Why Do I Exist - What is My Unique Reason for Being Here? The Gita Has an Answer
Riya Kumari | Apr 09, 2025, 00:36 IST
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
So there I was—staring into my half-eaten almond croissant, wondering why I exist. You know, just your typical Tuesday. Existential dread with a side of pastry flakes. I mean, seriously. What am I doing here? Not just here like, in this coffee shop trying to remember if I parked illegally (I did), but like… here-here. Earth. Life. Planet of wildly overpriced oat milk. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “This sounds like a job for therapy.” Fair. But I decided to consult an even older source: the Bhagavad Gita.
We’ve all had those moments—usually in the middle of a mundane Tuesday—when the question hits, uninvited: Why am I even here? Not just here as in "why did I say yes to another Zoom call that could’ve been an email", but here-here. In this life. In this skin. In this strangely beautiful, sometimes unbearable, deeply confusing human experience. And maybe you've scrolled past enough motivational quotes to think you're numb to this question. But the ache doesn't really go away. It waits—for quieter moments. Then it knocks. So let’s ask it for real this time. Why do you exist?
1. You’re Not Here by Accident
The Gita doesn’t waste time with flattery. It tells us straight: you’re not a coincidence. You’re not “born to pay bills and die.” You’re not here to blend in. You are part of something far bigger—and your presence in it is not casual. In the middle of the battlefield, Arjuna—a skilled warrior—breaks down. Not because he’s weak, but because he’s human. He doesn’t want to fight. He doesn’t understand why life is demanding something so heavy from him.
Sound familiar? Different battlefield, same heartache. And Krishna tells him—gently, but firmly—that he’s not here to run away. He’s here to stand in his place. To do his work, not someone else’s. Because no one else can fill that space. You’re not here to copy someone’s journey. You’re here to live yours. Fully, with courage, even when you don’t have all the answers yet.
2. You Have a Role—and It’s Yours Alone
The Gita calls it dharma. Not in the watered-down Instagram way. But in the original sense: your role in the larger whole. The work that’s yours to do—not because it’s easy, not because it’s glamorous, but because it is true. Think of dharma as your soul’s contract. Something deeper than job titles or personal branding.
Maybe your dharma is to create. Maybe it’s to heal. Maybe it’s to listen deeply in a world that doesn’t stop talking. Whatever it is—it comes with no applause guarantee. That’s not the point. The point is that when you live in alignment with it, something inside you feels settled. Not flashy. True. And when you abandon it—because you’re afraid, or distracted, or trying to be someone else—you feel it too. That quiet ache. That restlessness. That feeling of being in the wrong life.
3. Your Job Is the Doing—Not the Outcome
Here’s where the Gita gets really radical. It says: You have a right to action. Not to the fruits of that action. Read that again. Because this is the medicine for the anxiety you didn’t know you were carrying. The fear that if it doesn’t work out, it wasn’t worth doing. We’ve been raised on performance. Taught that success is what validates our existence. That we’re only as good as the outcome.
But the Gita flips the script. It says: Your job is the effort. The sincerity. The integrity. The work itself. The outcome? That’s never been yours to control. This isn’t passive spirituality—it’s liberating responsibility. You do your part with your whole heart. And then you let go. Not because you don’t care. But because you know your value isn’t tied to what others see.
4. It’s Okay Not to Know Yet
Maybe you’re reading this and thinking, “I still don’t know what my role is.” That’s okay. Arjuna didn’t either—and he had God literally sitting next to him. Dharma unfolds. Sometimes through clarity. Often through confusion. You learn it by listening—really listening—to your life. To what pulls you. What breaks you. What gives you energy when everything else drains you.
This isn’t about chasing a purpose like a product. It’s about recognizing the meaning that’s already embedded in your existence. The quiet knowing that grows when you stop numbing and start noticing. You don’t need to rush it. You just need to stay honest enough to keep asking the question.
