The Magic Locket - from Gadadhar Pran's Govinda-lilamrita

The Magic Locket

This is the concluding portion of the Govinda-lilamrita, from Gadadhar Pran's own Rasa-tarangini Tika.

After Srimati closed her eyes to fall asleep in Shyama Chand’s tender embrace, the sadhaka dasi follows her guru manjari up to an old tamal kalpa vriksha. This is her gurudevi Sri Lata Manjari’s resting place. It’s just a stone’s throw from Radha Govinda’s shayan mandir on the northeastern side. The tamal’s dark branches are interlaced in a network of shapes and a svarna yuthi vine embraces its trunk with an array of fragrant blooming flowers, and at its base is a sapphire vedi.

Before Lata lies down, the sadhaka dasi collects a pillow and a mattress from the kalpa vriksha; they are both stuffed with soft mallika flowers and lined with pink lotus petals. After putting her gurudevi to rest, the dasi starts to massage her charana kamala. Within a few moments, Lata falls asleep, a serene smile adorning her face. Then the sadhaka dasi takes rest at her lotus feet.

But though she lies in her bed, sleep does not grace her. “Hmm, this is unusual," she ponders. “Is it the new locket that now dangles between my breasts? Does it have some kind of mystic potency? It appears to be inciting me to thoughts of my Yugala Kishor.” While she fondles the precious gift, her mind returns to the aparahna lila:

When Srimati left the cave after enjoying vilasa with Shyamasundar, she forgot this locket on her bed of flowers. But when I returned it to her, she told me how Krishna had presented it to her.

"Shyama was overwhelmed by my dancing in the Rasa." Srimati confessed. "Then he came to embrace me and placed this locket, which is marked with a golden swan, around my neck."

“So it is a token of Shyama’s love for you, Swamini," I said.

“Yes, but then the sakhis changed it," Srimati went on. “They brought it back the next day with nine blue sapphires inset around the swan.”

“Oh, those are nine blue lotuses*," I replied. “They represent Krishna’s soft bodily limbs.”

“But why did the sakhis do that?” Srimati inquired with curiosity.

“Surely they must know that our golden swan queen thrives on blue lotuses," I answered with a smile. Then Srimati changed the subject “Oh dasi!” she said, “The song that you sang in the cave was splendid. If you can sing it just right during the Rasa tonight, I’ll give you this locket.”

* * * * *

“I’ll never forget Swamini’s pledge," the sadhaka dasi reflects. “She really had all her hopes resting on me. But I could never have dreamt of singing so well. How did I ever do it?” Musing in this way, she fondles Swamini's reward. Unable to sleep and fearing that she may disturb her gurudevi’s peaceful rest, the dasi gets up to take a walk. The moonrays are still shining brightly, illuminating the dead-still forest; only the cry of a chakravaka can be faintly heard in the distance.

“Hmm, this locket seems to be pulling me somewhere," the sadhaka dasi observes. “Is it leading me into Vishakha Sundari’s bower?”

Arriving at the kunja dvara,* she pauses. “Oh, why should I enter this place? For beyond the hemambuja’s inner whorl are the kunjas where the sakhis enjoy pranaya keli* with Nikunja Vihari’s limitless prakasha murtis! Just a short while ago I distinctly remember him boasting to Srimati, 'Hey Radhe! Don’t you know? I’m the sarva shreshtha rasa nayaka, the greatest lover, and my murti resides everywhere. Thus on the stage of every kunja I’ve performed rati’s dance with my preyasis* and their bodies give witness to my talents!' And he laughed.

“So," the sadhaka dasi thinks, “as Radha’s faithful pada dasi, I should not stray into this area." Still, for some reason or other, she is unable to turn back. There is definitely a strange, mysterious force pulling her. With trepidation, she takes shelter in meditating on Praneshvari Rai’s lotus feet. “When I was following behind Swamini on abhisar, she moved like a kanaka hamsini gliding across a lake of nectar, her dangling veni elegantly tossed over her beautifully swaying nitamba parvata.* Aha! What a serene murti she is... but there was a kanaka hamsini on her locket, too! And as Rai was completely bedecked in swan-white, she ideally blended in with the moonbeams. But I distinctly remember that when we anointed Rai’s golden limbs with chandan so that her bright effulgence wouldn’t give her away, this locket became coated with chandan too.”

