Eternity as a Phenomena

Eternity is the state of being which has no end. It is timelessness beyond the rules of time and space. It is also often referred to as the state which has neither a beginning, nor an end. Eternity and infinity have been associated with strong emotional overtones and sentiments. 

Eternity as a concept has long been the subject of interpretation and various theories. Philosophers around the world, of present times and in history, have tried to grasp the real essence of what eternity is in actuality. This concept has left many people scratching their heads, astonishing them with its continuity, weary them with the everlasting search for those who try to find answers to the phenomena of eternity. 

The concept of the eternal is formed in religious and metaphysical contexts as something that has no origin or end. Eternalistic eschatologies can be found in Eastern and Western spirituality in various forms, and they have had a significant influence on the world’s religions. The majority of eternalistic eschatologies have their roots in the idea of time as an infinite cycle of eternal repetition. Believers aspire to escape from this repetition: the last thing longed for is the individual’s release from the unreal realms of the empirical, temporal, and historical to the eternal realm of spirit. The notion that the universe is in an eternal state of flux, either oscillation or cyclic movement in a closed circuit, is prevalent in all schools of Chinese thinking, for example. The idea in kalpas, or enormous cycles of four stages, through which succeeding worlds appear, prosper, disintegrate, and perish, is central to Indian thought. Greek and Hellenistic literature include similar doctrines.

Various facets of eternity are presented in Greek religion. Although the Homeric Hades appears to symbolize a sorrowful prolongation of earthly existence, there is also an early mention to the Elysian Fields, where the afterlife is considerably brighter. Greek spirituality appears to be characterized by a deep melancholy about the impermanence of life and the emptiness of all things subjected to birth and death. Greeks sought refuge in some form of perpetuation—the perpetuation of fame through epic and story; the perpetuation of youth, beauty, and perfection through art; the perpetuation of life through identification with the immortal god in the many mystery cults; the perpetuation of the mind through philosophic discipline, which dissolves the temporal into the eternal; and, finally, the perpetuation of the mind through the philosophic discipline, which dissolves the temporal into the eternal; and, finally, the perpetuation of continuity of the survival through the eternal and immortal soul. 

Eternity has been linked to the belief of existence forever and the meaning of life that percolates through our days alive. Some people are known to have very short lives but they have lived on through their actions. Eternity is also associated with the idea of an afterlife- a life after death. Pragmatically, the possibility of a life after death seems obscure to many but the universal belief in it is very strong across the world. 

To eternalize oneself through one’s actions is a way of looking at the concept or phenomena of eternity. Many people have become non-existent in this world but continue to live on, through their deeds and their remembrance. One such example is Mother Teresa. The impact of her foundations of Missionaries of Charity has aided millions of people since its establishment. 

William Shakespeare, in his Sonnet 55 ‘Not Marble Nor The Gilded Monuments’, beautifully weaves lines upon the concept of eternity:

“Not marble nor the gilded monuments

Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme,

But you shall shine more bright in these contents

Than unswept stone besmeared with sluttish time.”

He elucidates that the fleeting pleasures of life cannot outlive the art of the artist. The art and its appreciations it derives and makes, live to see the posterity as their onlookers. 

Eternity as a phenomena and its existence in one’s life can be interpreted in a lot of ways. And there are a lot of questions which can be raised when it comes to infinity and eternity. Eternity is unending. But what would this mean, especially since practically every religion promises eternal life in some form or another? Is there such a thing as instant perfection that can be maintained indefinitely? Is there any progress to be made? What would we do if we could do whatever we wanted for the rest of our lives? Aren’t we going to become bored? Would the passage of time appear to be the same? How do you imagine a period of time that lasts forever? Most of these questions remain unanswered but we do know what entities last an eternity: acts of kindness and love.