Has the universe been created for entertainment or to prepare us for the afterlife?

[Shri Anil asked: Pādanamaskāraṃ Swami! Please grace us with Your response to the following question. I read in the following verses from the Quran that the universe was not created for play:

“And We created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between them without purpose! That is the consideration of those who disbelieve! Then woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire! (Saad 38:27). We created not the heavens and the earth and all that is between them for a (mere) play (al-Anbiya’ 21:16)”

In Islamic belief, God has made this worldly life as a test and a preparation ground for the afterlife. However, Swami, as per Your knowledge, God created the universe for His own entertainment. How can we correlate these two concepts? At Your Lotus Feet-anil]

Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! It is certainly true that God did not create this world for the play of human beings. So, human beings are not supposed to behave as they like, using their free will. They have to lead their lives in full discipline, as per the instructions given by God in the ethical scriptures. They should not play as they like in their lives. Instead, they should lead their lives as per the instructions of scholarly elders and the ethical scriptures. Life is also a test for the devotion of human beings towards God. The test is whether the souls can overcome worldly attractions and love God in the real sense. All this is true once the world containing human beings is created. But the question is about the intention behind the very creation of the world, even before it was created. The Veda says that God created this world for His entertainment and this statement is related to the situation before the creation of the world. After the creation of the world, above-mentioned verses from the Quran apply very well.

A rich person started a college, just to pass his time by engaging in some useful work. After establishing the college, he made the examination system very strict so that justice is maintained. Here, there are two aims: (1) To establish the college for passing his personal time fruitfully and (2) To establish a strict examination system to maintain justice in the student community. Both these aims do not contradict each other and are, in fact, complementary to each other.

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| Shri Datta Swami | Has the universe been created for entertainment or to prepare us for the afterlife? |

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