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, Prahlāda, I found myself involved in one of His temple līlās, much to my astonishment.

After offering my obeisances to the captivating Prahlāda, 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 Prahlāda, you are expert in receiving all kinds of blessings from Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva. You even received the blessing of forgiveness for your demoniac father, Hiraṇyakaśipu. 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 pūjārī.” Okay, I thought, I have nothing to lose; if the pūjārīs 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 pūjārī rooms. There I found Jananivāsa Prabhu reading the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. 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 see his twin brother, Pañkajāṅghri Prabhu, the actual pūjārī of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva.

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 Nṛsiṁhadeva, 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 emanates 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 rise, bathe, and attend maṅgala-ārati—which I did.

After the ceremony was over, the same voice urged me to follow Pañkajāṅghri Prabhu from Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva’s altar into the pūjārī 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 preparing the articles for the Lord’s abhiṣeka, I started to talk to him. Pañkajāṅghri Prabhu listened attentively to my story. Then, without saying anything, he smiled and gave me mahā sweets from Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva’s plate.

The following morning, when my daughter returned from the temple, she was shouting: “Mommy, they changed Nṛsiṁhadeva’s eyes! He has beautiful red eyes now.” And as the sweet, deep voice had promised, my eyesight was miraculously cured—within three days.

All glories, all glories to the merciful Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva in Śrī Māyāpur! ❈

[Editor’s note: Lord Nṛsiṁha originally had red eyes, as seen in the right-hand picture. One day, a devotee came to Mayapur and offered two precious yellow stones for His eyes, and the pūjārīs reluctantly changed the eyes on the Deity. They felt happy when the Lord revealed that He wanted back His original red eyes.]

Ātmarati Dāsī joined ISKCON in 1980. She is from Greece and now lives and teaches in Mayapur. She is married to Gokulānanda Dāsa and her daughter is Gaura-līlā Dāsī.