Today is a great time to pause and reflect on nonviolent protest and to look at the history of the idea of nonviolence. Years ago someone told me that Martin Luther King Jr. was influenced by Gandhi, and Gandhi was in turn influenced by Leo Tolstoy. Most likely that person was Jack McGuire, since he and I have discussed spiritual and religious ideas for decades. I’m not a scholar of Tolstoy and I haven’t read the big novels – War and Peace and whatnot – but I read enough to learn that Tolstoy was turned on to the idea of nonviolence by a particular Amish or Mennonite group in the U.S.
Tolstoy’s personal story of salvation is also very interesting, and you can read about it in his essay “My Confession,” in which he describes a year spent constantly contemplating suicide because, after all his accomplishments, life was meaningless for him. He did find a way out of his dilemma, and that was to take the teachings of Jesus Christ seriously and literally. His ideas are also laid out in “Father Sergius,” the story of a holy man who loses his Orthodox faith to find a higher and better faith.
Just think of Putin getting a blessing from the Russian Orthodox archbishop to run his war on Ukraine. That’s the kind of B.S. Tolstoy was talking about.
In summary, Tolstoy reinterpreted Christianity and came to the conclusion that Jesus was not bullshitting people when he said, “Turn the other cheek.” Jesus also said, “Be as gentle as a lamb and as cautious as the serpent.” Those two teachings are a solid basis to stand on. So in conclusion, as another friend, Scott Richardson, says, if you dig Rabbi Jesus, follow his teachings and don’t go mistaking Paradise for that home across the road; that is, don’t compare yourself to others, for that breeds resentment.
And, finally, reach out to help those who need help, cause there ain’t enough love in the world today.
https://youtu.be/ViKev27bh2Y
The Everlasting Now 