Lila ( Sanskrit लीला , līlā IAST ) is a Sanskrit term which literally means “ game ”, “pastime”. It is an important philosophical concept in Hinduism . It is used both in monistic and dualistic philosophies of Hinduism .
In the dvaita schools of Vaishnavism, the term lila is used to refer to spiritual transcendental activities or pastimes of God and His devotees . In the Vaishnava philosophical interpretation of Krishna's lila (deed), they are beyond the perception of the material mind and feelings, and, having a completely spiritual nature, have nothing to do with worldly deeds and the material world. These are divine deeds inexplicable from the point of view of worldly logic .
In advaita and paradiva, lila is used to describe all reality as the result of the creative game of the Supreme Absolute ( Brahman ).
Leela plays a major role in the traditions of worshiping Krishna and Shiva .
In the West, the concept of lilas was used by authors such as Fridtjof Kapra , Alan Watts and Robert Pirsig .
See also
- Rasa lila
- Avatar
- Krishna
- Vaishnavism
- Leela (game)
Literature
- 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 India , 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, ISBN 0-19-509102-7 .