Thus the dasi wanders through Vishakha’s bower, preoccupied with thoughts of Radha. Suddenly, she sees a bright blue light in front of her! “What’s that?" she wonders. “Is it the nila* aura of Nikunja Nagara’s rati utsava? Oh no! I knew I shouldn’t have strayed from my gurudevi’s lotus feet!”

But as she starts to turn back, she can’t. The same mysterious force is still pulling her towards the light! And coming closer, she recognizes what it is. “Oh, this is Vishakha Sundari’s shayan mandir. Could that blue light be emanating from her pranaya keli with Shyama-jaladhara?”*

Approaching the mandir, she notices that the blue object is something else. It is beaming from a musical instrument placed on the veranda just outside of Vishakha’s door. Unable to dispel her curiosity, the sadhaka dasi ascends the steps and comes over to pick it up. “Oh, this is Rai’s Alavani vina!” she recognizes. "The blue effulgence is coming from the vina’s crest piece, the head of a peacock that is carved out of the vina’s body. It is the peacock’s glossy neck that has been reflecting the light of the moon shining upon it. It’s amazing how brightly it has been shining. Although every object in Vrindavan has inconceivable potency, this vina has certainly lured me.”

... to be continued.

As the dasi contemplates this, her mind goes back to the scene of the Rasa lila. Just before she had sung her incredible solo, Radha had given her alavani vina to Vishakha to play. Then Rai leapt into the limelight as the excitement of the Rasa was reaching its peak. All eyes were on her and even Shyama Natavara stopped his dancing to watch her in fascination! Thousands of sakhis sang in chorus as thousands of instruments followed the rhythmic beat of Raseshvari’s intricate dancing steps.

do dika do do drimi drimi dram guru dram, guru dram, guru dram,
ki riti dam, ki riti dam aare jam! aare jam! aare jam!

Rai’s tarala tandavini mohini murti* danced out the bols.* Then she looked Shyama right in the eye and boldly recited this prabandha. Rai’s eyes were red with amour like an intoxicated kokila; her bodily limbs pulsated with the music’s beat, her snake-like veni went sailing behind her, and her nupuras,* angadas* and kinkini mala* all sweetly tinkled Kandarpa’s message up and down Krishna’s spine! From head to foot, every inch of Rai’s immaculate flowing form was putting Krishna under a spell! Enthralled beyond expression, he leapt up to embrace her!

“That’s when Vishakha tapped me on the shoulder,” she remembers. “‘Now it’s time to sing that special song I taught you in the cave,’ she whispered. And so, with all the prowess my voice could muster, I sang forth—

nAgarI nAgara rAi rasarAja
raGge milalo duhu maNDali mAjha
ati rase pulakita duhu aGga
upajala koto koto madana taraGga…

Then Nagari Rai and Nagara Rasa Raja ecstatically meet upon the Rasa-mandala! their bodies shiver in horripilation as Cupid’s waves cascade over them

Vishakha’s vina accompaniment was superb and it helped me to sustain the deep mood of the raga. Aho! I did it! I did it just right! The excitement of the moment must have graced me! Just when mugdha Madhusudan* embraced Swamini, the raga enchantingly resounded across the stage, entered Sri Yugala Kishora’s ears, and overwhelmed them with a sudden outbreak of suddipta ashta sattvika bhavas! Instantly, a downpour of tears and tremendous shivering was simultaneously experienced by everyone who witnessed the spectacle! Aho! Everyone was swooning! I could never have imagined singing their milan song so expertly. Surely this was the result of Radha and Vishakha’s karuna taking form directly. Then Krishna whisked Rai away from the Rasa mandala’s stage and they disappeared into a forest kunja.

As the dasi fondles Rai’s precious gift, her rasodgara* continues, “I’ll bet that this locket’s kanaka hamsini must have danced over Krishna’s kaustubha mani as their rati lila escalated!”

But after Rai Kanu came out of the kunja, the manjaris escorted Radharani to the Yamuna ghat where they assisted her in putting on her snana vastra. Then, as they removed some of Rai’s heavier jewels, she called me over. “Hey dasi!” she said, “Why don’t you take this locket?" As she placed it around my neck, Radha’s smile was beaming and a look of appreciation decorated her moon face.

“Swamini, I don’t deserve this," I said,

“I always keep my promise," she replied, as she went on smiling. I was speechless, and my eyes filled with tears.

Then Vishakha said: “Oh Rai Kishori! Why don’t you bless this kinkari so that her singing may always make you happy.”