5. You Are Already Enough to Begin
One of the most overlooked truths in the Gita is this: Arjuna didn’t become someone new before he stepped into his dharma. He didn’t need to fix himself, upgrade himself, become “better.” He simply needed to remember who he was. And so do you.
You are already enough to begin the work that’s yours. Even if your hands shake. Even if your voice wavers. Even if the world isn’t clapping yet. This isn’t about becoming something. It’s about returning to something. Something that was always there, waiting patiently underneath all the noise.
1. You’re Not Here by Accident
Universe
( Image credit : Pexels )
The Gita doesn’t waste time with flattery. It tells us straight: you’re not a coincidence. You’re not “born to pay bills and die.” You’re not here to blend in. You are part of something far bigger—and your presence in it is not casual. In the middle of the battlefield, Arjuna—a skilled warrior—breaks down. Not because he’s weak, but because he’s human. He doesn’t want to fight. He doesn’t understand why life is demanding something so heavy from him.
Sound familiar? Different battlefield, same heartache. And Krishna tells him—gently, but firmly—that he’s not here to run away. He’s here to stand in his place. To do his work, not someone else’s. Because no one else can fill that space. You’re not here to copy someone’s journey. You’re here to live yours. Fully, with courage, even when you don’t have all the answers yet.
2. You Have a Role—and It’s Yours Alone
You
( Image credit : Pexels )
The Gita calls it dharma. Not in the watered-down Instagram way. But in the original sense: your role in the larger whole. The work that’s yours to do—not because it’s easy, not because it’s glamorous, but because it is true. Think of dharma as your soul’s contract. Something deeper than job titles or personal branding.
Maybe your dharma is to create. Maybe it’s to heal. Maybe it’s to listen deeply in a world that doesn’t stop talking. Whatever it is—it comes with no applause guarantee. That’s not the point. The point is that when you live in alignment with it, something inside you feels settled. Not flashy. True. And when you abandon it—because you’re afraid, or distracted, or trying to be someone else—you feel it too. That quiet ache. That restlessness. That feeling of being in the wrong life.
3. Your Job Is the Doing—Not the Outcome
Focus
( Image credit : Pexels )
Here’s where the Gita gets really radical. It says: You have a right to action. Not to the fruits of that action. Read that again. Because this is the medicine for the anxiety you didn’t know you were carrying. The fear that if it doesn’t work out, it wasn’t worth doing. We’ve been raised on performance. Taught that success is what validates our existence. That we’re only as good as the outcome.
But the Gita flips the script. It says: Your job is the effort. The sincerity. The integrity. The work itself. The outcome? That’s never been yours to control. This isn’t passive spirituality—it’s liberating responsibility. You do your part with your whole heart. And then you let go. Not because you don’t care. But because you know your value isn’t tied to what others see.
4. It’s Okay Not to Know Yet
Clarity
( Image credit : Pexels )
Maybe you’re reading this and thinking, “I still don’t know what my role is.” That’s okay. Arjuna didn’t either—and he had God literally sitting next to him. Dharma unfolds. Sometimes through clarity. Often through confusion. You learn it by listening—really listening—to your life. To what pulls you. What breaks you. What gives you energy when everything else drains you.
This isn’t about chasing a purpose like a product. It’s about recognizing the meaning that’s already embedded in your existence. The quiet knowing that grows when you stop numbing and start noticing. You don’t need to rush it. You just need to stay honest enough to keep asking the question.
5. You Are Already Enough to Begin
Journal
( Image credit : Pexels )
One of the most overlooked truths in the Gita is this: Arjuna didn’t become someone new before he stepped into his dharma. He didn’t need to fix himself, upgrade himself, become “better.” He simply needed to remember who he was. And so do you.
You are already enough to begin the work that’s yours. Even if your hands shake. Even if your voice wavers. Even if the world isn’t clapping yet. This isn’t about becoming something. It’s about returning to something. Something that was always there, waiting patiently underneath all the noise.