The meaning of the game
Our perceptions come to us through the mechanisms of the mind and intellect, which can be modified by adding, dropping or changing some of the input material. At the same time, the sense organs cover no more than one millionth of the entire spectrum of information surrounding us. The world as we see it at any given moment is only a small fraction of countless different events, each of which can be perceived in an infinite number of ways, since the number of combinations in which mind and intellect can interact is also infinite.
Western science has long specialized in the study of the sensory realm: the material world accessible to perception by the senses. The goal of material science is to find unifying principles that hold true throughout the cosmos, regardless of space and time. For example, the light that comes to us from distant galaxies is hundreds of millions of years old, but it obeys the same laws as the light from our Sun, which takes only nine minutes to reach us.
Usually such principles are expressed in the form of formulas, such as E = mc2. From diversity, we strive for unity, expressed in these formulas. The periodic system of chemical elements, which includes more than a hundred fundamental structures of the organization of matter, can serve as a symbol of Western science.
What is important is the trajectory that the player's symbol describes in its movement through the fields of the board. Understanding the structure of this pattern and the nature of the planes through which it passes is necessary for the player to become more fully aware of the laws on which the game is based.
There is no death in this game: there are ups and downs, there are vibration level changes, but no death. The playing spirit never dies. The body is its symbol, passing from one plane to another, and only it is subject to change. The individual "I" is a limited manifestation of the Lord, the Higher "I", the Cosmic Consciousness. The Divine resides in the deepest essence of every person and cannot be excluded from consideration. Man is a living unity of soul and body; the player and his symbol on the playing board form the same unity. The end of the game comes only after reaching the Cosmic Consciousness - the eternal state, the path from which there is no return. Here the player merges with the Divine Existence beyond forms and qualities. This is liberation. Death is only a change of form, but the spirit always remains unchanged. Even on the material plane there is no death, since matter is neither created nor destroyed, only a change in the form of existence is possible. All these changes are illusory, being transient and successive states of the material world, which also serves as one of the aspects of the existence of the Supreme Being, a reflection of the Higher Self.
If we consider the game as a microcosm, then we will find in it a reflection of the entire octave of the macrocosm. And just as in a living organism energy moves from plane to plane, from conception to birth, from childhood to youth and further to adulthood and old age, so the player acts based on the seven centers of psychic energy, moving up and down from chakra to chakra, which is accompanied by corresponding changes in his behavior at the physical level.
Human life is a sequence of cycles. During the first seven days, all the processes necessary for conception are completed, the next seven months are spent on the formation of the body in the womb. Then there are seven main cycles, each of which consists of seven years. Together they make up one complete lunar cycle, during which the energy of a person sequentially passes through the corresponding psychic centers. In the game, each of these seven-year cycles is represented by one of eight horizontal rows.
During the first cycle, from birth to seven years, the player is almost completely fixed on himself.
In the second cycle, from seven to fourteen years old, relationships are established with the outside world, with friends, an interest in the opposite sex awakens. An aesthetic sense and interest in the arts begins to form. At this age, the player is at the fantasy level.
In the third cycle, lasting from fourteen years to twenty-one years, the player is passionate about the search for his "I", he strives for strength and power and identifies himself with one or another ideological group.
During the fourth cycle, from twenty-one years to twenty-eight, the player begins to show responsibility. He becomes able to understand other people and appreciate their qualities.
In the fifth cycle, from twenty-eight years to thirty-five, he begins to teach others from experience, often in connection with parental responsibilities.
In the sixth cycle, lasting from thirty-five years to forty-two, the player becomes an observer of the flow of his energy, he surveys all his affairs in the light of the experience gained.
In the seventh cycle, from forty-two to forty-nine, he reaches a sufficient level of development, and his life now serves one purpose - to find the Truth and connect with it.
This is a normal course of human development, but the environment surrounding the player from birth leaves such a strong imprint on his thinking, and on his path, determined by the karma die, he is lured by so many snakes of attachment that many people spend their whole lives staying on lower levels.
However, there are others: for them, snakes seem to not exist at all, and miraculously appearing arrows lead them to the final goal in five or six moves.
The seven planes that the player must go through in order to reach the eighth plane, which is beyond all planes, are the seven chakras. Usually the energy flows through these centers in accordance with the rhythm of the player's vibrations, passing one after the other during the day. At sunrise, it is in the third chakra, and after sunset it reaches the seventh. This current is controlled by the forces of the Sun, Moon and Earth. However, only a few of us can live in harmony and purity, so various obstacles or "blocks" appear on the way of energy movement. As a result, the natural rhythm is disturbed, which leads to a difference between the chronological and mental age of a person.
Each chakra has specific characteristics, which allows the player to determine their level of vibration at any given moment, especially with the help of this game.
In the East, people followed a different course. Particularly in India, whose mild climate and ease of cultivation of cereals allowed people not to spend so much time on the struggle for existence, as was the case in the West, which ultimately determined the development of the natural sciences there. Eastern people treated nature as a kind mother and did not seek to conquer it. The exploratory spirit of the Indian sages was directed to the study of the most complex structure of human consciousness. This is how yoga, tantra and the ideas set forth in the Upanishads arose.
Just as the outer world is governed by general principles, the inner life of man is also subject to certain laws. Yogis who explored the labyrinths of the human personality established the existence of seventy-two primordial states of being. These states correspond to the cells of Lila's playing board - the "periodic system of consciousness". Within these states, everyone acts in accordance with their karma, and the game ends only when the player fully penetrates into its meaning, having reached the Cosmic Consciousness. The game can be stopped by restraining the desire principle, but without full understanding the game cannot be stopped: desires, being the seeds of karma, can germinate as soon as one is in the right conditions for it. The player rolls the die, allowing the forces of karma to determine their next position on the board. He passes through various planes: climbing arrows, falling on snakes, striving to vibrate harmoniously wherever he is. Ups and downs must lose their meaning.
Throwing a die establishes a connection between the player's symbol and his progress on the playing board. It is a connection that is governed by the principle of synchronicity. The term "synchronicity" was introduced by the famous psychologist Carl Jung to explain the connections that sometimes arise between events that at first glance are completely independent of each other. Synchronicity satisfies the need of the individual self for conscious control from the outside. This can be most easily understood by viewing this principle in the context of interpersonal relationships. In a sense, Synchronicity means being in the right place at the right time, and in fact it is an ongoing process.
The basis of success in the game is understanding, knowing where you are and what you are experiencing at the moment. External control is exercised by the player's karma, which determines the number on the die. Thus, Leela's play is based on synchronicity, which means that all the events that take place with us and around us are interconnected and can only be understood taking into account these connections. To reinforce the work of this principle, it is better for the player to choose an item that has personal meaning for him as his symbol. This symbol is placed on the board and moves according to the number of points rolled on the karma die.