...
The goal or the meaning of life 19 is possible to interpret from many different perspectives (philosophical, as well as others, such as the esoteric, the mystical, the hermetic, and so on). Thus we could decide amongst the many on offer, which one we would like to adopt. For example: "being one with God", "to realise God in oneself", "to self-realise", just to name a few.
Each of the above exponents is, as a definition of the meaning of life, somewhat acceptable, since each one does reflect the truth to a larger or lesser degree. However, no exposition is able to completely abandon the confines of the mind, which had served define it, as the reaction to the realisation of the meaning of life. It therefore remains a subjective and unsufficiently clear concept to be taken as all-encompassing one. It's these very limiting abilities of the mind as a manifestation of Consciousness, that also limit us in managing to find an optimal solution.
A stance that the purpose-goal-meaning of human life is: to reach a state of Unity with the Creator, Oneness with Reality, i.e. with God..., should therefore be observed and approached exclusively as a personal realisation passed on in the form of a necessary prefix, and not as a definition. That is why we would prefer, much rather than offering an answer to the question - what is the meaning of life?, to leave a blank space, in which the seeker can fill in his or her own silent, definite answer, which would represent the fruit of his or hers addressing God directly, through prayers of gratitude, accompanied by all other prayers offered during meditation (being in silence). The question of the meaning of life opens up the whole new line of questions, such as: Who am I?... What is man?... What is life?... Bearing in mind that even the answers to these questions are essentially rooted and placed beyond the mind, it is impossible to give them in their full, total, all-encompassing form. What is possible, to a degree, is to point at the processes that take place and unfold "inside of man", "through man" and "by the help of man".
To reach the answer to the question - Who am I?, or - Where from and how does the world come into existence?, essentially means to discover the meaning of life. This is possible only when we have freed ourselves from all attachment to our individuality and to life as the form of expression of this individuality.
Man is the union of Consciousness, Vibration, Energy and matter, and still a mere sum of these processes can not define the totality of man. It can only indicate at the manifestations that happen within man, and whose source is - God (Reality, Absolute).
God
(Reality, Absolute) is the one and only that exists, and all else that springs
from Him are the manifestations which we perceive and realise to a lesser or
greater degree. Since manifestations themselves are not Reality, but a mere
illusion, we must transcend them, in order to reach the goal, that is Reality.
To have reached the goal of the permanent state of Reality consciously, i.e. to attain the state - "I am Reality", this means to become one's own goal and creation.
However, paradoxically, man can not reach the state of Reality (God, Absolute), the reason being that there is nothing to reach - he already is in Reality, already he is the Reality. Those who are not able to accept that they are one with Reality can not do so due to their identification with the mind and experiencing the mind's description of Reality as being the essence.
Therefore, the goal of human life is to be one with Reality (God, Absolute), that is to be the very Reality, which in itself represents a goal without a goal. An idea that there is no goal means that everything is already here, "within us". That is why no one but ourselves can "bring" us to it. Various forms of meditation, of prayer, a special way of (spiritual) life, science, religion and so on, can not solve the puzzle of the meaning of life, although they can help. This possibility is given only to an individual. Hence, the well being of the family, town, country, successes in one's own area of activity and so on, essentially have as their goal the progress of development in Creation, the realisation of Reality, an attainment of harmony with Reality...
God (Reality, Absolute) creates manifestations, without there being a single reason for it. Manifestations unravel of their own accord. In this way the processes within the Higher Forms of Consciousness and those of individualisation of Consciousness also unfold by themselves. To become aware that the Higher Forms of Consciousness and the process of individualisation of Consciousness, i.e. Infinite and individual Consciousness - are both an illusion and a spontaneous manifestation - that is the goal of life.
The expression of individual Consciousness on the level of its own manifestations, Vibration-Energy-matter, and with the help of the mind (which is also a manifestation), unfolds in time and space (in other words within the manifestations and the contents of the mind, whose nature is based on principles of duality (yes-no)). From the mind aspect, which relentlessly urges us to question (ourselves) about something or other, there appears to be a reason for everything, and nothing happens by a mere chance. It is for this reason that what we are able to say with our mind is - that insights into the meaning of life are forged and realised in its role - as an instrument for self-realisation of Consciousness, because individual Consciousness can not individualise without the mind and the physical body as a form for expression. Therefore, although it is true that, that in which we live and what we live is nothing but a projection of the mind, our task is, never-the-less, to play our part in that projection right till the very end.
"The person is indeed unhappy who, being ignorant of their True Self, enjoys the sense objects, just as he who, only too late, realises that the food he had just consumed has been poisoned."20 .
19: For more detailed explanation, see: "Mature Consciousness",
Zoran and Milica Gruicic, YuTOPag, Novi Sad, 2002, pg.
11-17
20: "Yoga Vasista Sara - The selected verses", Arunachala, Belgrade,
1998, pg. 5
...