Why are we here? Yoga is adamant in stating that ignorance leads to all other suffering. But not so much is said about how it all began. Why did I become ignorant? When? How? Find out more here.
Watch my video on this topic here.
If we are eternal living persons, then we are endowed with the divine quality of free will. It’s nonsensical to speak of a person without free will; that would be a robot. Without free will, there cannot be love. Love is meaningless if it’s not optional. For there to be the option of loving, there must also exist the option of not loving.
No sane person would want to be surrounded by robots instead of real people. Imagine having a spouse and children, all just programmable robots, doing everything you want. That would be creepy.
God is no creep. A thousand years ago, Anselm defined God as “that than which nothing greater can be thought.” A non-creepy God is clearly greater than a creepy one.
So, assuming God is not a creep, it makes sense that He too would not like to be surrounded by sycophant robots. Like you, He would prefer to be surrounded by real loving people who are there because they choose to be, in mutual reciprocation and bliss. This is pretty much the generally accepted definition of God’s abode in all theistic traditions, including yoga.
In that scenario, what would happen if a soul decides to not be there? There must be an alternative to make the choice of being there valid. What if I don’t want to be around God? What if I have other plans? This would be reasonable, if unwise.
It is, therefore, necessary for there to be a reality in which the soul can live out its fantasies in varying degrees of forgetfulness of God.
God kindly provides for this with the creation of the material world. That’s why we’re here.
You stay only if you want to. And as soon as you change your mind, you can get out. While you’re here, the Law of Karma means you get your due according to the way you’re using your free will, which is perfectly fair. When you recover your sanity and understand that, by definition, God is the most attractive person in creation and that hanging around Him (and Her) is the greatest thing to do, you can do it. Krishna means “the all-attractive.” Achieving samadhi is just snapping out of this weird idea that it would be better to forget God and live on your own in some self-centered fantasy, misidentifying the self as the body.
Once that is done, ignorance is quickly dissipated and you become liberated.
In the book, The 3T Path (https://3tentesting108.com/books/) you can learn more about the yoga view on soul, God, where we came from, and where we’re going to kickstart your spiritual path.
Look what they’re saying about The 3T Path book: “It’s a spectacular book. I’m experiencing great transformations in my life.” – Elton Orvate