“O yes, Vishakhe," Sri Radhika replied, “And I want you to have my vina, for when you play it, my heart dances in ecstasy!”

As the sadhaka manjari’s meditation breaks, she again notices the vina resting there. “What amazing potency it has! Both this vina and this locket are stimulating deep love in me for Sri Yugala Kishor.”

Then an overwhelming desire awakens in her. “Oh, let me take this vina and sing a song for Swamini! After all, there must be some important reason behind my being led here” But in a flash, she remembers, “Now is not the time for a song. Radharani has fallen asleep in the lap of her nagara nilamani. Certainly she wouldn’t appreciate being awakened. But is Radharani really asleep?”

“Hmm," the sadhaka dasi thinks. “I’ll bet she isn’t. Even though she is lying in Krishna’s sweet embrace, her mind is undoubtedly fixed on the moment soon to come when he will discard her to flee homeward! Yet Swamini wants to remain in Krishna’s embrace forever. Ah! This mood inspires a song in me. Since Vishakha Sundari is my sangita guru, and since I’m sitting on her veranda. I’d love to ask her to help me. Surely she could come up with an ideal composition that suits this moment. But now I’m afraid to peek inside. Who knows what she might be up to?”

Squatting below the window, the dasi looks up in amazement at the moonstone ceiling above Vishakha’s bed of flowers. “Aha! Dazzling blue and gold reflections are being cast on it—and they are constantly interchanging. The blue reflection looks like a dark cloud, and the golden reflection appears like a lightning streak! Sometimes the cloud covers the lightning, and sometimes the lightning covers the cloud! But aho! Both colors suddenly merge and become emerald green!

“What’s going on in there?" she wonders. “Surely it’s not the time to ask Vishakha for a music lesson. Alright, I’ll just have to go and sing this song on my own without any advice from her. But how can I leave without telling her that I’m borrowing her vina! Oh, what shall I do?”

Thus caught in a dilemma, the dasi is neither able to leave, nor can she muster the courage to peek inside. “Well, I should at least ask her for permission to use the vina. I’ll just hold it and look inside for a second. Then she’ll understand my intention.”

(to be continued...)

As she inches her way closer to the window, however, the sadhaka dasi hesitates again, thinking this might inconvenience Vishakha. But then, shunting all formality, she raises her head over the windowsill and glances in... and what a surprising scene she beholds: Poised over Krishna’s chest like the wrestling champion of Kandarpa Deva’s love tournament, Vishakha is looking right back at the sadhaka dasi! A nonchalant, innocent expression radiates from her face. She has just conquered Krishna and he is reeling in ecstasy; it appears that he has experienced more fun by losing!

Vishakha gives the sadhaka dasi a wink, nods her head in approval, and with a clairvoyant look utters the word pahilahi. Then she goes back to her business like a pretty lioness; for now she has become Krishna’s svadhina bhartrika.*

Sinking below the windowsill, the dasi is struck with wonder! “Aha! What equipoise! What finesse! Vishakha knows everything, yet by uttering just one word she has given me the clue to the whole mystery.”

Resting her head against the mandir and contemplating for a moment, the dasi recalls, “Yes, I remember that song about Radha’s prema vilasa vivarta with Shyama. It’s Vishakha’s composition, and it begins with the word pahilahi.

The dasi ponders the song’s meaning, in which Radha tells the duti who has come from Krishna: “Even before my eyes beheld Krishna, I was attracted to him, and after getting his darshan, that anuraga continued unabated. So has Kandarpa pulverized our consciousness together? For I can no longer tell whether I am the ramana, or am I the ramani? That was when Kandarpa shot his five arrows and united us! But alas! Now that our separation is impending, I feel I am going to lose everything!”

“This last line is traumatic," the dasi thinks. “During the peak of their milan, Radha and Krishna’s prema vilasa becomes so intense that they can no longer distinguish who is who! But next, separation-in-union takes over and then Radha yearns to merge with Krishna forever to escape the pangs of separation. Aha! Let my song convey this mood. I shall soothe Rai’s heartache as she weeps in Krishna’s embrace.”

Thus offering countless pranams to Vishakha within her mind, the sadhaka dasi picks up Rai’s alavani vina and swiftly scurries back towards Radha Govinda’s shayan mandir. But along the way, she pauses beside a flowering madhavi bush. “Perhaps I should tune the vina to my voice first," she reflected. “I want to be ready before I arrive there.”

