This is the head of Christ of Michelangelo’s Pieta, usually seen from the side rather than in this arresting full-face perspective. In a rendering whose eloquence itself radiates the miraculous, it conveys epic suffering, but also serenity that such has been endured to open Paradise to all the children of God.

Might this image suggest what the ultimate evolved state of humanity could be? Or should be? Capable of Love that, counter-intuitively, actualizes the Self by acting with regard for the Other that is limitless, and thereby – for the ‘Self’ passes away, but there will always be ‘Others’ – merging with eternity and infinity? In my view, that may be the truest possible meaning of Enlightenment.

As we all know, altruism can be dauntingly difficult in practice. But for inspiration, one may reflect on Michelangelo’s depiction here of how a sublime benevolence might appear.