--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Where are they all going? What for? Do…" description: "\"“Where are they all going? What for? Do they never hear the rhythm of the wheels or see the bare plains outside the windows? They know everything there..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/victor-pelevin-18013_god-exists_where-are-they-all-going-what-for-do-the_1536720.png" --- # Where are they all going? What for? Do they never hear the… ![“Where are they all going? What for? Do they never hear the rhythm of the wheels or see the bare plains outside the windows? They know everything there is to know about this life, but they still move on along the corridor, from the W.C. to their compartment, from the lobby to the restaurant…” quote by Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/victor-pelevin-18013_god-exists_where-are-they-all-going-what-for-do-the_1536720.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/victor-pelevin-18013_god-exists_where-are-they-all-going-what-for-do-the_1536720.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/victor-pelevin-18013_god-exists_where-are-they-all-going-what-for-do-the_1536720.png) > ““Where are they all going? What for? Do they never hear the rhythm of the wheels or see the bare plains outside the windows? They know everything there is to know about this life, but they still move on along the corridor, from the W.C. to their compartment, from the lobby to the restaurant, gradually transforming today into one more yesterday, and they think that a God exists who will reward them or punish them for it.”” [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People drift through routine, seeking meaning in external rewards, while missing present reality. **In simple terms:** Life is routine; people seek external validation. Key Takeaway Live mindfully, question imposed narratives. Themes existentialism routine meaning Mood poignant contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - mindfulness practice - creative expression - community building - critical reading Key Concepts alienation spiritual emptiness social conformity Questions to Reflect On - What routines distract you from the present? - How do you define personal purpose? A Different Perspective May overgeneralize human experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-exists/) [Know Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Corridor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-corridor-5713760/) [Think God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-god/) [Transforming Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transforming-today-5713759/) [Yesterday Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday-think-1507835/) ## Related quotes > [If you didn't know God exists, you didn't know much about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-quperlier/if-you-didn-t-know-god-exists-you-didn-t-know-much-about-life/) [Simon Quperlier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-quperlier/) > [Do you really think who I am today is still the same as who I was yesterday ? If you think like that ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skylerbling/do-you-really-think-who-i-am-today-is-still-the-same-as-who-i-was/) [Skylerbling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skylerbling/) > [If you look back at yesterday and think it was a big deal, then you haven't done anything today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-osterman/if-you-look-back-at-yesterday-and-think-it-was-a-big-deal-then-you/) [Cat Osterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-osterman/) > [Maybe the memory does play tricks. Increasingly, I'm thinking, 'What was their name? I knew that name yesterday.' I think that's what happens. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dudley-moore/maybe-the-memory-does-play-tricks-increasingly-i-m-thinking-what-was/) [Dudley Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dudley-moore/) > [If you knew me yesterday, please do not think that it is the same person that you are meeting today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/if-you-knew-me-yesterday-please-do-not-think-that-it-is-the-same/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [I don't really think about anything too much. I live in the present. I move on. I don't think about what happened yesterday. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-anderson/i-don-t-really-think-about-anything-too-much-i-live-in-the-present-i/) [Pamela Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-anderson/) > [We over-exaggerate yesterday. We either think it was better or worse than it was - you know, the good old days. We over-estimate tomorrow;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/we-over-exaggerate-yesterday-we-either-think-it-was-better-or-worse/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [The moment is everything. Don't think about tomorrow; don't think about yesterday: think about exactly what you're doing right now and live it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-whelan/the-moment-is-everything-don-t-think-about-tomorrow-don-t-think-about/) [Wendy Whelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-whelan/) > [“Dont rely on yesterday, and never think too much of the future, but make today a happy moment of your life, and this will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-boakye/dont-rely-on-yesterday-and-never-think-too-much-of-the-future-but/) [Kwame Boakye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-boakye/) > [“Think of a new day and think of a new purpose. Think of a new reason out of the reasons of yesterday. Think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/think-of-a-new-day-and-think-of-a-new-purpose-think-of-a-new-reason/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [“But where was God now, with heaven full of astronauts, and the Lord overthrown? I miss God. I miss the company of someone utterly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/but-where-was-god-now-with-heaven-full-of-astronauts-and-the-lord/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I miss God. I miss the company of someone utterly loyal. I still don't think of God as my betrayer. The servants of God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-miss-god-i-miss-the-company-of-someone-utterly-loyal-i-still-don-t/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Listen - God only exists in people's minds. Especially in Japan, God's always been kind of a flexible concept. Look at what happened after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/listen-god-only-exists-in-people-s-minds-especially-in-japan-god-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“I think that God that we have created and allowed to shape our culture through, essentially Christian theology is a pretty villainous creature. