Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. CONTENTS vii
3. God at Play LĪLĀ IN HINDU AND CHRIST IAN TRADITIONS 1
4. Part I Līlā as Divine Will and Divine Creativity
5. 1 Play in East and West 21
6. 2 Creating without a “Why” 43
7. 3 God’s Will and the Creative Act 63
8. Part II Grace, Compassion, and Suffering: Some Pastoral Connotations of Līlā
9. 4 Creation, Vision, Bliss 89
10. 5 Līlā and Divine Mercy in the Hundred Verses to Compassion of Vedānta Deśika 109
11. 6 What Does It Mean for the Goddess to Play? 135
12. Part III Some Aesthetic and Dramatic Dimensions of Līlā
13. 7 “You have made me endless, such is thy pleasure” 153
14. 8 The Metaphysics of Emotion 178
15. 9 The Making of the Sacred City 197
16. Part IV Human Playfulness as Imitation of Divine Līlā
17. 10 Looking to the Leader 221
18. 11 Serio Ludere! 244
19. 12 The Serious Subject of Play 264
20. Afterword 289
21. CONTRIBUTORS 299
22. INDEX 303