Hinduism, the oldest religion in the world, differs from many of the other widespread religions of today. It does, however, bear several similarities with the intellectual game of chess. Both have an ultimate goal to achieve. In chess, it is to capture the opponent’s King, while Hinduism challenges the player to the victory of merging his soul with the soul of God. Whether the latter goal is to achieve euphoria, bliss, or simply a state of pure unadulterated stillness, it is significantly more difficult to achieve, since there are several more material and positional parameters at the spiritual seeker’s disposal. The purpose of this paper is to delve into the actual game of Hinduism, in order to consider the combinational and positional approaches of decision making used to attain the final goal. Sacrifice will also be considered as a tool for predisposing future development. The final section will consider the aesthetic beauty of meditation, and how it is crucial for attaining God.

Chess vs. Hinduism: The Cycle of Birth and Death

The most significant differentiating factor of Hinduism from the other religions, such as Christianity, is the Law of Karma. This sets the rules and constraints within which the seeker has to pursue his goal. It states that all living creatures are bound within a cycle of birth and death, as a result of past Karmas or actions, and until all past actions have been accounted for, the soul must perpetually return to this earth in the form of a new body to continue to clear these past accounts. On return, the soul may accumulate new Karmas, and hence the cycle continues.

In chess, once the king is captured, the game comes to an end. In Hinduism, there is continuity — similar to finishing one chess game and immediately starting another — until the goal is reached. In chess, every new game starts off in the same position, with the original material parameters. This is not the case in the cycle of birth and death, because an individual may progress along the path of spirituality, in which case the new game or life would provide for greater comforts and amenities in order to facilitate the seeker’s pursuit of his goal. A devoted spiritual seeker in this life, if condemned to return for another, will most likely maintain the human form and be placed in a religious family whose environment only helps the seeker further along his path. Even though such advantages may be provided, the individual still has the choice to do as he pleases, as does a chess player. The seeker can play with any of his pieces in this life. He can choose to lose the match on purpose by deliberately exposing his queen and other valuable pieces such that they are easy targets. This can be equated with taking the life of someone else, which is the highest sin the individual can commit. As a result of this bitter Karma or action, the soul is pushed further back along the path of spirituality. Hence, another game of life will surely have to be played, except this time the goal will be harder to achieve, due to the self-imposed incapacity. The soul may be relegated to another animal species other than the human form, where it must endure the hardships that it placed on another soul, until it can once again return in he human form. Only in the human form can the soul express itself through the intellect of the human mind, and can once again play the game against the Karmic grandmaster.

In many occasions, individuals are unaware of their existence in this world, at least from the Hindu perspective. As a result, they do not know what the ultimate goal is, which is to break free from this Karmic cycle. They are allured by the inhibiting traps of this material world, as is an amateur player who ignores the end goal, but rather seeks short-term pleasure by winning over an idle chess piece, which was set as a bait by his grandmaster opponent. Another example is when the player deliberately exposes his valuable pieces in order to lose the game — as discussed above. This is due to the fact that the player does not even know he is playing a game, and hence does not realize the broader implications of his actions. Hence, these poor amateurs waste their life spiritually and are damned to return again for a rematch.

None of these material worldly achievements, such as capturing a high valued rook which was set as a bait, or earning a billion dollars in reality, contribute to a person’s spiritual progress. Depending on how badly the amateur was beaten in the previous game, more precisely, how involved he was in the material aspect of the world, he may even start the new game at a disadvantage, i.e., with fewer material pieces to leverage off. Few are fortunate enough to know the ultimate goal, and know to avoid the small baits. This knowledge is imparted to those by virtue of a religious environment. This is usually via a pious family, and is the result of past positive progress along the path. The goal is clearer and the soul more familiar with what it has to achieve. These people are less prone to make mistakes, and are better equipped to play the grandmaster.

This world renowned text, composed by the great Ved Vyas, details the remedy to the curse of the cycle of life and death. The famous ninth chapter presents quotes from Krishna, a Hindu deity, which discusses the path of the Karma Yog, meaning the practice, or implementation, of Karma or action, in order to liberate the soul from the cycle. More precisely the practice is to use Karma to free yourself from your past Karmas. It says that liberation of the soul is possible by the selfless and diligent implementation of your duty, without being attached to 1he outcome of the action. If you are a student, it is your duty to do your best in your studies, while resting the results into the hands of the Lord. If you are a father and a husband, it is your duty to provide for your family, and to raise your children well, without being attached to them or their material success in life. This should not be confused with being a cold and uncaring parent. The father must love and care for his child, but must realize that within the child is a separate soul on its own spiritual journey, and it is the duty of the father to help this soul along its path, not to be attached to it. An attachment to the outcome, perhaps through typical parental worrying, attaches the father to child, its actions, and hence the material world. This is an automatic pass back to this world, and the game is lost once again.

