Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 8: The Imperishable Absolute
Bhagavad Gita 8.19
भूतग्रामः स एवायं भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते ।
रात्र्यागमेऽवशः पार्थ प्रभवत्यहरागमे ॥
bhūtagrāmaḥ sa evāyaṃ bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate | rātryāgame'vaśaḥ pārtha prabhavatyaharāgame ||
This same multitude of beings, coming into existence again and again, dissolves helplessly at the coming of night, Arjuna, and emerges again at the coming of day.
Modern context
The key word here is 'helplessly'. Beings come and go with the cosmic rhythm without any say in it. This is the condition of anyone who has not found what lies beyond the cycle: carried along by forces larger than themselves, rising and falling like leaves on a river. The verse is not meant to frighten but to clarify. As long as we identify only with what is carried, we are helpless. The next verse speaks of what is not carried.