Rai’s vina is simply divine. As the dasi plucks the strings and gently vibrates her voice in the tara nada* to tune the instrument, her heart melts. “Aha! What a great fortune it is to play this instrument," she thinks. “Such fortune is the result of Vishakha’s prasad, for she taught me the song that Radha loved so much. Aha! Then Radha gave me her precious locket. But surely it was the divine potency of this locket that has led me to Rai’s vina. And now, with Vishakha’s further blessings, I shall have the privilege to offer another special seva.”

Returning to half-external consciousness, the sadhaka dasi remembers a shloka from the Vedas:

sakhInAM saGginI-rUpAm AtmAnaM vAsanA-mayIm
AjJA-sevA-parAM tat-tat-kRpAlaGkAra-bhUSitAm

Thinking of oneself as a sakhi sangini, a companion of the sakhis, possessing bodily features and dress similar to theirs, one should eagerly follow their directions in order to receive the ornaments of their blessings. (Pbc 57)

Thus reflecting on the fruits of the sakhis’ kripa, with tears flowing from her eyes, the dasi takes full shelter of her nitya svarupavesha.*

Yet upon arriving at Sri Yugala Kishora’s shayan mandir, more feelings awaken within her heart. The mood and the setting are just right for her song. As the moon sets over the Yamuna, its silvery, slitting rays dance over the water. These are the last wee hours of the night and the ghee lamps cast a weak light that glows from the mandir. Taking a few dust particles from the base of the stairs, the sadhaka dasi rubs them over her head before ascending to the veranda. Then coming over to a coral pillar, she sits down and leans her head back. The sweet malayan breezes from the Yamuna blow in her hair and her form is silhouetted by the moonbeams.

Taking up Rai’s Alavani vina, the dasi pauses. She refleets that she hasn’t composed the song yet, what to speak of practising it. But now she is about to sing for Rai’s pleasure during one of her most tender moments, so certainly no slip-ups will be tolerated. “Yes, it must be spontaneous," she reflects, “So I will just have to tune my heart-strings with Radha’s."

Thus she begins to meditate.

Inside, the Divine Couple are locked in embrace. Shyama is sound asleep, but Rai has awoken. Still she pretends to be asleep as her head rests upon the pillow of Krishna’s arms. Although the sadhaka dasi cannot see inside from her vantage point, through a sense of oneness with Radha, she can feel the warm tears as they glide down Radha’s cheeks. Tears thus glide down her own cheeks as she picks up the vina to sing of Radha’s complete surrender. With deep feeling, and with long, drawn-out entreaty, the dasi sings as though Rai were addressing her beloved Shyama :

o bandhu* hey..ey..ey..ey..ey...ey...ey...ey...ey...oh bandhu hey!
janame janame jIvane maraNe, prANa-nAtha hoio tumi

"Life after life, in life or in death, you are the Beloved Lord of my life."

Fathoming Radha’s mood, the sadhika goes on singing :

tomAra caraNe AmAra parANe lAgala premera phAMsi
mana prANa diyA saba samarpiyA nizcaye hoinu dAsI

“Oh please, place the ropes of your lotus feet around my neck. Then with mind and soul surrendered to you, I shall become your dasi.”

But as the sadhika is about to sing the next line, the line that describes Rai’s desire to just merge into Krishna’s limbs and become one with him, a soft hand covers her mouth! Suddenly the dasi’s eyes open… and she discovers that Radharani has personally come to silence her! As Rai removes her hand, the dasi is dumbfounded. A puzzled look appears on her face. “Oh, why did you do that, Swamini?" she questions.

“I was afraid that you might wake up my Prana-vallabha," Radha meekly answers.

However, the dasi immediately sees through Rai’s pretense, for the heavy tears rolling down her face cannot hide that she had indeed been transported into a state of rapture. Nevertheless, in order to feign naivité to Radha’s concealment, the dasi decides not to question further into the matter.

“Oh Swamini!” she asks, “did my song upset you?”

“No, no!” Rai answers, as her facial expression returns to normal. “Actually I loved your song very much. I was just wondering how to reward you.”

“Oh, I don’t require any reward, Swamini," the dasi exclaims. “Just give me your mercy so that I can go on pleasing you.”

“Oh yes, yes," Rai says, “but come inside.” Then Radha leads the sadhaka dasi by the hand and they both go in to sit down on the bed.

”I want to give you something very special," Radha says, as her eyes direct the dasi’s attention towards Shyamasundar, who lies resting upon the bed of flowers.

