The night was still, and the air in Gadhada was cool and fragrant. High above, the stars of the sky sparkled like scattered diamonds, but the true light of the evening was concentrated in the spacious courtyard of Laduba’s residence.
There, on a bed draped in fine linens and soft cushions, sat Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan. To the devotees gathered around Him, He looked like the autumn moon reigning over a galaxy of stars. He was speaking, His voice a rhythmic flow of nectar—the Vachanamrut—that seemed to dissolve the worldly worries of everyone listening.
The Call of the Stars
Suddenly, Shree Hari looked up at the vast expanse of the cosmos. He turned to one of His closest disciples and called out, “Gopalanand Swami, come here.”
Gopalanand Swami, a sadhu whose body was lean from years of intense yoga but whose eyes held a deep, quiet power, approached the Lord with a heart full of joy. He bowed deeply before the assembly and took his seat beside Shree Hari.
Shree Hari gestured toward the heavens. “The ancient books of astrology say there are nine lakh stars in this sky,” the Lord said with a playful glint in His eyes. “You are a master of yoga, a true Yogiraj. Surely you know their names?”
With humble precision, Gopalanand Swami began to count. He named the constellations and the distant stars, revealing a profound knowledge of the heavens. Shree Hari smiled, then began to describe the complex rotation of the celestial spheres and the geography of the earth, delighting the crowd with the mysteries of creation.
The Mirror of Divinity
Then, Shree Hari’s tone shifted. He turned to the crowd, His voice growing firm and filled with authority.
“Listen, My devotees,” He began. “Gopalanand Swami has not spent his life buried in textbooks of astrology. Yet, because his soul is pure and his intellect vast, he is a Trikal-gnani—one who sees the past, the present, and the future as clearly as a fruit in the palm of his hand.”
The assembly fell silent as Shree Hari made a startling comparison. “Just as I have mastered the highest state of Rajyoga, so has he. He possesses My powers, My strength, and My divine light. He is the chief among the liberated souls of the divine abode, Akshardham. If I were not physically present in this world today, you would look at this saint and say, ‘This is Bhagwan.’ You would worship him just as you worship Me, and he would liberate thousands of souls just as I do.”
He explained that just as the moon’s light is swallowed by the sun during the day, Gopalanand Swami’s immense power was currently veiled by Shree Hari’s presence, out of his deep devotion to Bhagwan.
The Divinity of the Sabha
Shree Hari then looked around at the other saints—Muktanand, Nityanand, Brahmanand—and the devoted householders like Dada Khachar and Jivuba. He revealed a secret that sent a shiver of awe through the courtyard.
“You think you are ordinary people living in an ordinary time,” He whispered. “But the truth is that you are all divine beings. When I descended to this earth from the highest heaven, you all descended with Me. Even the great incarnations and the goddesses Lakshmi and Radha come here in secret, unseen by human eyes, just to catch a glimpse of this assembly.”
The Vision
To prove His words, Shree Hari gave a final command: “Close your eyes. Look within.”
As the devotees entered deep meditation, the boundaries of the courtyard seemed to vanish. By Shree Hari’s grace, each person was granted a vision of their own eternal, divine form. The “old stories” of their souls were revealed to them, and the courtyard was filled with a sense of overwhelming peace and joy.
The night ended, but the followers left with a new understanding: they were not just disciples, they were walking among the divine.
This prasang has been documented by Aadi Acharya Shree Raghuvirji Maharaj in the 93rd Chapter of Shree Durgapur Mahatmya.