<p>This article examines the Integral Advaitic response to the problem of evil through a comparative analysis of Sri Ramakrishna (1836–1886), Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), and Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950). Integral Advaita views the world as God’s self-concealed play of “hide-and-seek” (<i>līlā</i>)<i>,</i> in which God manifests as the universe and all living souls under a cloak of self-fashioned ignorance (<i>māyā</i>) for the sport of self-discovery. This account offers a nuanced theodicy that replaces the retributive and punitive intentions attributed to God in traditional, <i>karma</i>-based Vedāntic theodicies with creative, sportive, and teleological ones. At the same time, significant internal differences within the Integral Advaitic family merit reflection. This article provides an Aurobindonian critique of the “soul-making gymnasium” theodicy presented by Ramakrishna and Vivekananda to highlight two distinct problems. The first—the problem of impermissible dualism—suggests that Ramakrishna and Vivekananda’s reliance on <i>karma</i> as the root cause of suffering stands in tension with their non-dualist Advaitic commitments. The second—the problem of gratuitous suffering—argues that suffering becomes gratuitous under the circular logic of their theodicies, in which the soul, eternally free and one with the Divine, inexplicably subjects itself to suffering only to return to a bliss it already possessed in unmanifest planes of existence. Attending to these problems can deepen our understanding of the Integral Advaitic worldview, which offers a spiritually rich and philosophically sophisticated exploration of divine providence.</p>