Constants

What does the word constant mean? In terms of mathematical sciences a constant is a value that does not change with changing variables. A constant is something that does not change and helps us resolve complex problems of this world. In physical world of ours, where we exist for a specific period, constants play a pivotal role. Gravity, for one is a constant that shapes every moment of our life on this plane of existence. It keeps us hinged to the earth, helps us walk and makes apples fall down on earth and not fly upwards towards sky. The sun in the solar system maintains the planets in their position and the earth does not collide either with Mars or Venus in its moment of madness. All because some constant keeps everything pivoted to its place.

Beyond the physical and mathematical worlds, which are essentially the same because mathematics just explains the physical world in complex equations and explanations, there is a spiritual world. A universe shrouded in mystery and rarely understood by the majority of people who often experience their lives through their five senses only. This is a world where we exist before we are born into the physical world. Some constants exist here too that hold us to the positions destined for us. These constants push, pull and squash us but do not let us move away from the furrow of life. Who and what are these constants that seize and control every moment of our lives without us realizing their existence? Parents are the among the first emotional and psychological constants that hold us through the difficult times when we are both physically and emotionally at the weakest. Parents are not enough to cover the whole nine yards of life so we let other people into our lives and some of them, often a beloved, a teacher, a friend or a mentor becomes a constant to hold the thread of life through this extremely complicated journey that we call life.  

Just like the physical constants, the metaphysical constants remain at a distance to maintain their objectivity and do the balancing act for they are meant to organize our lives. The sun maintains the planets from a distance of about 150 million kilometres from earth, the gravity is sourced at the centre of earth some 6400 kilometres below our feet, our parents let us fly away once we are young adults, and our mentors leave us to this world when we are ready to survive. What does that mean? Probably every constant will only remain constant if it maintains the distance.

This brings me to the most contested conclusion in terms of love. Each of us falls in love and probably keeps falling in love during this brief period we are alive. We go through this experience many a times though we loath to accept this for a whole lot of reasons that we will discuss some other day. But for love to remain eternal and act as a constant we must be separated from the beloved. For love exists not in the mundane but extraordinary. Whenever we stumble we like to believe in that one special person who would not have let us fall but alas we are apart. Such is the power of faith that even when this faith is unrealistic we still want to stick to it. Existence of this faith in our lives keeps us moving through the thick of life.

  If this conviction is that important for life to sail through then why bother validating?  The veracity of this faith is not important; its existence in the first place is the end in itself.  Determining the truthfulness could in fact deprive us of this important buttress of life.

My love, you are the constant in my life and I do not want to know anything beyond this. I have lost and won so much in life that I am no longer afraid of loss nor do I look forward to victory. I am not a loser, I am not a winner. I don’t want to be either.  I don’t even want you to miss me when I am not there besides you because neither I want to be a source of pain for you  nor do I ever want to believe that I am not there besides you. I have nothing to win over you. I got what was for me. You, my love are the constant that will keep me sane through this crazy world. You are my strength, you are my life, you are my sanity, you are my touchstone in life. How can I live upto you is the question that I struggle every moment. I will do well, though, not because of what I am but because of what you mean to me.

Too long for the day ... I close here with my favourite Khayyam:

Ah, my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears
To-day of past Regrets and future Fears --
     To-morrow? -- Why, To-morrow I may be
Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years

(Omar Khayyam translated from Persian by Edwards Fitzgerald)