Death is the Final Destination, Life is the Journey– The Gita’s Most Unsettling Truth
Riya Kumari | Feb 27, 2025, 23:54 IST
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
Look, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but we’re all hurtling toward the same end. No VIP lane, no secret exit. Death? It’s the final stop, non-refundable, no upgrades available. The Bhagavad Gita puts it with a bit more class—life is the journey, and death is where we’re all getting off. But let’s be real: if life is the journey, then it’s a road trip where nobody packed snacks, the AC is broken, and the driver keeps insisting they don’t need directions.
We spend our whole lives trying to avoid the one thing that was never optional.
We don’t like to talk about death. Not seriously, anyway. We turn it into a punchline, a metaphor, a distant tragedy happening to someone else. We make bucket lists, as if doing enough things will somehow make leaving easier. But the Bhagavad Gita lays it out plainly: Life is the journey. Death is the destination. And we, despite all our plans and fears, are just travelers passing through. It sounds unsettling at first. But maybe that’s only because we’ve spent so much time running from something that was never chasing us to begin with.
1. The Fear We Don’t Admit
Most of our lives revolve around an unspoken fear of endings. We cling to people, titles, routines—convincing ourselves that if we hold on tight enough, they won’t slip away. We make long-term plans, invest in futures, pretend we have control over how the story unfolds. But we don’t. Not really.
And this is where the Gita’s wisdom cuts deep: The only way to truly live is to stop grasping at what was never ours to keep. Our time, our relationships, our very identities—they’re all temporary, borrowed for a while, then returned. The tighter we hold on, the more painful it is when they slip through our fingers. But when we learn to let go, to accept change as natural rather than tragic, we start to understand what freedom really is.
2. Life is Not a Destination
We treat life like a race, a competition, a series of milestones that prove we’re "doing it right." Get the degree. Get the job. Get married. Buy a house. Build something that lasts. But the Gita teaches that life is not about arriving anywhere. It’s about moving through it with purpose, without expectation, without the illusion that reaching the next thing will finally bring peace. Because peace was never at the end of the road. It was always in how we walked it.
3. What You Leave Behind
If nothing lasts, if we’re all just passing through, then what actually matters? The Gita answers this, too: It’s not about what we take with us. It’s about what we leave behind. Not in a material sense—because, let’s be honest, our possessions will outlive us, but they won’t remember us. It’s the kindness, the love, the wisdom we pass on. It’s the way we change the lives of those around us, even in the smallest of ways. We don’t get to choose how long we stay. But we do get to choose how deeply we live.
4. So What Now?
If we truly understood that life was a journey and death was simply coming home, how differently would we live? Would we still waste time proving ourselves to people who will forget us? Would we still carry grudges like they were treasures? Would we still delay joy, waiting for the "right time" as if we were promised more time at all? Or would we finally live—fully, presently, with both hands open, embracing what comes and letting go of what must go? The Gita doesn’t give easy answers. It gives truths that demand something from us. A new way of seeing. A new way of being. A reminder that the point was never to outrun death. The point was to walk this journey with grace, with meaning, and with the quiet courage to accept that when the road ends, we were never lost. We were simply arriving.
We don’t like to talk about death. Not seriously, anyway. We turn it into a punchline, a metaphor, a distant tragedy happening to someone else. We make bucket lists, as if doing enough things will somehow make leaving easier. But the Bhagavad Gita lays it out plainly: Life is the journey. Death is the destination. And we, despite all our plans and fears, are just travelers passing through. It sounds unsettling at first. But maybe that’s only because we’ve spent so much time running from something that was never chasing us to begin with.
1. The Fear We Don’t Admit
Love
( Image credit : Pexels )
Most of our lives revolve around an unspoken fear of endings. We cling to people, titles, routines—convincing ourselves that if we hold on tight enough, they won’t slip away. We make long-term plans, invest in futures, pretend we have control over how the story unfolds. But we don’t. Not really.
And this is where the Gita’s wisdom cuts deep: The only way to truly live is to stop grasping at what was never ours to keep. Our time, our relationships, our very identities—they’re all temporary, borrowed for a while, then returned. The tighter we hold on, the more painful it is when they slip through our fingers. But when we learn to let go, to accept change as natural rather than tragic, we start to understand what freedom really is.
2. Life is Not a Destination
Peace
( Image credit : Pexels )
We treat life like a race, a competition, a series of milestones that prove we’re "doing it right." Get the degree. Get the job. Get married. Buy a house. Build something that lasts. But the Gita teaches that life is not about arriving anywhere. It’s about moving through it with purpose, without expectation, without the illusion that reaching the next thing will finally bring peace. Because peace was never at the end of the road. It was always in how we walked it.
3. What You Leave Behind
Belongings
( Image credit : Pexels )
If nothing lasts, if we’re all just passing through, then what actually matters? The Gita answers this, too: It’s not about what we take with us. It’s about what we leave behind. Not in a material sense—because, let’s be honest, our possessions will outlive us, but they won’t remember us. It’s the kindness, the love, the wisdom we pass on. It’s the way we change the lives of those around us, even in the smallest of ways. We don’t get to choose how long we stay. But we do get to choose how deeply we live.
4. So What Now?
Lovers
( Image credit : Pexels )
If we truly understood that life was a journey and death was simply coming home, how differently would we live? Would we still waste time proving ourselves to people who will forget us? Would we still carry grudges like they were treasures? Would we still delay joy, waiting for the "right time" as if we were promised more time at all? Or would we finally live—fully, presently, with both hands open, embracing what comes and letting go of what must go? The Gita doesn’t give easy answers. It gives truths that demand something from us. A new way of seeing. A new way of being. A reminder that the point was never to outrun death. The point was to walk this journey with grace, with meaning, and with the quiet courage to accept that when the road ends, we were never lost. We were simply arriving.