Linear growth is possible only for the human being! It is possible to become a Nobel laureate born to an illiterate parents, a Millionaire born in a poor family… Just a few steps away from Greatness! – A Lesson from a Chess Board…

 Let me share an interesting anecdote I read in a monthly magazine, which helps us to understand that linear growth is possible only for the human being and for all the others (the physical or material things, the plants and the animals) the growth is only cyclic. 

If you look at the physical or material things, they are constitution-based and you can see only formation and deformation..  There is growth in the plants and trees, but the growth is cyclic in them. A seed grows into a sapling,  a tree, then dies, and goes back into the soil. 

The same happens with the animals also, right? They are born to a particular breed, grow as the breed, and die as that breed. A lion is born as a lion, grows as a lion, and dies as a lion!

But, for us, the human being, the growth is linear! We may be born into a middle-class family, but we can scale such heights in this lifetime by bringing about an industrial revolution. We may be born to illiterate parents, but we can die as a world-renowned scholar. We may have been considered a misfit during childhood, but we can become role models for future generations. 

What we have been and what we are has no bearing on what we can become. We alone can proclaim, even on the days we have failed – ‘so what, we are just an evening away from greatness’.

Visualize a chessboard with the pieces on it. In the first row are lined what is called the powers – a pair of rooks, a pair of bishops, a pair of knights, a king and a queen. In the second row are lined eight pieces – the pawns. 

Though we call the pieces in the first row as powers, they have one handicap. A rook can only be a rook till the very end of the game; a bishop, only a bishop; and a knight, only a knight. Whether you see them only as the rook, bishop and knight or, as an amateur chess player would call them, the elephant  (rook), the camel (bishop) and the horse (knight)… it does not matter; but all the three so-called powers symbolize the lower forms of creation, animals, which are born to a nature, live within their nature and die in their nature. Though at birth most animals are functionally more capable than human beings, their curse is that they are limited by their nature. So are the so-called powers on the chessboard – the rook, the bishop and the knight.

 Now, what about the other two pieces – the king and the queen? Like Shakespeare said: ‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them’. The ‘king’ represents, in Shakespeare’s parlance, those that are ‘born great’. The ‘queen’ represents those that have ‘greatness thrust upon them’. The queen, by virtue of being the king’s wife, has greatness thrust upon her. Of course, in cases like the Queen of Great Britain, the reverse is true. However, even the pieces of the king and the queen have the same handicap of being born to a nature, living within that nature and finally dying to that nature.

 Now let us focus on the pawns. To me, they represent what Shakespeare referred to as those that ‘achieve greatness’. Every pawn is just six moves away from becoming the queen – the most powerful piece on the board. 

The pawn actually represents the common man, you and me… though we are born to a nature, we are bestowed with the ability to transcend our nature. Like the pawns, we are born to a nature, but do not have to die to the same nature. We are like the pawns, just a few moves away from greatness. 

We have many examples for understanding that linear growth is possible for the human being which is unique for us. A well-known example is Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, who as a young boy had to sell newspapers to add to the family's meager income. No need to tell which great height he transcended himself. Mr. V G Paneer Das of VGP Group of Companies, when he was young he moved to Chennai in search of opportunities. After doing some odd, difficult jobs in the beginning, he opened his first shop to sell alarm clocks, watches, wall clocks, etc.,  developed numerous businesses and became a millionaire!

The man who made Reliance Industries: Dhirubhai Ambani, Washing powder Nirma's creator: Karsanbhai Patel. …

There are many many such case studies I can add on.

Can you see that linear growth is possible for human beings, for you and me?  We are Just a few moves away from greatness!!! What do you say? Start taking the steps towards it👍🏻

As I said in an earlier blog, put a shark in your tank now and see how far you can really go....

Set a target, work towards it, and achieve it! Then go further to set another target.

Improve your skill set! Enhance your knowledge to have an edge over the others. 

Achieve GREATNESS in your life!