Nityalilā

By Swami Harshananda

Nityalilā literally means ‘eternal sport’.

Vallabhācārya was an important teacher of the schools of Vedānta that lays great emphasis on bhakti or devotion to God as the sole means of God-realization and liberation. He classifies the souls into three types:

1. Pravāha - those who are ever busy with worldly life
2. Maryādā - those who follow the Vedic path strictly
3. Puṣṭi - those who worship the Lord out of pure love engendered only through divine grace.

God brings out a puṣṭi-type of soul out of himself, gives him a divine body like his own and sports with him for all time. This divine play is called ‘nityalilā’ wherein God remains subservient to that soul, giving him the joy of his own company. This joy has been technically called, ‘bhajanānanda’.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore