Assuming that one of the primary reason for the universe to get created is to answer the primordial question that occurred in the divine energy - a question that reverberates in the sub-consciousness of all the living beings - 'Who am I' ?
In one of the self-knowing experiments, during one of the genesis, it manifested part of itself as the universe as a stage and all the souls as the actors. These souls took the skin of different life forms and went about in pursuit of excellence hoping that in one revealing moment of their life - they will know the answer for their existence and the related question - 'Why something exists and not nothing?'. This great divine energy in infinite form is deeply absorbed into the independent life of all the souls and the stage itself.
When each one of the souls, while in pursuit of excellence, realize their ultimate potential and see themselves as part of the divine energy, understand its blissful nature and accept with profound humility that they are not what their 'skins' tell but they are part of the formless, blissful and divine energy itself - a moment of grand awakening happens to them- that they are God himself/herself and their ultimate purpose of live is to know this.
This profound concept of self-realization (this for me is the real enlightenment) is encapsulated in the 4 grand statements or mahavakyias of the Upanishads.They are given below:
1. Prajnanam Brahma – Consciousness is Brahman
2. Aham Brahmasmi – I am Brahman:
3. Tat Tvam Asi – That Thou Are/Art;
4. Ayam Atma Brahma – This Self is Brahman.
The word Brahman has a liberal meaning - God'.
If we accept that the divine energy has created the universe as stage and created body-sheaths over the soul for supporting the pursuit of excellence, the reverse must also be true. That is , if we mentally peel of our body-sheaths and other subtle layers and peek inside we should feel the soul itself and when we further pass our glance beyond the soul , we identify that we are part of the divine energy. When this realization happens - suddenly it is no longer 'Me' or 'I' - it is 'all of US' as part of the divine energy. At this realization, we have dropped 'Ahankara' or the concept of 'I - ness'. 'Ahankara' is the feeling that gives you the feeling of 'you'.
The travel inside or the involution is said to be accomplished by meditative practices. The reverse process of dropping the body-sheath in the mind and gradually identifying with the divine energy is what I call as the GREAT MERGE.
If the above is the ultimate realization that the souls should achieve independently, is it possible that the divine energy has set reminders or clues for us to know this true knowledge about self?
I think the answer to this question is a big 'Yes'. We have at least 4 big clues left by this divine energy. At least 3 out of 4 aspects are the fundamental aspects of all the living beings.
EAT - when the food merges with body and provides energy for all your activities
SLEEP - when you lose the idea of 'you' or 'I-ness' and be in a merged state till you wake up
SEX - when a merge feeling (bliss?) is reached in climax
MEDITATE - This probably is a privilege of the humans only till now. In this process you drop the body-sheath and deep dive into your core and realize that you are not this body or mind. This is more like a self-aware guided(perhaps with the help of an able guru) process that leads us to realize our merged state with the divine energy.
So it is like the infinite divine energy , created strands of itself as soul (consider soul as an IDENTITY for that spun off strand of energy) and applied body-sheath over it and gave it a stage (some part of the universe to pursue their excellence). It created not one strand but billions and zillions from its infinite capacity and put them in their place in this universe with appropriate body-sheaths. And these soul with the new body-sheaths and the 'I-ness' interacts with other similar souls in a manner, best fit with their free-will and go on about living their lives , perhaps unknowing till the moment of awakening or self-realization that - they have to merge at some time in their soulful journey.
With the knowing above, we should be able to deduce that when all or most of the souls have reached their maximum potential through evolution into higher species and involution in the mind, and when the awakening moment happens and they reach their supreme state , the universe will dissolve with the divine energy knowing the answer to its primordial question - 'Who am I?'. And thus the current cycle ends and after a pause a new genesis may start again.
The merging of the awakened/enlightened soul into the divine energy is perhaps called as 'Mukthi' in Upanishads.