What is the meaning of life?

From the last post, in the video people are asked what they would do if they only had 24 hours to live? The response was ultimately something that would make them happy, which suggests that the meaning of life is to be happy and seek enjoyment. Yet, in previous posts we have established that spiritual happiness is superior to material happiness and so there must be a higher purpose and meaning to life.

Understanding why we are in the material world.

Scripture tells us that we are fallen souls. We were once enjoying eternally with God in the spiritual world, however selfish and lusty desires caused us to fall as we desired to enjoy separately from God. Being envious of Krishna we desired to be God ourselves and serve only our own desires. Therefore Krishna has given us independence from him by creating the material world and allowing us to live by our own free will. This includes giving us the free will to worship God or not, as real love is not forced. However, as the absence of light is darkness, the absence of god is ignorance and so the material world is full of suffering.

Srila Prabhupada says: The meaning of life is to enjoy. But now you are on a false platform of life, and therefore you are suffering instead of enjoying. Everywhere we see the struggle for existence. Everyone is struggling, but what is their enjoyment in the end? They are simply suffering and dying. Therefore, although life means enjoyment, at the present moment your life is not enjoyment. But if you come to the real, spiritual platform of life, then you'll enjoy.

Nourish the Soul.

In this material world, the body, mind and soul all need nourishment in order to be balanced and happy. The body requires energy from food to sustain the body, the mind requires entertainment and the food for the soul is love. If the soul is neglected, then there is no sense of real enjoyment. Krishna is the original source of Love, which is the highest form of happiness and so the essence of spiritual life is to develop love for God. More coming up in the next post...