# Leela Square 68: Cosmic Consciousness (Vaikuntha-loka) Meaning

Square 68 in Leela is Cosmic Consciousness, Vaikuntha-loka in Sanskrit, the abode of Vishnu at the top centre of the board. It is both the start and the goal. Every symbol waits here unborn until a six is thrown, and the game ends when a player lands on it exactly, by count or by the arrow of Spiritual devotion from square 54.

## Meaning

For Johari, square 68 is liberation. When the player lands here, the ring or personal object that stood for him in the game goes back to his finger, and the game stops. The symbol that wandered through seventy two states of being returns to the one who placed it on the board. Nothing more needs to be gained.

Vaikuntha is the name of Vishnu's realm, often read as the place without hindrance or limitation. It is the eighth and last of the planes in the central column of the board, the spine that runs from 5 Bhu-loka through 59 Satya-loka. Together with Shiva's world at 67 and Brahma's world at 69, it forms the divine triad of the top row, with Vishnu, the preserver, at its heart.

The square closes a circle. Every player begins on 68, unborn, and needs a six to enter the game at Genesis and Delusion. The whole board is the journey back. Johari names three paths after arrival: to play again, to remain beyond the game, or to return to earth as a twice born bodhisattva to help others. In practice the player also states what has become clear about the question or intention brought to the game.

## On the board

Before play, every symbol sits on square 68 and waits for a six. To end the game a player must land on 68 exactly: by count, for example a two from 66, or by the arrow from square 54, Spiritual devotion, the only direct route to the goal. A throw that overshoots carries the symbol into 69 to 72, where the snake at 72 returns it to Earth.

Gita 8.21 is the verse for square 68: there is a supreme abode from which no one returns, lit by neither sun, moon nor fire. Yudhishthira refusing to enter heaven without the faithful dog shows the loyalty and surrender with which that abode is reached.

## Questions

- What has become clear about my question?
- What did I let go of on the way that I no longer need to carry?
- Having arrived, would I choose to play again, to rest, or to return and help?

**How do you win Leela?**
There is no winner in the usual sense. Each player's aim is to return to square 68, Cosmic Consciousness, by landing on it exactly, either by count or by the arrow of Spiritual devotion from square 54. Then the symbol goes back to its owner and that player's game stops. With several players, each plays until arriving.

**Why does Leela start and end on square 68?**
Johari's rules place every symbol on 68 before play: the player waits there unborn until a six is thrown, then enters at Genesis and moves to Delusion. The whole board is the road home. Returning to 68 closes the circle, expressing the idea that consciousness is the source as well as the goal.

**What happens if you overshoot square 68 in Leela?**
If your throw carries you past 68, you move into the top row's last squares: 69 Absolute plane, 70 True nature, 71 Activity or 72 Inertia. Throws that would pass 72 are lost. Square 72 is a snake back to 51, Earth, and from there a three reaches the arrow of Devotion at 54, which leads to 68.