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.
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,â which has no purpose other than experiencing joy.
Lila first appears in the Brahmasà «tra 2.1.33 as "lokavat tu lëlÃÂkaivalyam" "à ¤²à ¥Âà ¤Âà ¤µà ¤¤à ¥Âà ¤¤à ¥Â, à ¤²à ¥Âà ¤²à ¤¾à ¤Âà ¥Âà ¤µà ¤²à ¥Âà ¤¯à ¤®à ¥Â", (However, [it is] but lëlÃÂ, as [occurs] in 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:<blockquote>sa eá¹£a praká¹Âtiḿ sà «ká¹£mÃÂḿ <br>daivëḿ guá¹Âamayëḿ vibhuḥ <br>yadá¹ÂcchayaivopagatÃÂm <br>abhyapadyata lëlayÃÂ<br><br>"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."</blockquote>Per the Bhagavata, the highest form of liberation is participation in Krishna's lila.
Samkara argues that Brahman does not create with a self-serving motivation because it is lila, like naturally breathing in and out. Samkara uses the analogy of a king engaged in a game. While the act is conscious and premeditated, it does not have an ulterior motive. However, an act that is lila still involves responsibility, for which God implements the principle of karma. Samkara sees Brahman's lila through individual souls as only containing imagined suffering.
For Ramanuja, while lila does not entail an ulterior motive, it is not a necessary to Brahman. Lila includes God manifesting as an avatara for the benefit of individuals, and so is premeditated.
During raslila plays, human actors re-enact Krishna and Rama's divine play to remember the deities and experience their presence.
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. Gaudiya Vaisnavas practice lilasmarana, or visualization of Krishna's lilas.
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.
"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.