hindu-devotionWe're still mapping where this idea was first discussed. Key passages and related ideas below.
Divine Play (Līlā)
Why is there a world? For the sheer free joy of it — creation as the divine at play.
Līlā means 'play,' and it is the tradition's most graceful answer to why there is a world at all. The divine creates not out of need, lack, or obligation — what could the infinite lack? — but freely and joyously, the way a person plays or an artist creates for the delight of it. The world is God's play. The image softens the problem of creation into something spontaneous and free rather than driven or necessary.
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Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)
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