SUFISM IN THE SPIRITUAL BIOGRAPHY OF LEO TOLSTOY: TATAR CONTEXT
This article discusses some of the issues related to the spiritual heritage of L. N. Tolstoy. The writer is fascinated by the East as the center of various creeds (Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism and Taoism). We note L. N. Tolstoy’s keen interest in Sufism - the mystical and religious stream in traditional Islam. As is known, L. N. Tolstoy, being a rationalist of the educational mindset, was very skeptical of extrasensory, metaphysical basics of understanding God. He acknowledged only the “love of one’s neighbor” as a force capable of overcoming people’s internal mistrust towards each other. Thus, he was deeply interested in moral issues, presented in Sufism with extraordinary sharpness and intensity. In addition, we explain the significant role, which Tatar culture played in the understanding of certain aspects of Sufi doctrine in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. We underline the attention paid to the personality and the works of L. N. Tolstoy by the representatives of Tatar literature of this period. He was the object of philosophical reflections and literary translations into the Tatar language. In a special context, the article describes the activity of the so-called B. Vaisov movement, pursuing the non-violent transformation of the world on the fundamental principles of human morality. L. N. Tolstoy corresponded with one of the representatives of the “God’s Regiment”, met him and they had a long conversation.