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-think-that-god-that-we-have-created-and-allowed-to-shape-our/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“It's not man's job to think about whether God exists or not, especially when you know that right in front of your eyes one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eka-kurniawan/it-s-not-man-s-job-to-think-about-whether-god-exists-or-not/) [Eka Kurniawan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eka-kurniawan/) ## More by Victor Pelevin > [There's a scientific hypothesis that every person's name is a primary suggestive command that contains the entire script of their life in highly concentrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/there-s-a-scientific-hypothesis-that-every-person-s-name-is-a-primary/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“Right in the centre was a tall bell tower of white stone, from which long ago some princess had leapt onto the stones below,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/right-in-the-centre-was-a-tall-bell-tower-of-white-stone-from-which/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“I think the first glimpse of my true personality was the moment when I realised I could aspire beyond the thin blue film of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/i-think-the-first-glimpse-of-my-true-personality-was-the-moment-when/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [How can non-existence get sick of itself? Everytime you wake up, you appear again out of nowhere. And so does everything else. Death just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/how-can-non-existence-get-sick-of-itself-everytime-you-wake-up-you/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“In itself a wall on which a panoramic view of a non-existent world is drawn does not change. But for a great deal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/in-itself-a-wall-on-which-a-panoramic-view-of-a-non-existent-world-is/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“Comrades in the struggle! The position of modern man is not merely lamentable; one might even say that there is no condition, because man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/comrades-in-the-struggle-the-position-of-modern-man-is-not-merely/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [I am closest of all to happiness—although I won’t attempt to define just what it is—when I turn away from the window and am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/i-am-closest-of-all-to-happiness-although-i-won-t-attempt-to-define/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“I and this entire world are nothing but a thought someone is thinking,” the bear said in a quiet voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/i-and-this-entire-world-are-nothing-but-a-thought-someone-is-thinking/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“My youthful dreams of the future were born from the gentle sadness of those evenings, far removed from the rest of life, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/my-youthful-dreams-of-the-future-were-born-from-the-gentle-sadness-of/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [There are no philosophical problems, there is only a suite of interconnected linguistic cul de sacs created by language's inability to reflect the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/there-are-no-philosophical-problems-there-is-only-a-suite-of/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“Of course, you don't turn into a shit just because you buy a Mercedes-600. It's the other way round: the reason you can afford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/of-course-you-don-t-turn-into-a-shit-just-because-you-buy-a-mercedes/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“...what are they but the voice of history multiplied by millions of televisions?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/what-are-they-but-the-voice-of-history-multiplied-by-millions-of/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [The author's opinions do not necessarily coincide with his point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/the-author-s-opinions-do-not-necessarily-coincide-with-his-point-of/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“I was aware that I was on the moon, but the immense distance separating me from the earth was a pure abstraction for me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/i-was-aware-that-i-was-on-the-moon-but-the-immense-distance/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“The USSR, which they'd begun to renovate and improve at about the time when Tatarsky decided to change his profession, improved so much that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/the-ussr-which-they-d-begun-to-renovate-and-improve-at-about-the-time/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) [Explore all 28 Victor Pelevin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) ## More God exists quotes > [“Quotes By Transcendologist Kurt Kawohl 1941 - If the medieval practices and the medieval beliefs of Christianity, Judaism and Islam that are based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-kawohl/quotes-by-transcendologist-kurt-kawohl-1941-if-the-medieval-practices/) [Kurt Kawohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-kawohl/) > [If you burn yourself out in two years of intense selfless giving, what good is that if you could have given 20 years? Set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-burn-yourself-out-in-two-years-of-intense-selfless-giving-what/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Most witches don’t believe in gods. They know that the gods exist, of course. They even deal with them occasionally. But they don’t believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/most-witches-don-t-believe-in-gods-they-know-that-the-gods-exist-of/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I don't spend much time thinking about whether God exists. I don't consider that a relevant question. It's unanswerable and irrelevant to my life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/i-don-t-spend-much-time-thinking-about-whether-god-exists-i-don-t/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [“It's not man's job to think about whether God exists or not, especially when you know that right in front of your eyes one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eka-kurniawan/it-s-not-man-s-job-to-think-about-whether-god-exists-or-not/) [Eka Kurniawan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eka-kurniawan/) > [“You are someone else's proof that God exists." -from The Secret of Mago Castle, available October 2014”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-tinkle/you-are-someone-else-s-proof-that-god-exists-from-the-secret-of-mago/) [Rebecca Tinkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-tinkle/) > [“By night an atheist half believes in God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/by-night-an-atheist-half-believes-in-god/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [“And suddenly there came a second, when somehow for the first time I saw (as if a door had opened from a dark room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seraphim-rose/and-suddenly-there-came-a-second-when-somehow-for-the-first-time-i/) [Seraphim Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seraphim-rose/) > [What do I believe? I believe in God, if he exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/what-do-i-believe-i-believe-in-god-if-he-exists/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [As long as God does not intervene in the contemporary universe in such a way as to violate physical laws, science has no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/as-long-as-god-does-not-intervene-in-the-contemporary-universe-in/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [The evidence of God exists in the roundness of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/the-evidence-of-god-exists-in-the-roundness-of-things/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [Either God exists or He doesn't. Either I believe in God or I don't. 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