Lila (Sanskrit: लीला līlā) or leela (/ˈliːlə, ˈlaɪlə/) can be loosely translated as “divine play”. 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 the dualistic schools of Vaishnavism, lila refers to the activities of God and his devotee, as well as the macrocosmic actions of the manifest universe, as seen in the Vaishnava scripture Srimad Bhagavatam, verse 3.26.4

sa eṣa prakṛtiḿ sūkṣmāḿ daivīḿ guṇamayīḿ vibhuḥ yadṛcchayaivopagatām abhyapadyata līlayā

“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.”