Alan Watts borrows the Sanskrit notion of lila—divine “play”—to upend the idea of a grim, duty-bound universe. Instead of a cosmic factory churning out souls according to strict blueprints, existence becomes a spontaneous dance, with Absolute Reality donning every mask and costume just for the fun of it. Picture the whole cosmos as a jazz ensemble, riffing off its own themes, constantly improvising without a conductor in sight.

Watts argues that this playful perspective dissolves the old guest-host taboo: the sense that “someone” big and aloof set things in motion and now watches sternly from afar. Reality isn’t lurking with a clipboard; it’s more like an actor in an endless one-man show, hiding behind each persona only to reveal, “Surprise—that was me all along!” The waves frolicking on an ocean aren’t separate from water, just as every living being is a mask through which the divine conceals and reveals itself.

This way of seeing finds modern echoes in everything from viral TikTok challenges—where millions share spontaneous creativity—to the recent surge of “well-being” retreats offering playful plant ceremonies and sound-bath gamification. Even blockbuster culture, with the Barbie blockbuster reminding audiences how freeing it can be to leap into role-play, mirrors lila’s spirit: life as neither tragedy nor pure comedy, but a kaleidoscopic spectacle.

When global gatherings—climate marches, digital art fairs or the Artemis I lunar flyby livestream—spark collective wonder, they’re tiny reflections of lila, moments when the universe pretends to divide itself up just to marvel at its own handiwork. Every laugh, every tear, every flash of insight becomes a note in that cosmic jazz piece: an invitation to drop the heavy act and join the eternal play.