Square 66: Plane of bliss (ananda-loka)
Leela Atlas team · Updated
Square 66 in Leela is the Plane of bliss, ananda-loka in Sanskrit, in the eighth row beyond the chakras. Johari links it to the anandamaya kosha, the innermost sheath of bliss. Only one feeling remains here, the feeling of bliss. The arrow of True awareness from square 37 lands on it, two squares from Cosmic Consciousness.
What square 66 means
Johari describes the Plane of bliss as the state in which only one feeling remains: bliss. Fear, desire, pride and sorrow have fallen away one by one over the course of the board. What is left is not excitement or pleasure but a quiet, steady joy that needs nothing to sustain it.
Ananda is the Sanskrit word for bliss, and in the Indian picture of the person it is the subtlest of five sheaths, the koshas, that wrap the Self: body, breath, mind, intellect and finally bliss. The anandamaya kosha is the closest layer to the Self itself, which is why this square sits so near the goal. It differs from square 62, Happiness, which depends on a balance of body and psyche; ananda does not depend on conditions at all.
The square is reached most directly by the arrow from 37, True awareness, gyana. Johari's message is that real knowledge does not end in more concepts but in joy. Placed in the row of the gods, after inner space at 65 and before Shiva's plane at 67, bliss is one of the last veils. The teaching is gentle: welcome it fully, and do not cling to it, since even bliss is a step and not the goal.
On the board
A player reaches square 66 by count or by the arrow from square 37, True awareness (gyana), which rises from the fifth row straight into the eighth. Square 66 itself is plain, with no snake and no arrow. From here an exact two lands on 68, Cosmic Consciousness, and ends the game. Throws of three to six carry the symbol past the goal into 69 to 72.
Arrows arriving here: 37 True awareness (gyana).
The Bhagavad Gita and this square
Gita 6.21 is linked to square 66: there is a happiness beyond the senses, grasped by the intellect, and having found it the yogi does not waver. Sanjaya's divine vision, seeing far beyond what his eyes could reach, mirrors this joy that the senses do not supply.
There is a happiness beyond the senses, grasped by the intellect. Having found it, the yogi does not waver and counts no other gain greater.
Gita 6.21 · Sanjaya's divine vision
Questions to reflect on
- What brings me quiet joy?
- Which joy in me needs nothing outside to keep it alive?
- Can I let this moment of joy be complete without trying to hold on to it?
Questions
What happens when you land on square 66 in Leela?
Square 66, Plane of bliss, is a plain square in the top row. It is often reached by the arrow of True awareness from square 37. Nothing moves you here; you wait for your next throw. A two lands exactly on 68 and ends the game, while larger numbers carry you past the goal.
Which arrow leads to the Plane of bliss in Leela?
The arrow of True awareness, gyana, at square 37 in the fifth row, lifts the player directly to square 66. Johari's point is that genuine knowledge, lived rather than collected, opens into bliss. It is one of four arrows that end in the top row, with Mercy at 17, Right knowledge at 45 and Spiritual devotion at 54.
What is the difference between Happiness at 62 and Bliss at 66?
Happiness at 62, sukh, is a balance of body chemistry and psyche, and it sits beside the snake of Darkness. Bliss at 66, ananda, belongs to the innermost sheath, the anandamaya kosha, and does not depend on conditions. One is a pleasant state of the person, the other a quality close to the Self.
Related squares
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