There is no set program that one can follow in order to selflessly perform one’s duty without being attached to the outcome of these actions, or to other material entities, including people. There are too many situations where this skill is required, but is hard to perform given different scenarios. Similarly, there are countless endgames in chess, but from the start you do not have a program that will successfully take you to any of these end goals. In many instances, it would be impossible for a person to be unattached to his family. Even those who know of the goal of being unattached to their loved ones also know that the goal is almost insurmountable. Since a program will not suffice due to the lack of clarity on how to achieve these goals, a plan is needed. This plan attempts to tackle the goal by first reaching intermediate goals. These intermediate goals are different intensities of unattachment. The player will have to play positionally, since has to try to achieve intermediate goals, and has to use a plan, not a program.

Since the ability to skillfully play positionally is required, the player must be a grandmaster to win against the Karmic grandmaster. This player is typically someone who has devoted much of his life to spirituality, and has slowly been able to reach the intermediate goals, by gradually becoming unattached to the material parameters of this world, while developing the ability to give to others, without expecting anything in return (the art of giving selflessly). This player is aware of the sacrifices involved, such as forgoing the temporary pleasures desired by the mind if these attachments were present, but is careful enough to not to sacrifice the fulfillment of any of his duties, as an amateur player might. Since most people cannot play like a grandmaster, it is best to leave the ‘Karma Yog’ method of victory to the already spiritually uplifted. They are the ones who could play positionally and win. Normal people would be clumsy in their sacrifices, and may sacrifice one of their other duties, which would only increase their negative Karma, and not help them proceed along the path.

Ordinary people do not have the grandmaster’s ability to play positionally. If they try to liberate their soul by means of Karma Yog, they will almost always fail. This is why Ved Vyas, a spiritually elevated soul, was very unhappy after he had written the Bhagavad Gita, because he knew that it could not help the masses to the extent that he had hoped. As a result, he wrote the Srimad Bhagvatam. This book of knowledge was written in story form, so that the ordinary man could easily understand and relate to the concepts. Each story had a lesson to teach, except in this case, ‘Bhakti Yog’ or the practice of devotion was emphasized. The aim was to defeat the Karmic cycle by means of devotion to the Lord.

It became well known that detaching yourself from the material parameters of this world was extremely difficult, simply because humans have the tendency to attach themselves to things. The path of Bhakti or devotional Yog is meant for you to transfer your attachment from material objects (including people) to God. The idea is to love God unconditionally and to attach yourself to Him, without expecting anything in return.

It is important to note that God here is referred to as the point of pure energy, or radiant light almost, that is of the same form as the human soul. The human soul is like a drop in God’s ocean. By eliminating all your past Karmas, the soul is no longer burdened, and can merge with its ocean — God. God is not meant to be confused with pictures, statues or alters that are worshipped upon. That is once again attaching yourself to the material objects of this world, which takes you further away from the end goal. It can be compared to an amateur chess player who depends solely on his queen to win the match, and uses it as often as he can, thinking that it is the most important piece of the game. This attachment to the queen will surely cause him to lose, if he does not play strategically.

After having written about ‘Bhakti Yog,’ Ved Vyas was satisfied, because he knew that the common man would benefit from his teachings, and that it did not require a grandmaster to attain the goal. A person could play combinationally, that is follow a given program, and achieve the same goal that anyone else could achieve. ‘Bhakti Yog’ is significantly easier than ‘Karma Yog.’ The only program to follow is to meditate. This has been objectivized, and can be followed by almost anyone.

The purpose of meditation is to create love and attachment towards God. This will automatically clear your past Karmas, rather than the person actually having to endure all that is due to him as a result of what he inflicted on others in previous lives. Meditation also purifies the mind, and the person is less likely to perform deeds that create more negative Karmas. Hence the soul is gradually being released of its Karmic burden. This is the way out of the cycle of birth and death.

The program is as follows:

• Fix a period of the day when you will sit to meditate. This should be early in the morning when no one else in the house is awake, and in a quiet place where you cannot be bothered.
• Say the name of the Lord, so that you can maintain your concentration.
• Focus your concentration at the eye-center. This should let you focus on your point of energy: your soul. Envision this point slowly merging with the ultimate point of light that radiates throughout the universe (the soul of God). Feel a sense of attachment or love towards that light you are merging with.
• Fix a time period and maintain it throughout. One tenth of the day, or two and a half hours, will be a difficult start, but is a fair time period.
• Do this everyday.

If the above program is diligently implemented, the person will reach new spiritual heights. Depending on his past Karmas, he may require just this one lifetime in order to break free, or if he has a lot of Karmas, if will require a few or many rebirths to completely free the soul. If more than one life is required, which is usually the case, given the amount we all sin, great spiritual progress in this life will ensure that the next life also provides for at least the same education and spiritual awareness for you to continue on the path. Either way, the person will reach his goal: the soul will one day be liberated, and become one with the Supreme being. There is a clear and defined goal, and a set universal program to achieve it. The common man can now beat the Karmic grandmaster. If only this was possible in chess.

Meditation and its Aesthetic components:

Even though the process of meditation is objectivized, a person’s perception of it is not. That depends on the person’s life experiences. A person who has grown up in a pious Hindu family would probably possess a greater appreciation for meditation. This section is devoted to the beauty of meditation. It is the beauty of meditation that creates the predisposition towards future development. The act of transferring attachment to nonmaterial parameters for a higher cause is innately beautiful.

