even the one who tells you he is not your brother is your brother. Brotherhood is Divine and is not dependent on how much we recognize it or not.
And the third admission is one that results from all the above. Since the supra-material exists, since my life is not confined by my weight in flesh or what I had for lunch, since my life swims in eternity, then I should view things the way Spinoza had said, 'sub specie aeternitatis'y through the prism of eternity. Therefore, eternity is the light by which I view all things; it is the meaning of my life.
Your eternity and my eternity are specific manifestations of eternity, or immortality. Since, as we said, you are not merely so many pounds of flesh, then there is absolutely no reason for you to accept that when your body decays, your personality will also disappear. Of course, you cannot see or imagine your personality outside the confines of your body, outside its material wrapping. Yet we have also said that "I cannot see" does not constitute a sound argument. There is no doubt that immortality is an article of faith. Know, however, that this faith of yours depends on the tangible reality of the supra material, of eternity.
Now what is this life after death like? I do not know nor does anyone. But this life we are leading is also a part of eternity. In other words, the afterlife is not necessarily contrary to our present existence, but the continuation of it. This means that this life - let us call it life before death - is nothing more than a preliminary to the next one. Do not be surprised by the difference in length in the 70-80, even 100 years of this life and the eternity of the afterlife. This life before death is often completely turned round by a very short period of time: by the few years of university study, still yet by a turning point at which a certain decision led to a good or bad act which directs not only our life, but the life of our descendants. It should not therefore seem odd that this life as a whole is the preliminary for eternal life.
On the other hand, you should not think that there is any contrast or, even more so, any hostility between the transient and the eternal, or even between the body and soul. Such a delusion is destructive. Do not wish, "Oh, when shall I fly from this earth up to Heaven!" Know that the earth is also a star in Heaven. Know that today is also a part of eternity. Know that even your body needs a soul to guide it. The message of eternity is not to turn your back on the transient. It is to place the transient in the hierarchy of the eternal. This is the destination of the functioning of your body and you will see the beneficial results even on your body when you make this hierarchy a real part of your life.
To sum up, the three admissions of faith at which we have arrived are: The Paternity of God, the brotherhood of man and eternity.
And now I shall relate some thoughts concerning the course of your life. So, I shall set before you four propositions that can serve as guidelines to the course of your life. These propositions are put before you in the form of axioms, for they cannot be a topic for discussion nor can they be logically proven. Any conscience which is not 'disabled' will accept them as irrefutable rules and you will see that they constitute the compass for your safe course in life.
The first of these axioms is that of freedom. You must live as a free person, guard your freedom, and claim your freedom and above all your free conscience, respecting, of course, the freedom of your fellow man and fighting for it. One may say, "It is a controversial issue whether I should live a free existence." And I will answer simply that it is your own choice to think this way, because one who doubts whether he should be free is not free. If one is considering as to whether he should sell his freedom for something in return, then, because he thinks this way, he has already sold his freedom. He is a slave, a slave of his own accord.
The second axiom is that of sincerity. Allow me to refuse to discuss whether one should doubt the need to be sincere. Above all, sincerity means viewing life and everything else sincerely, being sincere with everyone and, above all, being sincere with yourself. Never sacrifice sincerity for the sake of expediency of any kind and, more so, for the sake of some' higher goal. Pious fabrication always led to destruction. If, by telling the truth, a scandal will break out, then so be it. That is better than hiding the truth. Of course the truth must be told in a pedagogical, didactic way and with prudence so that others can understand it. But it is one thing to tell the truth in a didactic way and another to tell lies for so-called didactic or pedagogical reasons.
The third axiom is that of ascent. Man has been created to soar high. This ascent, as an upward movement and as an attempt, is a value, regardless of the step it is on at a given moment. A criminal who is just starting this ascent is immeasurably higher than a saint who remains stationary or who has started descending spiritually. There is no end to this ascent or, if you like,, it ends where God begins, for God is the start of all things. This ascent is fitting, as Plato says, because people should try to resemble God as much as possible. And the quintessence of the upward course is love since "God is love" [1 John 4:8]. This is why love is the crowning event of man's course through life and this is also why every other law is complemented by this love. And here I will mention what Saint Paul the Apostle said: "But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love." [1 Corinthians 13:13] Love, in other words, is even greater than faith. Of course, the boat of human existence must be firmly moored by two " ropes ", the " rope " of faith and the " rope " of love. If, however, human weakness brings about a situation in which one of these two " ropes " is loosened or cut, let it not be thefrope of love, for the one who loves, because he loves, also has faith. No one loves without some kind of faith. While one who has faith without love,, The devils also believe, and tremble." [James 1:19]
Know, however, that this love extends to all people, both to sinners and naturally to those who have sinned against you and been unfair to you. For, as Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher, said, the sinner is a blind man who, instead of having lost the ability to distinguish black from white, has lost that sense which distinguishes good from evil. One must love even those who are deluded in terms of faith. The more deluded a man is, the more he needs love.
