This is a follow up to my previous blog The Atman. This question might arise once you have read and tried to understand the blog: If my real nature is that of Brahman(or Atman), what is the purpose of "my" physical life? Why should "I" go through the struggles of life, follow a sincere disciplined spiritual life leading to gradual spiritual awakening only to realise that "I" am Brahman which "I" already was?
The answer is that this question itself is wrong (please read till the end, you will realise the meaning of it only then). Now this may not sound like a satisfactory answer at first. The answer you all might be expecting is some sort of logical explanation. But what really is an explanation? An explanation is providing some sort of cause to an effect. We see an effect, we want to hear some sort of cause for it. Let's take an example. The grass is wet. Now what type of answer would satisfy me? Something like it rained or the sprinkler was at work or the gardener watered it etc. This satisfies is. We were looking for a cause and we got it.
So why can't we ask for a cause of this whole cycle of life? Such an answer won't work here. Why? The answer given by a particular spiritual path called 'Advaita Vedanta' is the entire cycle of life appears because of Maya (illusion)