Destined For Annihilation

By krishnasmercy on November 15, 2025 • ( 0 )

“Again and again the day comes, and this host of beings is active; and again the night falls, O Partha, and they are helplessly dissolved.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.19)

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भूत-ग्रामः स एवायं
भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते
रात्र्य्-आगमे ऽवशः पार्थ
प्रभवत्य् अहर्-आगमे

bhūta-grāmaḥ sa evāyaṁ
bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate
rātry-āgame ‘vaśaḥ pārtha
prabhavaty ahar-āgame

“You ever see these restored videos from like one hundred years back? It might be something simple, like foot traffic in a major metropolitan area. People going to work. People running their shops, which are at street level. Children playing games, riding their bicycles, smiling and just having a good time. Then there are the restored photographs. People going to the beach on a holiday weekend. The clothing is sure different, but the faces are similar. The people do not look much different than the society we live in today.

“I bring this up because the people in those videos and photographs are not in this world. They are long gone. At the same time, they were right in the moment. They were focusing on what they needed to do, in the immediate term. This resembles how we behave today. Someone might view videos of us one hundred years from now and wonder what we were thinking, what we were aspiring to, what we hoped to enjoy in the future.

“That’s just the thing. There is no future. Okay, there is stuff yet to happen today and tomorrow, but the end-result is total destruction. Everything will be gone. Completely finished. As soon as I think of that, I immediately renounce interest in the temporary. It takes some effort to become interested again, if you know what I mean.

“Why am I going to hold resentment against that colleague at work? That politician that I am obsessed with? The competition with friends, to see who has the bigger house, who has more children, who is earning more money? Why does any of this matter? Shouldn’t I be worried about something else? Something much bigger. Something that will last. I must be going somewhere. Can I at least configure the future destination? Why isn’t everyone asking these questions? Are they crazy? Have they gone mad?”

Vedic teachings start from this premise, that there is only sadness, misery, and despair in this world. More specifically, the plight of the individual in the conditioned state has duality, from beginning to end. Excitement and anticipation meeting either success or failure. From success there is renewed enthusiasm towards the next venture. From failure there is sadness and despair. The many instances of duality are packed into the giant duality that is birth and death.

If you knew life is hopeless, what would you do? If you knew that you could not stay here forever, what goals would you set? If you were one day forced to separate from your loved ones, what kind of relationships would you strive for? If you don’t know the answers, in which direction would you turn?

Shri Krishna, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, explains that the picture from our discussion is not limited to a single period of time or group of individuals. The same cycle of appearance and disappearance can repeat across billions of years. Beyond the dissolution of the cosmic manifestation, even, which is guaranteed to occur. After destruction, there is creation. That creation will be populated by living beings. Those living beings will be of the jiva category.

By starting with sadness, with tragedy, with trauma, we can find the best way out of the misery altogether. The goal is to change the category. No longer be subject to duality. Find the transcendental way. Work in a manner that removes the distinction. We see that we are spirit soul. We see that the body does not identify us. We work with detachment, to fulfill our temporary obligations, while maintaining sight on the higher goal the entire time. This was the recommendation to Arjuna, in the call to renounce interest in other kinds of duty and do everything for the satisfaction of Krishna Himself.

सर्व-धर्मान् परित्यज्य
माम् एकं शरणं व्रज
अहं त्वां सर्व-पापेभ्यो
मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.66)

The skeptic might offer the argument that there is no proof that the way recommended to Arjuna is any better than the default. Arjuna emerged victorious in the Bharata War. His enemies were conquered. Still, Arjuna eventually left this world. The destinies were practically identical. The only distinction was time.

For starters, we can consider that the ordinary way, for lack of a better term, already guarantees destruction. Of this there is no doubt. The divine way, the path of sanatana-dharma in the specific implementation of bhakti-yoga, can bring benefits that we already tap into. For instance, we can try chanting the holy names in a routine way: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. We can read on a daily basis. We can acquire a practical realization of the difference between matter and spirit.

As a result, when we run into trouble, we are better equipped to handle it. This means that the previous work provided a lasting result. We can assume that the same results will carry over into the next existence. Some might say this is a reliance on faith, but then there is no way to validate in a manner that will be acceptable to the skeptic firmly entrenched in their position. All signs point to Divinity, based on the immediate benefits, and so the long-term outlook should logically proceed as originally promised.