Lila

(“play”) A word whose broad literal
meaning denotes any sort of play, game,
or sport, but which in a theological context conveys a fundamental assumption
about how God interacts with the world.
According to this notion, the supreme
deity engages in creation not from any
sense of need, but for the sheer enjoyment and entertainment gained from
creating and taking part in the world.
This is particularly true for the god
Vishnu, especially in his manifestations
as Rama and Krishna. In this understanding, all divine interactions
between God and his devotees (bhakta)
are undertaken in this spirit of play,
although in their ignorance human
beings may not recognize the true
nature of this encounter. Final liberation
of the soul (moksha) comes when the
devotee recognizes the true nature of
this encounter, since after that moment
of realization one’s entire life is a series
of playful interactions with God himself.
One of the ways that contemporary
devotees strive to enter Rama’s and
Krishna’s divine world is through dramas that are themselves known as lilas.
These lilas can be attended for entertainment, but viewing them can also be
a deeply serious religious act. When
child actors portraying the deities are in
costume and in character, they are considered manifestations of the deities
themselves. For ardent devotees, viewing these lilas is an avenue for gaining
God’s grace, and an entry-point into a
privileged, divine world. For an excellent
consideration of how Krishna’s entire
life is considered as play, see David R.
Kinsley, The Sword and the Flute, 1975;
for a description of the Krishna lilas, see
John Stratton Hawley, At Play with
Krishna, 1981; and Anaradha Kapur,
Actors, Pilgrims, Kings, and Gods, 1990.
See also Ram Lila.