# Leela Square 24: Bad company (ku-sang-loka) Meaning

Square 24 in Leela is Bad company, ku-sang-loka in Sanskrit, and it is a snake. Landing here sends the player from the third row down to square 7, Conceit, in the first row. Johari describes it as company out of accord with dharma: groups that swell the ego and selfishness. It is the only snake in the Theater of Karma.

## Meaning

Johari places Bad company right after the Celestial plane. A player who has tasted heaven can feel secure, and that is exactly when the wrong circle does its work. Bad company is not simply people who do wrong; it is any group whose values pull away from dharma, where flattery, rivalry and self-interest become normal. Ego swells, and the player starts to believe the story the group tells about them.

The Sanskrit ku-sang-loka means the world of bad association: ku is bad, sang (sanga) is company, association, and also attachment. The same word names both. We become attached to what our companions are attached to. Its counterpart is the next square, 25, su-sang-loka, Good company, the fellowship of seekers.

The snake falls a long way, from the Manipura chakra in the third row to square 7, Conceit, in the first row under Muladhara. Johari's reading is that inflated ego is not a higher state but a regression: it rebuilds castles in the air on the most basic insecurity. The square sits in the middle of the row with the strongest arrows, a reminder that the setting we choose matters as much as our own intentions. Square 24 teaches discernment about whom we let shape us.

## On the board

Square 24 is the head of a snake in row 3, the Theater of Karma, right after the Celestial plane at 23. A player arrives by an ordinary throw; no arrow or snake from elsewhere ends here. Landing on 24 sends you straight down to square 7, Conceit, in row 1. It is the only snake in the third row, which also holds three arrows: Charity (20), Dharma (22) and Selfless service (27).

Gita 2.62 traces the chain from attachment, sanga, which also means company, to desire and from desire to anger; you start living by what your circle lives by. In the Mahabharata, Shakuni's dice at the gambling match show how one person's influence can lead a whole family to ruin.

## Questions

- Who is around me, and where are they taking me?
- Whose approval am I chasing, and what does it cost me?
- Which people help me become more honest with myself?

**What happens when you land on square 24 in Leela?**
Square 24, Bad company, is a snake. Landing on it sends you from the third row straight down to square 7, Conceit, in the first row. Johari's reasoning: company out of accord with dharma swells the ego and selfishness, and inflated ego pulls the player back to the first chakra. Play continues from square 7.

**Why does bad company lead to conceit in Leela?**
A circle that flatters, competes or lives by self-interest feeds the ego. The player starts to see themselves through the group's eyes and builds a proud self-image on that. Johari calls this self-intoxication, and it sits in the first row because it rests on insecurity, not strength. Square 7 is where the snake of Bad company ends.

**What is the difference between square 24 and square 25 in Leela?**
Square 24 is ku-sang-loka, Bad company, a snake down to 7 Conceit. Square 25 is su-sang-loka, Good company, the fellowship of seekers who mirror each other honestly, often around a teacher. The two names differ by one syllable, ku (bad) and su (good), and sit side by side to show how much our company shapes our path.