In search of truth. Essays on ethical teachings

You have been holding a book on issues that have always, for hundreds, thousands of years, attracted people's attention - moral issues related to the problems of the meaning of human existence. The best minds were fought over the resolution of these issues, but they have not yet received complete and final answers. The world surrounds us continuously changes: high -developed industrial civilizations are replaced by primitive patriarchal liaes, parties, classes, communities replace each other, but moral issues are not only outdated, but, on the contrary, are very acute in the modern world.

Who am I? What is the meaning of my life? What place should I take - the creature is limited, final, mortal - in this endless, unlimited world? How can I relate to other people? What values, ideals to defend in your life? The founders of world religions and harmonious philosophical teachings tried to give answers to these questions; Simple, unknown preachers of truth, the words of God and certified scientists. It so happened that the world around us lives in its own, far from perfection, the laws, in accordance with which enmity reign, violence, the struggle of all against all. Preached by some religious, political leaders, the ideals of love, non -violence and justice are not able to fundamentally change the foundations of a violent world order, for they, as it has always happened, are adapted to the “wolf” rules of behavior in society; They are nullified by the everyday need for a modern person to comply with the crazy norms of social life. Humanity is far from the enforcement of the laws of God, for God's laws in the modern world are reinterposed, adapt to imperfect human ones. As the German philosopher Lichtenberg wrote, God turned out to be humanized, created in the image and likeness of man in order to support and consecrate far from ideal human laws and attitudes. Meanwhile, in people there are ideas about the highest truth that we must strive for. And they do not live least thanks to those preachers, philosophers, religious figures who are dedicated to this book. She is called “In Search of the Truth”, and indeed, those thinkers who will be discussed are always in the movement, in the search for the kingdom of God , who, as Jesus Christ said, is inside us and for the achievement of which we need to have only a desire for steadily improvement. The truth is not human, but the Divine was sought by the heroes of these essays. Books related to the life and activities of these thinkers, always, for hundreds of years, attracted the attention of readers; contained answers to questions that were never obsolete; were close to all people. This is the Bible, “Dhammapada”, “Tao de Jing”, other religious, philosophical monuments. Supporters of the brotherhood and equality of people lived at different times, in different corners of the globe, belonged to various religious, cultural traditions, but preached the same values: peace, good, love for neighboring, non -violence. However, one should not think that only the mentioned thinkers were interested in ethical issues. They were unusually versatile people, left their mark in different areas of human activity.

These essays should help the reader understand the worldview systems of thinkers, interest them in the inner world. The book was created for several years, during the author’s work in the State Museum of L. N. Tolstoy.