IN QUEST OF REALITY

heart. They grow naturally when applied to people, but they attain their fullness only when turned towards God. When we mistake the means for the end, we treat temporary relations as if they were eternal. We must, of course, serve our families with tenderness and responsibility; this is part of our moral duty. But the essence of love—its deepest centre and highest purpose—belongs to God alone. Loss brings this truth near. Death, separation, disappointment— none of these shocks are meant to push us away from God. They are reminders of the world’s changing nature. Every human bond, no matter how cherished, is bound to loosen one day—by distance, by time, by death. Only God remains. If we allow grief to harden us, the heart shrinks around its wound. If we allow grief to deepen us, the heart wakes to reality: all that is finite passes; the Infinite endures. When this understanding settles within us, our attachment to God becomes quiet and secure. We discover in Him the one companionship that holds steady in this life and the next. This is a truth affirmed across paths of faith, each in its own language. The Quran reminds us that everything perishes except God. The Gospel teaches us to love the Lord with all the heart, soul, and mind. The bhakti tradition places devotion to the Divine above all else. The message converges: give God the centre. Yet we often do the opposite—we pour the best of our love into what will not last and offer God only forms and words. But love was not created to end in what is temporary; it was given so that, through it, we might taste the fragrance of eternity. Think of our emotions as sacred seeds. They are not meant to die in the soil of worldly ties; they are meant to grow into a tree rooted in the living presence of God. Let us support and care for our families with generosity and patience, for this is a trust we will be asked about. But let the strongest devotion— the love that defines who we are—be reserved for the One who never leaves us. Losses, heartbreaks, and sudden shocks need not weaken faith; they can refine it. They whisper that the world is passing, while God is abiding. If we nurture this awareness, we come to know, with a certainty that steadies the soul, that God alone is our enduring companion—now, and forever.  (This article is written by Prof Farida Khanam.)