Why is Playfulness an Essential Concept of Life?

We always recall our childhood days to be the most memorable. Back then, we were full of joy and playfulness. But as we grow up, our playful nature fades, and we start carrying a dull face around.

This article, using Lord Krishna’s life as an example, tries to explain the essence of playfulness in our life. It also suggests simple ways to revive our playful nature.

Today is Krishna Janmashtami.

People all around the world are celebrating this auspicious and joyful event. The day, when the most beautiful and colorful incarnation of the Supreme God had arrived in this world by the name Krishna.

Devotees and yogis still remember him in different forms. Stories about his Leela’s will continue to be among us throughout time. These stories seem to have some occult power. That’s the reason whenever people hear them, it calms down their minds and puts a smile on their faces.

One of the most valuable lessons that Krishna’s life teaches us – is to be in a state of playfulness while performing your dharma (your duties).

This state of playfulness and how it is relevant to our present life is the central subject of this article. Krishna’s Life is a perfect example, showing how to be playful even in an unfortunate situation and dance joyfully with life.

Understanding Playfulness

Playfulness is the inherent nature of all living creatures. We can even restate it in a much bigger picture as the state of mother nature is itself playful.

The five elements of the universe are in constant play. It is this play that created rivers, winds, seas, forests, and ultimately this Life.

Have you ever observed a small child playing with his toys? First of all, nobody teaches a child to play. Still, we can observe him playing. They do so naturally.

For them a large cardboard box becomes a castle, toys become alive as their best friends and the entire room of non-living stuff transforms itself into an entire city. All this is because of the child’s powerful imagination and creativity in the state of being playful.

Modern psychology and the ancient philosophy of Vedanta have different ways of defining this state of playfulness. But to completely understand and realize it, one has to look deeper inside himself. As we all have passed through childhood that playful nature is just faded, but it is still here.

What does it mean to be playful?

Being playful is our natural way of learning and effective problem-solving. It not only enhances our imagination and creativity but also helps us to create a strong social bond with others.

We have developed a thought that if a person is acting playful and humorous, he is just an irresponsible person. But anyone, who deliberately chooses the playful path of performing his daily tasks with full awareness; signifies that he has taken the driving seat of solving his problems. He no longer accepts the slavery or bondage of the external world. Every rule and restriction this world is trying to impose transforms itself into something that allows him to play well with his Life.

Nowadays, we live in a world where most adults are working in auto-pilot mode. They have shut down all the doors of creativity and imagination. They willingly accept external problems that can probably plague their life and beliefs. (Tell me, why do you read a newspaper?)

I believe that play isn’t just for kids anymore, adults can also use it easily to solve the clinging daily problems and win over the mind’s thoughts. If you are successful in reviving your playful nature, your Life can be similar to that of Krishna.

In Krishna’s life stories, worse things happened in front of Him; heart-breaking departure from his beloved (Radha) and loving mother(Yashoda), the war of Kurukshetra or the death of his entire Yadav clan. Still, through all these difficult moments, Krishna was carrying a divine smile and was completely untouched.

Todo’s for a Change

For the devotees of Krishna, continuously recalling his name in their mind is enough to feel that state of playfulness. This is the reason why his devotee sing and dance in temples on his bhajans and Yogis meditate with his name.

Another way can be through music and dance. We all are aware of the power of music. A single song can regulate your mood and can even let you forget all the worries of your past. The joy that we can feel after listening to a piece of music is also the manifestation of our playful nature.

Lastly, you can awake your state of playfulness by the power of knowledge alone. This may require some practice. You can train yourself in such a way that your mind never gets attached to external thoughts and stays in an unbreakable calmness.

Conclusion

Imagine you are preparing for an examination or a company’s product launch; you have just 6 months to prepare yourself!

There could be two approaches to presenting yourself on the final day. In the First approach, you push yourself very hard at your work; pressurizing your mind and body with strict rules and deadlines. The second approach could be, you accept all the facts available to you(including the unpredictability of the result) and playfully go through the entire process of your preparations. Making sure there shouldn’t be a single moment when you are not enjoying your work.

What do you think?

Which approach would give the best results?

I believe – if one has not diverted from his goal, both can achieve success. But, the latter approach, the playful one, is preferred.

One who has followed the first approach will be broken; if he faces failure. On the other hand, in the playful approach, one becomes independent of the results themselves. Why? Because he became less concerned with the results and his enjoyment was in the continuum. So in the end, there is no clingy attachment to work, and the mind’s state remains the same even after the result.

This is the same playful approach, I could see throughout Krishna’s life and what He wanted us to learn.

As Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev puts in,

” When you are playful, you are not entangled with the things you do. Once you are not entangled with them, you do not accumulate karma. Then the process of living becomes liberating. With the activity that you perform, you are no more doing karma – you are doing yoga. Once you are doing yoga through the day, life becomes effortless. “