The speaker(Raghavan Dhandapany) in the video is not saying that life is meaningless. He is using impermanence to question how we seek meaning, not to deny that meaning exists. His core point is: if everything changes and ends, then chasing status, wealth, and ego-based goals as if they were permanent is a mistake—but that doesn’t mean nothing matters. It means we must be wiser about what we live for.
1. Does Material Success Have No Meaning?
The speaker’s message is usually closer to this: material success is real but not ultimate.
Money, awards, promotions, and fame are all impermanent states—they rise and fall, just like health, mood, and reputation.
If you cling to them as if they will last forever, you set yourself up for disappointment and suffering when they inevitably change.
So he is not saying, “Don’t succeed” or “Don’t work hard.” The deeper teaching is:
Use success as a tool, not as your identity.
Let material achievements serve growth, contribution, and wisdom, instead of becoming the only measure of your worth.
In many spiritual and philosophical traditions (Buddhism, Stoicism, even parts of modern psychology), the problem is not success itself, but attachment—the belief that “I’ll be happy only if I get and keep this thing.”
2. In a World of Impermanence, Does Anything Matter?
Impermanence means everything changes—relationships, careers, bodies, countries, even planets. This can sound depressing at first: “If everything ends, what’s the point of doing anything?”
But traditions that take impermanence seriously usually reach the opposite conclusion:
Because nothing lasts, this moment is incredibly precious.
Because people, chances, and experiences are fleeting, your kindness, presence, and choices today matter even more.
Buddhism says: clinging to what cannot last causes suffering, but acting with compassion and awareness brings freedom and meaning, even though life is temporary.
Stoicism says: you can’t control outcomes or the future, but you can always choose to act with virtue—wisdom, courage, justice, self-control—right now.
So in a life of impermanence:
What loses meaning: the illusion of total control, permanent security, and eternal status.
What gains meaning: growth, love, ethics, service, learning, presence in the moment.
The speaker’s intention is to move us away from shallow, ego-centered meaning and towards deeper, present-based meaning.
3. Is It Possible to Live Without Any Desire?
From a human and psychological point of view, it is almost impossible to live with no desire at all.
We desire safety, food, rest, connection, creativity, understanding. Desire is tied to survival and motivation.
Even the wish “I want no desire” is itself a desire—for peace or freedom.
Different traditions handle this in intricate ways:
Buddhism: It targets craving and attachment (tanha), not every simple preference. The path is to gradually let go of obsessive, clinging desires that claim “I must have this or I’m nothing,” not to become a robot.
Stoicism: It distinguishes between unhealthy, uncontrolled desires and rational desires aligned with virtue (like wanting to be honest, brave, fair).
In practical life, a healthy approach is:
Don’t try to kill all desire.
Learn to see desire clearly, so it serves your values rather than enslaving you.
You can ask:
“Does this desire expand my life, or shrink it?”
“Is this desire in line with who I want to be, or is it just ego, fear, comparison, or impulse?”
The speaker’s likely message: don’t be ruled by blind desire. Let desire become conscious, guided by wisdom and an understanding of impermanence.
How to Live Wisely With Impermanence and Desire
Living wisely in a changing world does not mean rejecting success or killing all desire. It means seeing clearly that everything is temporary, and then choosing how to live in a way that feels honest, kind, and grounded. Here are some practical ways to do that.
1. See Change as Normal, Not as an Enemy
Most of our suffering comes from expecting life to stay the same. Jobs change, bodies age, people move on, plans fall apart. When you treat change as a personal insult, every shift feels like a disaster. When you see impermanence as a natural law, you stop taking it so personally.
You can train this mindset by simply watching small changes: your breath, your moods during a day, how thoughts appear and disappear. This gently reminds you that “this too will pass”—both the pleasant and the painful. Over time, you become less shocked by change and more flexible in responding to it.
2. Let Impermanence Make You More Present
Knowing that nothing lasts is not meant to depress you; it is meant to wake you up. If this moment, this person, this opportunity will not be here forever, then it deserves your full attention now.
