Soul and body — a golden engagement ring with a diamond

Marcus Aurelius once said that ‘nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.’ Allow yourself some solitude and draw new strength from it every now and then. 

People are the meaning of life in the universe. He could not have simply created man from particles of star dust and dropped him at random on one of the innumerable planets of our galaxy. He could not have thrown us into a whirlwind of fate and evolutionary disorder. However, He did not want to control us as a master with a puppet, acting out everything in accordance to a script. The universe is both friendly and sensitive. It gives us the opportunity to be ourselves and realize our absolute potential. It tells us, ‘Here you are, immaculate body and immortal soul. Act, grow, kindle the fire of your spirit.’ 

And we have done so. 

When analysing the chaos and randomness of the universe, Einstein famously mused on the possibility of God playing dice. Maybe we are playing dice, and He, smiling, is looking on at our game. 

The human body is a powerful epicentre for achievement of all kinds. There are no limits to its adaptability and ability to improve. Everything depends on the individual. At the core of this centre is the soul, the universe’s most perfect creation, that which is essentially ours. These two entities are not separate and cannot exist independently. Their union is like the tandem of heaven and earth, ocean and shore. They are inseparable and eternal together. 

As Dostoevsky said: ‘And there is only one higher idea on earth, and it is the idea of the immortality of the human soul, for all the other ‘‘higher’’ ideas of life by which humans might live derive from that idea alone.’