Meditation is a somewhat evasive term. When we hear the word “mediation” we usually imagine someone sitting still, turning his attention on the inner world but even that is not true in all cases. There are so called "active" practices, which involve the body in some way or another.

There are many types of meditation but we can roughly classify them into three categories - some are simply meant to relax the body; others can help you "attract" or "manifest" your desires; still others can be used as a means for understanding the nature of Mind (or of the Universe) itself.

What is the point of meditation?

Obviously, that would depend on the type of meditation.

I think the goals of the "relaxation" and "manifestation" meditations are pretty much self-explanatory: respectively to relieve the body or to “attract” a desired outcome.

The third type is slightly more complex. There are several aspects to meditation when one attempts to understand the nature of Mind .
Mind is sometimes compared to an eye because it can perceive other things but it cannot see itself. Therefore certain meditations act as a mirror in which your mind can see it's true nature. However, the consciousness of most beings is covered in the "veils" of ignorance - disturbing emotions, anger, selfish desires etc. ... Let's face it, that's probably not a pretty sight :) Therefore some meditations seek to purify mind and remove the “veils” so that the meditator can eventually experience mind in it's full splendor.

Metaphors are often used to explain the purpose of meditation. Some of those are absolutely brilliant. Here is my favorite:

Imagine your mind as a glass of water with some dirt inside. Your daily activities are the equivalent of constantly stirring the content of the glass and the result of course is muddy water. In other words - confusion. Meditation allows the water to become still and the dirt to settle down. Thus you get clear water or clarity.