The Vanity of Existence (Hindi/हिंदी में)

Human existence is marked by inherent vanity — a deep futility that permeates the very fabric of being. This is revealed in our relationship with Time and Space: infinite and indifferent forces that dwarf the finite individual. We live only in the fleeting present moment, which becomes the past instantly and loses all reality. What exists now is soon reduced to nothing, and the present always slips away before it can be truly grasped.Life itself is a cycle of perpetual Becoming without ever Being. We are never truly content, always chasing after desires that rarely satisfy us, and when they do, they leave behind emptiness or new cravings. Each achievement is brief and hollow, overshadowed by the next pursuit. History, both personal and collective, is a record of struggle, where every success is met with obstacles, and all effort seems ultimately futile.Time functions as a cruel reminder that everything fades. Even the most meaningful moments lose their substance, rendering what was once significant less real than what is trivially present. Life is, in essence, an interlude between two vast stretches of non-existence — a thought so jarring that even the simplest minds sense that time might be more illusion than reality. Philosophers like Kant saw this ideality of time and space as crucial to understanding metaphysics, hinting at another realm beyond our temporal experience.Despite this, we often cling to the illusion that the present is real, leading some to argue for a life focused on immediate pleasure. Yet this, too, is folly — what vanishes instantly can hold no lasting value. Our very existence demands ceaseless motion, preventing the rest and peace we constantly seek. Like a man running downhill, a planet orbiting its sun, or a tightrope walker, we must keep moving lest we collapse.In such a world of flux, happiness is impossible. Echoing Plato’s view, life is an unending process of Becoming, never reaching a state of Being. We spend our lives chasing elusive happiness, rarely achieving it, and often regretting the effort when we do. And yet, whether we are happy or miserable ultimately makes little difference — everything passes away, and in the end, life itself is just a fleeting moment, now gone.Life’s endless turmoil is driven by only a few base forces — hunger, sex, and boredom — which power the complex machinery of human affairs. Inorganic matter dissolves through conflict, and organic life survives only through constant external input. In contrast, true peace would lie in an unchanging state, untouched by desire or decay — a realm of eternal stillness, as imagined in Platonic philosophy. This serenity is attainable only through denial of the will to live — the surrender of striving.Our lives resemble coarse mosaics: up close, they lack beauty, and only from afar do they seem meaningful. We pursue goals only to find them empty, then look backward, longing for a past we barely appreciated while it lasted. Most people live "ad interim", constantly preparing for life rather than living it. At the end, they realize the present — the only real moment — was squandered in anticipation.The Will, which governs all, is insatiable. Each fulfilled desire gives birth to another, ensuring we are never satisfied. Will, as the metaphysical essence of life, demands everything and can be satisfied by nothing. When this will takes human form, it usually receives only what is needed for survival — barely enough to sustain the body.Thus, life becomes a task: first, to survive; second, to fill the emptiness that follows. Boredom, a sign of life’s inner void, haunts us once survival is secured. If life had intrinsic value, we would be content with mere existence. But we are not. We find meaning only in struggle, intellectual contemplation (a temporary escape), or fleeting pleasures that vanish once attained.