Meditating on Marcus Aurelius’ Mediations
In Marcus’ world, “all things are interwoven with one another.” [7:9] Unity with multiplicity, conformity with individuality. Even this Roman Emperor grasps the Eastern concept of paradoxes, the “mask of eternity” that exists beyond all duality. Individuals are parts of the whole world, and also parts in the divine omnipresent God. To perceive his direction, or Providence, we must seek our own inner reason. This is the search for Enlightenment, Nirvana, Moksha: not to reunite the part with the whole, but to realize the ultimate unity that already exists between the part and the whole. Thus, Marcus Aurelius’ “world-order” is achieved through a synthesis of individualism and conformity.
His “world-order” uses a model similar to that of Hinduism. “Providence is the source from which all things flow… You yourself are a part of that universe; and for any one of nature’s parts, that which is assigned to it by the World-Nature… is good.” [2:3] Your part is your assigned OM, your bit of universal energy. Even trapped like this, it is still part of God: “God is one, pervading all things.” [7:9] However, unlike Brahman-Atman, this God has direction: Providence. Master-reason is the very manifestation of this godliness, and by listening to it, we listen to the direction of God which leads to harmony with Nature.
Providence does not exist in the future or the past, yet it is eternal because it exists beyond time and space. One who listens to master-reason also transcends these limits. The rational soul “can encompass the whole universe at will, both its own structure and the void surrounding it, and can reach out into eternity.” [11:1] While the body and the passions fade away, the human soul can reach immortality by living in harmony with Nature. This immortality is not literally living forever, but rather living fully in the moment. Like Taoism, this means letting “your mind enter fully into what is being done.” [7:30] If we live fully in each moment of our lives, death becomes meaningless. “Regard what further time may be given you as an uncovenanted surplus, and live it out in harmony with nature.” [7:56]
Individual reason is the window into Providence, the director to the harmony of Nature. When we abide by reason, we abide by Nature. Reason is in this way the voice of God - at the same time the voice of our individual godliness and the voice of a universal God. By listening to master-reason in making our own decisions, we may not necessarily come to the same conclusions, but our conclusions will be in harmony. The individual’s part is essential to the whole, yet the whole forms a single comprehensive unit. Thus “uniformity of opinion” is simply individuals living in harmony with Nature. Conformity with Providence by all requires individual acceptance of the “voice of my true self.” [7:19] The harmony of Marus Aurelius’ world-order is achieved through the synthesis of individualism and conformity.