Thus the sadhaka dasi looks over at Shyama Nagara. Because his face is wet from tears, it is not difficult to understand that he too is only feigning sleep. “He must surely be awake, too," the dasi surmises. “But what is Swamini getting at? Certainly she must know that I will never accept Krishna’s sangama sukha,* even if she suggests it.”

Radha can fathom the dasi’s thoughts, however, and changes the subject. “Hey sakhi! Just before you came, I was having an astonishing dream. Would you like to hear about it?”

“Oh yes, Swamini, certainly," the dasi replies with eager anticipation.

Radha: “I dreamt that I saw a beautiful golden purusha. He was just like my Shyama, yet he was weeping ‘Krishna! Krishna!’—just like me!” Radha pauses, her face overwhelmed by emotion.

“Well, that sounds very surprising, no doubt," the dasi exclaims.

Radha: “Yes, sakhi! But that’s not all. His beautiful form was more enchanting than a million Cupids!”

The dasi: “Oh, what could a million Cupids do to you, Swamini? You’ve got Madana Mohan right here at your fingertips!”

Radha: “That’s what frightens me the most, sakhi! My mind went racing after that sundar golden purusha even though I was lying right here in Krishna’s embrace!”

The dasi: “O Rai! There is no one who could topple your chastity for Krishna, I’m sure. The person in the dream must be a figment of your imagination.”

Radha: “So you think that this form was imaginary, do you? Well, I’ll bet that even you would lose your patience upon seeing him.”

The dasi: “Swamini, my dedication is fixed. Just allow me to engage in your yugala seva with Shyamasundar, life after life—that’s all I want.”

Radha: “Alright, you clever dasi, tathâstu,* but just do one thing.”

The dasi: "What’s that?”

Radha: “Just embrace me one time.”

The dasi: “Oh, how can I refuse?” After meekly answering thus, the dasi embraces Radha, but when Radha smiles and embraces the sadhaka dasi, she rolls across the bed of flowers toward Shyama Nagara and suddenly disappears... and the sadhaka dasi finds herself embracing a beautiful golden purusha! But as his head lowers to kiss her lips, she faints! The thrill is too much like a high voltage shock that blows out her circuits!

* * * * *

“Oh wake up! Wake up!” calls the dasi's gurudevi. “The nishanta has come, and we want to be the first ones to arrive at the shayan mandir."

“Oh, I must have been dozing too long," the sadhaka dasi ponders. “That was really a strange dream I just had!”

But as the dasi looks at her gurudevi, she is amazed her beauty has increased a hundredfold! There are rati chihnas* on her breasts, and her lips are bruised. “Oh! When viewing Yugala Kishor’s prema keli last night, Radha’s symptoms must have appeared on her body too due to feeling of oneness with her!” she guesses.

But as the dasi picks up the mirror to apply tilak and anjan* she notices: “Oh! My lips too are bruised, and so are my breasts!” Then she vividly remembers her episode with the sundar golden purusha. “Oh, maybe I wasn’t dreaming after all! Did that really happen?" But feeling shy, she doesn’t mention the matter to her gurudevi. “Come, let’s go!” her gurudevi says.

As the sadhaka dasi lags behind, she looks out over the Yamuna. “Hmm, how have her dark waters become so white? And Hemambuja Kunja’s bushes, creepers, trees and latas have all taken on a different appearance. Yogamaya’s potency is amazing, indeed," the dasi thinks.

Following up the steps to the shayan mandir, the dasi peeks over her gurudevi’s shoulder to view inside the jewelled window. Aho! There is that sundar golden purusha... and Radha is massaging his feet!

"You go in first," her Gurudevi says, “I’m going to pick flowers."

As the sadhaka dasi enters, she goes straight to Radha. “Now I’m going to ask her frankly what is going on," she thinks. But as the dasi rises after touching her head to Swamini’s lotus feet, she notices Radha’s beauty has increased manyfold! “Indeed, here we are finding a new Radha!” Looking over at Gaurasundar, she concludes, “Yes, this form is much more enticing than Krishna’s, I’m unable to hold on to my patience!”

Seeing the puzzled look on the dasi’s face, Radha rises from the bed, escorts her outside the mandir, and seats her on the veranda. But a wonder takes place: Radha’s form turns into an exquisitely handsome young man and the sadhaka dasi changes from a nava kishori to a nava kishora!

