līlā

Lila ( ') or leela () can be loosely translated as "divine play". The concept of lila asserts that creation, instead of being an objective for achieving any purpose, is rather an outcome of the playful nature of the divine. As the divine is perfect, it could have no want fulfilled, thereby signifying freedom, instead of necessity, behind the creation.

The concept of lila is common to both non-dualist and dualist philosophical schools of Indian philosophy, but has a markedly different significance in each. Within non-dualism, lila is a way of describing all reality, including the cosmos, as the outcome of creative play by the divine absolute (Brahman). In Vaishnavism, lila refers to the activities of God and devotee, as well as the macrocosmic actions of the manifest universe.

Translation

There are multiple theories about the derivation of ''lila''. It may be derived from the Sanskrit root ''lal'', which suggests playfulness of children or someone delicate.

According to Edwin Bryant, ''lila'' cannot be translated as "sport" or "game," since those words suggest a motivation of competition. In contrast, ''lila'' is "pure play, or spontaneous pastime,” which has no purpose other than experiencing joy.

Appearance in texts

''Lila'' first appears in the '' Brahmasūtra'' 2.1.33 as "''lokavat tu līlākaivalyam''" (However, t isbut ''līlā'', as ccursin daily experience.) This sutra responds to the objection that Brahman is not the cause of the world because causation requires motive. The reason given is that Brahman's act of creation is ''lila'', in the same way ''lila'' takes place in the world. Shankara, in his commentary, likens Brahman to a king whose needs have been fulfilled, but engages in recreational activity. In another comparison, he says that it is Brahman's nature to create freely as it is our nature to inhale and exhale. Further, ''lila'' is not a necessary attribute of Brahman i.e. Brahman does not have to engage in ''lila''.

In Vaishnavism, lila refers to the activities of God and his devotee, as well as the macrocosmic actions of the manifest universe, as seen in '' Srimad Bhagavatam'', verse 3.26.4:

sa eṣa prakṛtiḿ sūkṣmāḿ
daivīḿ guṇamayīḿ vibhuḥ
yadṛcchayaivopagatām
abhyapadyata līlayā

"As his pastimes, that Supreme Divine Personality, the greatest of the great, accepted the subtle material energy which is invested with three material modes of nature."

Interpretations

Hindu denominations differ on how a human should react to awareness of lila.

In Pushtimarga worship, devotees experience the sentiments of ''lila'' through practices such as adorning the image of Krishna, singing devotional songs, and offering food.

According to a Gaudiya interpretation of the Bhagavat Purana, Krishna's ''lilas'' on earth are a manifest counterpart to his unmanifest eternal ''lila'' in his abode.

Other uses

Lila also includes Raslila plays in which human actors re-enact Krishna and Rama's divine play to remember the deities and experience their presence.

Lila is comparable to the Western theological position of Pandeism, which describes the Universe as God taking a physical form in order to experience the interplay between the elements of the Universe.James B. Glattfelder, ''Information—Consciousness—Reality: How a New Understanding of the Universe Can Help Answer Age-Old Questions of Existence'' (2019), p. 534: "Within the set of ideas related to panpsychism, one can find variations which too have found a place in the history of human thought. For instance, in Hinduism, the notion of ''lila'' is akin to the concept of pandeism".

"The Lila Solution" is a proposed answer to the problem of evil. It suggests that God cannot be blamed for sufferings because God is simply playing without any motivation. Lipner argues that since God is not "playful" by nature, but effortlessly acts as such, God maintains the law of karma and rebirth even while playing.

See also

* Avatar
* Ludus amoris, western mystical conception of divine play
* '' The Mysterious Pastimes of Mohini Murti''
* Radha Ramana
* Ramlila
* Rasa lila
* Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva)

References

Further reading

* ''Philosophies of India'', Heinrich Zimmer and Joseph Campbell, Princeton University Press, 1969.
* ''The Integral Advaitism of Sri Aurobindo'', Ram Shanker Misra, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt Ltd, Delhi, 1998.
* ''The Domain of Constant Excess: Plural Worship at the Munnesvaram Temples in Sri Lanka'', Rohan Bastin, Berghahn Books, 2002.
* ''Purifying the Earthly Body of God: Religion and Ecology in Hindu Indi'', Lance E. Nelson, State University of New York Press, 1998.
* ''The Gods at Play: Lila in South Asia'', William Sturman Sax, ed., Oxford University Press, 1995, .
* "Playing", Richard Schechner, Play & Culture, 1988, Vol. 1, pp. 3–19.
* ''The Gods at Play: Lila in South Asia'', David Mason, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

External links

Maha Lilah : Portuguese version of Gyan Chaupad




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Hindu philosophical concepts
Reality
Play (activity)