Instead of scrolling through life on autopilot, you begin to treat everyday experiences as unique: a conversation with a parent, a meal with a friend, a quiet evening alone. Impermanence turns ordinary moments into something precious, and gratitude starts to feel more natural than complaint.
3. Redefine Success Beyond Possessions
In a world obsessed with results, it is easy to equate success with money, titles, or recognition. But all of these can be lost. If your entire identity rests on them, you will constantly fear change.
Living wisely means shifting the focus from “What do I own?” to “Who am I becoming?” You can still build a career, grow your income, or pursue big goals—but you measure success more by your character: Am I honest? Kind? Courageous? Consistent? Those qualities remain meaningful even when circumstances change.
4. Turn Desire into a Compass, Not a Master
Desire is not the enemy. It is part of being human. You want to learn, love, create, improve. The problem starts when desire becomes a master instead of a guide—when you believe “I must get this outcome or my life is worthless.”
A wiser approach is to use desire as a compass:
Let it point you toward growth, service, and creativity.
Hold outcomes lightly. Do your best, but don’t attach your entire self-worth to winning, impressing others, or never failing.
You can still have ambition, but it becomes cleaner—less about ego, more about expression and contribution.
5. Notice the Difference Between Craving and Healthy Wanting
Not all desires are equal. Some feel like panic and addiction; others feel like a calm pull in the right direction. Craving says, “I’ll die without this.” Healthy wanting says, “This matters to me, and I’ll move toward it, but I can still be whole without it.”
Learning to tell these apart is a big part of living wisely. When you feel restless, ask yourself:
Am I chasing this to fill a hole in my self-esteem?
Am I comparing my life constantly to others?
Or is this a genuine, values-based direction that will make me a better human being?
The more you choose the second type, the more peaceful your desires become.
6. Use Loss and Change as Teachers, Not Just Wounds
Everyone faces endings: the end of relationships, projects, roles, and seasons of life. At first, loss only hurts. But with time and reflection, it can also teach. Impermanence can show you what truly matters and what was never really yours to control.
Instead of asking only, “Why did this happen to me?” you can also ask, “What can I learn from this? How can this pain deepen my or clarity?” This doesn’t erase grief, but it stops you from being defined by it.
7. Act Today, Even If You Don’t Feel Ready
Understanding impermanence and desire is useful only if it changes how you live. If nothing is guaranteed, then waiting for a perfect moment is a trap. You don’t need total certainty to take a step.
Living wisely means:
Saying the kind word now, not “someday.”
Starting the project now, even if you are afraid.
Letting go of what is clearly unhealthy, even if your mind tries to bargain.
You accept that fear and doubt will be there, but you move anyway—because time is passing whether you act or not.
When you put all of this together, living wisely with impermanence and desire looks like this: you know everything changes, but you still care deeply. You allow yourself to want things, but you are not destroyed if they end or change. You build a life not on the illusion of control, but on clarity, values, and the willingness to fully show up for the moments you are given.
Credible Resources
On impermanence (Buddhist teaching):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCS4NsCdQaM[youtube]
On why everything changes (impermanence explained simply):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIMIchgjvmA[youtube]
On the beauty of impermanence in daily life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhrAX39XFuU[youtube]
On Stoicism and Buddhism on desire and impermanence:
https://raffaellopalandri.substack.com/p/stoicism-and-buddhism-on-impermanence[raffaellopalandri.substack]
On the philosophy of desire:
https://www.thephilosophyofeverything.com/blog/2023/11/18/the-philosophy-of-desire[thephilosophyofeverything]
On impermanence (Buddhist teaching):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCS4NsCdQaM[youtube]
On why everything changes (impermanence explained simply):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIMIchgjvmA[youtube]
On the beauty of impermanence in daily life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhrAX39XFuU[youtube]
On Stoicism and Buddhism on desire and impermanence:
https://raffaellopalandri.substack.com/p/stoicism-and-buddhism-on-impermanence[raffaellopalandri.substack]
On the philosophy of desire:
https://www.thephilosophyofeverything.com/blog/2023/11/18/the-philosophy-of-desire[thephilosophyofeverything]
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