“Welcome to Nabadwip!” exclaims kishor Radha. “I guess you deserve an explanation: I am the son of Madhavacharya, and my name is Gadadhar. Sri Gaurasundar is my Prana-vallabha. As you previously knew us as Radha Govinda, now our parishishta lila* has begun. This time, we shall fulfill many desires that were impossible to accomplish in Vraja. Last night, as you sang outside our shayan mandir, you came to the part where I merge with Shyama to prevent being separated from him. This is why I personally revealed that form to you.”

The sadhaka das: “But Prabhu, if you have totally merged with him, then how am I able to see your divine form before me as Gadadhar?”

Gadadhar: “Do you remember me telling you about the dream I had last night’! I also saw Gora Rasaraja while lying asleep in Krishna’s embrace. So we are distinctly different, also. Remember, my tattva is vibhu*; so in Gora’s lila you will find me in many places. Yet as Gora’s mula shakti* my first duty is to serve him from his left side.”

The sadhaka das: “I’m puzzled. Can you explain how I perceived you as a ravishing beauty massaging Gauranga’s feet just a moment ago? And how I was a female too, but suddenly became a male again?”

Gadadhar: “This is indeed a mystery, and the secret behind our pracchanna lila,* Gauranga’s intimate associates all have internal female svarupas for exchanging unnata ujjvala rasa* with him. Their male forms are only a camouflage meant to hide the matter. Don’t you find yourself losing your patience upon viewing his kandarpa koti vijayi mohana rupa*?”

The sadhaka das (with hesitation): “Well, I guess you’re right. With Krishna, it wasn’t so difficult to remain aloof for executing your yugala seva, but now I’m finding my purva raga* awakening!”

Gadadhar: “Yes, and the reason is that my Prananath and I have combined our wits to outsmart you! Gora’s mahabhava and rasaraja svarupa contains my full madhurya, plus Krishna’s full madhurya. So 'Gora’ means Govinda’s go and Radha’s râ. Isn’t this the object you manjaris hanker to serve?

The sadhaka das: “But Prabhu, we always address you first before uttering Govinda’s name. Yet in Gora, Govinda’s go preceeds your râ. So how could we become attracted?”

Gadadhar: “Aha! And so it may appear. But when you look closer, you will find that in Gora’s form, I am Govinda’s go and my Prana Govinda is actually Radha’s râ.”

The sadhaka das: “Then how has the mix-up taken place?”

Gadadhar: “At the peak of our conjugal rati lila, we lose sight of ourselves. Indeed, our identities become reversed! Then I think that I have become Govinda, and he thinks that he has become Radha! And this is Gora, the form in which our highest sambhoga ananda is always taking place!"

The sadhaka das: “I am amazed! No wonder my attraction is ever-increasing!”

Gadadhar: “Aha! Even I hanker to serve such a form. Hence, this new lila has begun. Yet those who continue to see me as Radha and follow in my footsteps will attain Gora as their prana vallabha, too.”*

The sadhaka das: “But what about the bhaktas who wish to serve by following one of Gauranga’s many other associates? Won’t they also have the fortune to see him as their prana vallabha?”

Gadadhar: “Why not? Previously my prana vallabha was known as Gopijana-vallabha because he only shared his madhura rasa exchanges with the gopis. But this time his rasika shekhara nature combines with my parama karuna and hence, Gora earnestly yearns to share his unnata ujjvala madhura rasa with everyone! Thus becoming jiva vallabha,* he is the Data Shiromani.*

The sadhaka das, hearing a sound and looking over his shoulder, says: “O Prabhu! Here come the bhaktas!”

Gadadhar: “Yes, it’s time for Goramani’s mangala arati. Let’s go take darshan.”

As Nityananda, Advaita, Srivasa, Narahari, Shivananda and many others assemble, the sadhaka das spots his gurudeva, who is carrying the arati tray for Svarupa Damodar. After placing it in front of Gaurasundar’s ratna singhasan, he comes out of the mandir. Then the sadhaka das goes to offer pranams unto his lotus feet,

“O Prabhu! How did we get here?" he curiously whispers.

“It’s by Lalita’s prasad that I am so fortunate," he confesses. But looking at the sadhaka das with a smile, he goes on, “I believe that you are here by Vishakha’s mercy.”

Thus the sadhaka begins pondering. “Oh, that’s right!" he says. "Vishakha taught me that song Radha loved so much. Then she gave me her locket…" But as the sadhaka das glances at his chest to have a look, it’s not there! In its place, written in hari chandan,* are the two syllables, go-râ.