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We are often hurt by the behaviour of others. This is more so when we are facing difficult times in our life. Sometimes the mental trauma is such that it never heals. Physical injuries usually heal quickly but it is difficult to recover from severe mental trauma. Consequently, one has to make a lot of effort to preserve whatever little happiness one experiences during such difficult times. This is so because no one is obliged to make us happy. We have to make ourselves happy. If we become happy, it is also our responsibility to remain in such a happy state of mind. In short, it is everyone’s goal to attain a happy or blissful state of mind. Every day, we meet many people including our relatives, friends, colleagues in the office and sometimes even persons with whom we never see eye to eye. Occasionally, we have to face rude behaviour of some persons which can cause us mental agony. At such times, we have to take care to see that we don’t become unhappy. For this purpose, let us consider and understand the attitude recommended by Spiritual-Science to be adopted towards such persons. Our life is like a game of chess:- In a game of chess, you have different pieces like the bishop, rook, knight, queen, pawn and the king. There are also various rules of the game. The different pieces in a game of chess have different attributes or rules for movement. Similarly, the persons whom we meet every day have different natures. Why is this so? That is so because diversity is a basic law of Nature. For instance, consider the thumbprint. No two thumbs in the world are identical. Besides, if you examine even thousands of leaves on a tree, no two leaves will have identical colour, shape, weight or veins. No person in this world will be identical to another person. There are as many human ‘natures’ as there are human beings. Each person will be different in nature according to his or her circumstances and environment. Let us now consider the game of chess from the viewpoint of Spiritual-Science. The chess board has some white squares and some black squares. These squares are like the pleasure and sorrow in our lives. It is not possible to remain always in white squares or black squares. As in chess, while playing the game of life too, we keep moving from white squares to black squares. We will now consider; how the different nature of different people, resemble the different pieces in the game of chess.
The King is the most important piece in the game of chess. The game is over as soon as one of the two kings gets checkmated. So the player whose king gets checkmated is said to lose the game. From the viewpoint of Spiritual-Science, the king is the blissful state of our mind. In the game of chess, the king never attacks his counterpart directly. If the situation so warrants, he just moves one square forward, backward or sideways. Sometimes, he defends himself by seeking the shelter or protection of one of his ‘soldiers’. There is no harm at all in retreating if we face a similar situation in life. We retreat two steps to save ourselves or to march four steps ahead later on. Winning and losing are a part and parcel of every game. We should not collapse if we lose and get checkmated. Instead of despairing, we can start a new game with renewed enthusiasm. We can be the winning king in the next game! Why be the king? There is no known cure for other people’s personality disorders! But if we change our vision; we can alter our behavior towards them! Instead of worrying ourselves over their peculiarities; it is better to assume that they will always behave in that manner and safeguard our peace of mind as the king protects himself in a game of chess. Now let us consider the king’s position from a different viewpoint. Each person believes that he or she thinks and behaves appropriately but who is to really decide this? For this purpose, self-analysis in a neutral, non-partisan manner is very essential. While doing so, you must assume yourself to be a third party say, ‘X’ and then consider the appropriateness or otherwise of such third party’s manner of thinking and behaving. Such analysis helps in making appropriate choices and taking correct decisions in life whenever necessary. We can learn this from the behaviour of a king on a chess board. Each of us is like the king who behaves in such an impartial manner. The king conceives of and puts into effect the formation or array of his pieces or ‘army’. To defeat his adversary, he deploys his pawns, knights, bishops, rooks and, if necessary, even his queen. As a matter of fact, it is only the king who ‘fights the war’ in a non-partisan manner. As a result of fighting the war in a non-partisan manner, he doesn’t become a victim of emotions irrespective of the extent of depletion of his army. He may, perhaps, feel a little sad on losing any of his soldiers but he remains free from mental anguish. Consequently, he never panics and always moves in a calm and serene manner, just one square at a time. Consider yourself to be like the king in this game of chess called Life and perform your duties diligently. Get involved in some activity but don’t get attached or entangled. You will then experience the bliss of a peaceful mind! The Queen is the most powerful piece on the chess board and can move vertically, horizontally or diagonally. People who are like the queen are clever and cunning. If they are upset with us they will take care not to make it apparent. At the same time, we never know when they will attack us off guard and trap us. So it is best to avoid such persons. However, should an occasion arise and we have to face the anger of such a person, all we can do is to defend ourselves without attacking back. Amongst the persons we meet every day, some person may have the habit of always speaking sarcastically no matter how nicely we behave. Such a person’s nature should then be considered like a bishop which always moves diagonally or in a slanting manner. Once we know this, we will not get hurt no matter how sarcastically he speaks. Some persons’ nature is difficult to guess. They will behave very nicely but suddenly act in a strange manner. In short, their behaviour is uncertain. These are like the knights! After moving two squares vertically (or horizontally), they change direction and move one square horizontally (or vertically). Some people may have the nature of criticizing us bluntly on our face no matter whether we have erred or not. According to Adhyatma Vijnana, their nature is like the rook which attacks upfront! The Pawn moves forward one square at a time. However, it can attack and capture any opposition piece that occupies the two diagonally opposite squares in the front. People who are like the pawn are usually quiet and peaceful. They don’t bother anyone but retaliate only if cornered. |
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