Lila

The reward is the drama.

— The Tick, from the Amazon TV superhero series “The Tick”

If the universe was built so that God could play (the “lila” theory), then why all the pain, sorrow and suffering? The Self isn’t here to play because the Self has no desires or attributes. Also, if God created the universe for play, why did he make our happiness so temporary? Why not make it easy and provide infinite pleasure for everyone?  

Maybe God created the world for the drama? Like a good movie, God sits back and watches all the conflict and resolution and is intrigued by it. After all, there’s not much interest in having everyone just be happy all the time. A movie without both a protagonist and an antagonist doesn’t make for a very compelling story. Where’s the glory without a struggle? The hero without a conflict?

People think all their pain and suffering is real. Little do they know they’re just movie characters playing out their parts in a dream being dreamt by God. But this brings us to the question, why would God need to be entertained in the first place? God isn’t a person who gets bored and begins to fidget. God doesn’t have preferences, only laws. It all goes back to the mysterious power of maya, for which there is no answer.  

Oh, well.  

From "The Broken Tusk - Seeing Through the Lens of Vedanta"