According to George Birkhoff’s Aesthetic Measure, an aesthetic experience can be considered as the compound of three successive phases: complexity, C, order, O, and aesthetic measure, M. In order to perceive an object or an experience as beautiful, an initial effort of attention is required on the part of the evaluator. This level of attention required increases with the complexity of the experience. The pleasurable outcome of this initial effort is the aesthetic measure. The complexity mainly deals with the material parameters of the experience or object. Order is concerned with the relational parameters, i.e., how each of the material parameters interact with each other. These can have positive, neutral, or negative values depending on the constructiveness of their interactions. Order considers the intrinsic harmonies, symmetries, and other aesthetically pleasing attributes, which are all necessary for an aesthetic effect.

In meditation, there are both material parameters and relational parameters. The former being the length of meditation, the start time, the tranquillity in the surrounding environment, the comfort of the seat, the temperature of the room, the anxiety level of the person, etc. Each of these can be labeled, such as f, g, h, i... and each of these have different quantities, i.e., v, w, x, y..., which when multiplied by their respective quantity provide the magnitude of each material parameter i.e., fv, gw, hx, yi... These weighted material parameters are summed to obtain the complexity, C, of the experience.

Hence, C = fv + gw + hx + yi + ...

The complexity can obviously vary as each of these parameters vary. Since they are physical attributes, they can be controlled by the mediator. If the mediator wishes to sit on a soft cushion rather than the hard floor, it will alter his aesthetic experience.

When each of the above attributes are considered by their interaction with each other, we can analyze order, O, in a similar manner as complexity. In this case, the relation between the start time and tranquillity, or the start time and the room temperature, or the comfort of the seat and the person’s anxiety level, all create a relational value that can each be labeled, i.e., a, b, c, d, e... These interactions can have positive, zero, or negative values, and thus either enhance or diminish the order. Each of these values a1so exist in certain quantities, as in the case of complexity. These quantities, m, n, o, p, q... are multiplied to each of these values, to get the magnitude of each relational effect. i.e., am, bn, co, dp, eq... These magnitudes are summed in order to get order.

Hence, 0 = am + bn + co + dp + ...

An example of an effect that increases O is when the start time is extremely early in the morning, say 4am. This will interact with the tranquillity material parameter positively, because there is usually no distraction from traffic, family members, or phone calls, for example, and the aesthetic experience of the meditation is significantly higher.

The aesthetic measure of an experience or object is the ratio of the order to the complexity, i.e., "the density of order relations in the aesthetic object."

Hence, M — 0/C

From a simplistic standpoint, the complexity can be viewed as the amount of effort required to perceive the beauty, while the order is the amount of benefit or favorable feeling derived from this effort. Birkhoff presented an elegant analogy to business. He stated that O can be equated with the profit of a business, while the C can be like the investment required. M can be equated with the return on investment. If the O increases with a constant C, you are getting a higher rate of return, or from the perspective of meditation, a more pleasing experience with the same amount of effort. This same situation may be a result of the business operating with greater productivity, in the former example, due to learning by doing, say. This can be paralleled to the person climbing up the reaming curve who needs only the original amount of effort to feel a more profound feeling of stillness, or spiritual vibrations, which lead to a better aesthetic experience.

Meditation is an art which gets easier to appreciate and experience through practice. Initially it is very difficult to maintain the concentration at the eye center. The innate nature of the human mind is capricious, and our thoughts tend to wander. This level of concentration is built up by steady practice everyday. A beginner will usually have to put in a lot of effort, a high C, just to attain a negligible O. This can be disconcerting for the newcomers, since their aesthetic measure is negligible also. This is a difficult barrier to overcome, since it is difficult to convince people to continue putting in a lot of effort in the hope of increasing the order in the long run. The only way this desire to put in the effort can be fostered is by teaching the Lessons of the Srimad Bhagvatam. Once people know the goal and believe it to be a truly rewarding one, and see that it is attainable, even though a lot of effort is initially required, they will force themselves to meditate. As a person improves on his meditation skills, and he feels the effects of the uplift that meditation brings, his order gradually increases, while the complexity of the experience follows the antithesis direction. These changes in the O and C, usually triggered by a positive experience while meditating, increase the M. At this point, the person can continue along this trend until M reaches infinity, at least according to his subjective perception.

Hinduism is a very abstract religion to follow. Even though it is sometimes misinterpreted as one where idol worshipping is the predominant characteristic, Hinduism places little importance to material rituals. The focus is on the control of the mind and the navigation of the soul. Once people know the goal, and consider it an alluring one, they will want to seek it. Many have tried the Gita’s method, but have failed. They do not have the grandmaster’s capability. Although it would be a fun game to play, if the player knew what his competition was. The path of devotion works well with ordinary people. It is objectivized, can thus be followed by anyone. There is no separation from the judge and the implementor. The key aspect of this ‘Bhakti Yog’ is meditation. This initially requires great effort, or significant complexity, on the part of the implementor. The order, however, increases steadily with practice, thus eventually providing a fruitful experience. As the aesthetic measure approaches infinity, usually the case with an experienced mediator, the person is well on his way to defeating the Karmic grandmaster.