believed that past events shaped all events that occur in the present moment, and this chain of events goes all the way back to the beginning of time—the perfection of creation Stoicism emphasizes that an individual should remain detached from life events and natural occurrences of this world because they are beyond human control Instead, one should look at these events with a sense of indifference and apathy Only the aspects of lives within control are worthy of focus (trans Aurelius, 1997) Stoics asserted there is no good or evil in this world, for all good and evil lives in minds and judgments Human judgments about the events cause unhappiness, not the events themselves Events are external to humans and should not be allowed to influence human minds (trans Epictetus, 2004) Such an attitude, according to the Stoic philosophers, would bring inner harmony, tranquility, and happiness It is important to note that the Stoics advocated emotional detachment, which need not mean controlling desires This contrasts with the sadhus, who control their desires and practice detachment from the material world (Atmapriyananda, 2013) Stoics emphasized a state of detachment such that an individual remain calm and content, regardless of what happens in the external world (Vitrano, 2014) The Stoics’ emphasis on the brutal control of human emotions has become a source of debate among scholars (Vitrano, 2014; Winter, 2009) For example, Vitrano’s concern (2014) is that Stoicism encouraged an emotional detachment that may alienate people from friends and other people Emotional detachment could cultivate apathy that would prohibit an individual from experiencing the full range of human happiness 16