The chess Board
Life looks random
until you see the board.
Each piece thinks it moves for itself,
but none of them chose
where they were placed.
The pawns move first
the sādhakas.
Small steps.
One square at a time.
No shortcuts.
No applause.
Only pressure.
Their danger is not death
it is forgetting
that forward
is the only prayer.
Some fall early.
Some wait.
A few cross the board
and remember
what they were always meant to become.
At the center stands the Queen.
Not power borrowed
power unleashed.
She moves without permission,
cuts through ranks,
ends arguments mid-sentence.
Mā Adyā Mahākālī
the only piece
that changes the temperature of the game.
Behind her, the King does not chase.
He does not prove.
Sadāśiva only needs to remain
stillness is victory enough.
The game collapses
if He falls.
The rooks stand like Skanda
straight paths,
clean force,
unwavering momentum.
When they move,
the board remembers discipline.
The knights leap
the yoginis.
Unpredictable,
cutting across logic,
appearing where resistance thought it was safe.
They don’t explain their path.
They just land.
And the bishops
silent, angled, patient
Śani
opening diagonals
no one noticed.
They don’t push you forward.
They remove the illusion
that the way was blocked.
Above it all,
the player watches.
Not interfering.
Positioning.
Losses are not punishments.
They are sacrifices
timed so the end remains intact.
Victory was never the ego’s win.
It was dharma
remaining undefeated.
The sādhaka thinks
he is being tested.
In truth,
he is being arranged.
And if the game feels ruthless
good.
That means the Guru is awake,
the Queen is loose,
the King is safe,
and the end
is already decided.
- By Manansh Ahuja Shisya of Gurudev Shri Praveen Radhakrishnan