Augustine is a name that many will remember. He has been
leading a life that is humanly. He has enjoyed the human life following the
desires that was considered by him as the inner voice. There was a moment in
his life in which he listened to the true inner voice, at least as claimed by
Augustine.
For him God’s voice can be heard only when one turns to
oneself. God cannot be seen outside of us. Our human structure becomes the
source of our intimate relationship that we can establish with God. Probably
one can understand this inner voice when she first follows her desires and then
listens to the true inner voice.
He became a strong opponent of Manichaeism which was his house
earlier. A strong supporter becomes an antagonist. Great people always have two
views. The later views are juxtaposed to the former views. St. Paul was a
strong believer and ardent supporter of Judaism. And on a sudden day, he becomes
the supporter of Christianity. I also think of Wittgenstein – the best example
of the early and later writings. Now every philosopher is claimed to have such
an early and later… A before and After… If we want to be famous, if not philosophers,
should we have to have an early and later life that is opposed to each other?
The division is not only between the before and after, but
inner and outer, between the secular and the religious – The two cities of
Augustine are very famous and continue its influence one way or the other in
the contemporary discussions. Can we not live without binaries?
Augustine’s influence has been tremendous that one can learn
from his personal life or his philosophical writings. He may have lived in the
4th and 5th century, yet he is not far from us. Many of
the contemporary thoughts can be traced back to him. He is so close to us, may
be also because Plato who lived earlier than Augustine is closer to us.
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