Nrsimha Mayapur lila

[Guest guest]

>From Mayapur Journal, summer 1997.

 

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I WANT MY EYES BACK! by Atmarati Dasi

 

On a warm December morning last year, around 11:00 a.m., as I sought the

association of the magnificent Lord and prayed to His dearmost devotee,

Prahlada, I found myself involved in one of His temple lilas, much to my

astonishment.

 

After offering obeisances to the captivating Prahlada, who stands next to

his beloved Lord with his hands folded and his small body decorated with

fresh flowers and beautiful ornaments, I prayed: "My dear Prahlada, you are

expert in receiving all kinds of blessings from Lord Nrsimhadeva. You even

received the blessing of forgiveness for your demoniac father,

Hiranyakasipu. Please, please ask your Lord to bless this poor soul with the

destruction of everything that stands in the way of her devotional service.

Show me the way to real happiness."

 

Then, as I stood meditating on the Lord's beauty and mercy, I heard a very

sweet, deep voice: "I want My eyes back!" At first, I ignored it and kept my

mind in the mode of prayer. But the voice spoke a second time: "I want My

eyes back!" Attempting again to disregard this clear message raised a

burning and almost painful sensation in my heart. I was dumbfounded. What

was I to do? Then the voice continued: "Go to the pujari." Okay, I thought,

I have nothing to lose; if the pujaris think I'm crazy, I will at most lose

a bit of my false ego.

 

Praying to the Lord to give me the strength to carry out His order, I paid

my obeisances and almost breathlessly headed for the pujuri rooms. There I

found Jananivasa Praghu reading the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The atmosphere in the

room was extremely serene and otherworldly. I stood there for several

minutes and waited for him to notice me. Then, after I told him what

happened, he asked me to go and see his twin brother, Pankajanghri Prabhu,

the actual pujari of Lord Nrsimhadeva.

 

Somehow I felt that I didn't have to do more at this point.

 

The following day, as I again approached the magnificent form of Lord

Nrsimhadeva, my mind buzzed with doubt. "What if that voice was just my

mind, demanding the healing of my eyesight, which has been very poor and

painful the past six weeks?" Thinking in this way, I prayed for an answer.

The voice spoke to me again, this time with a more serious and firm tone:

"You will get your eyes back when I get Mine!" I looked at the Lord. His

form always emenates a soft light, and my heart felt peaceful and warm. I

felt overwhelmed with unusual confidence, as if my head were touching the

sky.

 

The next morning, at 2:20 a.m., I woke up fully refreshed and wide awake. It

was unusually early for me, as I usually get up around six o'clock. A soft

voice urged me to raise, bathe, and attend mangala-arati - which I did.

 

After the ceremony was over, the same voice urged me to follow Pankajanghri

Prabhu from Lord Nrsimhadeva's altar into the pujari room. I felt very

embarrassed and had tears in my eyes. I also felt a kind of unwillingness in

my heart to reveal my mind to him.

 

As he was preperaring the articles for the Lord's abhiseka, I started to

talk to him. Pankajanghri Prabhu listened attentively to my story. Then,

without saying anything, he smiled and gave me maha sweets from Lord

Nrsimhadeva's plate.

 

The following morning, when my daughter returned from the temple, she was

shouting: "Mommy, they changed Nrsimhadeva's eyes! He has beautiful red eyes

now." And as the sweet, deep voice promised, my eyesight was miraculously

cured - within three days.

 

All glories, all glories to the merciful Lord Nrsimhadeva in Sri Mayapur!

 

Atmarati Dasi joined ISKCON in 1980. She is from Greece and now lives and

teaches in Mayapur. She is married to Gokulananda Dasa and her daughter is

Gaura-lila Dasi.

 

Editor's note: Lord Nrsimhadeva originally had red eyes, as is seen on the

right hand picture. One day, a devotee came to Mayapur and offered two

precious yellow stones for His eyes, and the pujaris reluctantly changed the

eyes on the Deity. They felt happy when the Lord revealed that He wanted

back His original red eyes.

 

The article had three photos: a picture of the small Prahlada deity, Lord

Nrismhadeva's lotus face with the original eyes and the temporary yellow

ones.