Lila: Divine Play and the Lightness of Roles

Lila means divine play or sport—the Vedic concept that creation itself is God's playful expression, not serious business. Mirabai embodied this: she played the role of queen, then saint, then beggar, with equal devotion, understanding each as a mask worn temporarily on the eternal self. This radically lightens grief for lost identity. The person you were was a role you played authentically, but not your ultimate nature. You have not lost something real; you have set down a costume. This isn't dismissive—lila honors each role as sacred precisely because it matters within the play while being ultimately impermanent. When you grasp your lost identity as lila, grief transforms: you can mourn the loss of a beloved role while recognizing it was never meant to be permanent. This paradoxically allows deeper appreciation for who you were—honored as authentic performance, not mistaken for your true self.