Leela — The Game of Life
I have just started Playing Leela the Game of Life. It is an ancient spiritual game designed for self-knowledge and personal growth, originating from yogis and philosophers of ancient India. Players navigate a board representing human virtues and vices, aiming to achieve a deeper understanding of themselves and the universe. The movements on the board are like the old game of snakes and ladders, where you can move by going up an arrow (ladder) or move down toward the tail of the snake – this is essentially telling you to start again.
The game I am playing is created by Yoga teacher and Vedic philosophy expert, Anya Gutti. Go to playleela.com for more information and to buy this version. As you see below the game looks stunning with vibrant colors and spiritual icons abound, taking you into the Vedic world of ancient India. I am inclined to leave the board open flat in my living room, so I can admire the design and read my commentary cards again each day.
In fact – this is how I am playing at the beginning – by myself. Once I have mastered the basic way to play and know how to navigate my way around the board and understand how the commentary cards work, then I will invite friends over to play together. Hopefully they will buy their own copy of Play Leela and pass the game along. Enlightenment can be contagious!
What You Need & Get
In my version of Leela, I received the game board, a single dice, a set of commentary cards (to explain each square’s meaning), and the basic rules of the game and how to play. My game is superbly packaged and is everything you need except for one item that you need to add. You need to add a small personal object — like a ring — that belongs to you, the player, and is used as their token on the board. I am using a small object I bought at a stall in an antique market in Beijing – it is a small glass ball with a tiny clock inside that can actually tell the time if you wind it up! It’s been with me over 25 years now.
Objective and Starting
The goal is to land on exactly square 68, “Cosmic Consciousness,” which represents liberation and enlightenment. The first player to reach it wins. If a player goes past square 68, they continue until square 72, which sends them back to square 51 for another attempt.
Each player places their token on square 68 (Cosmic Consciousness) at the beginning. Players take turns rolling the dice, passing it to the right. The first player to roll a six moves to square 1 (Genesis) and then advances to square 6 (Delusion). Until a six is thrown, the player waits “unborn” in Cosmic Consciousness. Each player gets three tries to roll a six at the start. If unsuccessful, they pass the dice to the next player.
Basic Rules
Rolling a Six: Every time a 6 is thrown with the dice at any stage in the game, the player rolls the dice again.
Arrows (Virtues): When a player’s token lands on the base of an arrow, they move upward along the arrow to its tip — representing spiritual advancement through virtue.
Snakes (Vices): Landing on a snake means sliding down, representing how vices like egotism and jealousy set one back.
The Spiritual Philosophy
When landing on any square, the player looks up that square’s name and finds an inner, personal meaning for it. The game is a journey of one’s inner self, and discussion between players about the meaning of the square they’ve landed on is encouraged.
One of the key rules accepted by all players is: once a game has begun, it must be finished. The game is considered complete when the player returns to square 68, meaning they have received all the answers to their questions through the journey.
The original way the sages played Leela is still considered ideal — meeting once a week, rolling the die once, then spending seven days contemplating how the message of that single square unfolded in their lives, before sharing their insights and rolling again. It’s less about racing to win and more about the reflection the journey inspires
How to Buy Your Game of Life
I bought mine direct from the creator of this version of Leela at playleela.com