But beware: this love should not be founded on a' lie, that is, on the belief of man's superiority. When one is a beginner in the divine virtue of love, he creates within him an illusion that people are supposedly good and he tries to convince himself that they are good and that they love him and that society is the place of peaceful cohabitation of people. Experience will soon burst this illusion and the love founded on this lie will be transformed into misanthropy. No, therefore, to love founded on fantastical expectations and yes to love founded on the full knowledge of human corruption and evil. Here Plato's saying is also fitting "Man should try to resemble God as much as possible." Likewise, God loves man: "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." [Romans 5:8].
In addition, you must be careful to distinguish love from sentimentality. Sentimentality is to love what superstition is to faith. Sentimentality is weakness; love is strength. Sentimentality is blindfolded while love has its eyes wide open. Sentimentality asks and expects in return; love gives while expecting nothing. Love exists for the sake of others while sentimentality is a form of egocentrism. Love, therefore, must be practiced actively. This means that it will stand entirely independent of fear. You will love both God and people but you will fear God only and not people. So you will not just try to please people. If you just try to please people, you will not please God and you will not love people. You will love only yourself and make people servants of your selfishness.
And one last thing: the fact that you love others does not mean that others will love you. Do not start out on this noble course of love if you are not prepared to stand alone in this love, despised by those you love. "Man is a wolf for other men" (Homo homini lupus) they used to say, and although this is not always true, you would be better off if you were prepared for a contingency such as this. For many are the times you will see your fellowman attacking both you and your love like wolves and you will see that society is a jungle that differs from a natural jungle only in its treachery. Do not run, therefore, on the racetrack of love if you are not prepared to accept that you are running in a junglel•
I have spoken of love, but, the spiritual ascent that we saw as an axiom of our lives, naturally includes the pursuit of virtue in all its breadth; firstly of justice and, of course, of an active interest in social justice. Above all, in trying to reach higher things do not overlook the lower. Do not say that you do not need spelling in the study of the Classics and that you are not in need of addition and subtraction in your study of Einstein's equations. It is all well and good to strive for high ideals, but only if you are well - grounded in the basics. You will look, therefore, in your struggle for a sound constitution, to see if you are a basically fair and moral person, responsible in your obligations both to yourself and to others. Only if you feel you possess a basically sound constitution, can you proceed to spread your wings and fly to higher planes.
Besides, this striving for the Divine, this elevation, should be considered as an attempt so that it does not become a source of distress. In having striven you are already victorious. If your conscience tells you that you are struggling, that you are trying, you must be assured that you are on the right track.
And now we come to the last axiom. It is the axiom of struggle. Man is made to struggle. One cannot confront life in the spirit of the eternal if his life is static and not a struggle. You must free yourself from the delusion that there must be some way to avoid the struggle. There is a way to win the battle, but no way to escape the battle altogether. In the Christian tongue this struggle or battle is called bearing the cross. There is no way to avoid cross - bearing. There is, however, a way to bear your cross and make it a consul to peace and joy for the length of your life. Do not bear it alone, nevertheless. Bear it with the company of the Crucified Lord and consequently with the company of His Resurrection. You do not need to seek this company. It is continually being offered to you. But do not refuse it! Do not refuse it because you are not able to bear the Cross alone, neither can you bear it with other company, nor can you avoid bearing the cross.
This company and this way of confronting the cross we bear will bring the peace and joy for which we all thirst. There you will find the inner peace which ancient philosophy sought. You will not find it in the coo/ syllogisms of egocentric isolation.
This peace and joy is not acquired with negative meaning that you will not have worries and mourning and not should you expect something of this sort in your life. Nor, on the other hand, should you worry about getting upset and become depressed because you are upset or moved and do not possess the apathy and invariability and the trouble-free life that you dream of. You are dreaming of an illusion. What you should strive for is the following: to refine your worries so that they are elevated above your ego, they, too, becoming part of the fine struggle, a contending factor in the struggle. The greatest victory is to confront mourning and worry as part of the struggle and to proceed from agony to the agonistic.
And your struggle - this is our axiom ~ will constitute the meaning of your life. "I think, therefore I am (Cogito ergo sum)," says Logic in the words of Descartes. Yes, but "I struggle, therefore I am (Pugno ergo sum)," is what Life says. Struggle is the meaning of life: struggle against the evil, struggle against the difficulties. When you feel this - it takes a lot of long and hard work to achieve this - then you too will see from experience that the cross-bearing is transformed into joy. And even when the sea's surface is rough, in its depths reigns peace, a peace that overcomes every sorrow and turns every adversity to its advantage.
Thus, your greatest problem by far, the pursuit of happiness is solved. Achievement of happiness is not a chimera. Happiness does exist, but you must struggle to achieve it! And according to the basics I have laid out here, struggle and happiness are synonymous. Try it, systematically, however, and with persistence and you will see!
This is what I had to tell you, brother of mine. This is what I have learned through experience and my own struggles. You can doubt whether what I claim is true, but you are obliged to check for yourself whether they are freely and sincerely, as we said. But I do not think you can doubt that what I tell you is a joyous message! it is called the Gospel,.
Prof. A. N. TSIRINTANES
