Darshana

means seeing the Divine. It literally means vision or sight. It also means seeing with the inner eye or the external eyes an image in a temple, a divine being, a God or Goddess, a holy place or saint or sage. However, Darshana implies that one must see any of these with the desire to have inner contact with what one sees and thereby receive the grace of the Divine and special blessings of the seen. Thus, one must understand and realize that everything holy that one sees brings divine grace. Even seeing a photograph, if one cultivates a humble and simple attitude of reverence, is a kind of Darshana. One with the name Darshana, therefore, has a lot to live up to. It can become a lifelong sadhana to cultivate the correct attitude towards Darshana. A true devotee does not only wish to see holy beings, people or places. Darshana also means to be seen by a saint or sage or to stand in humility before the deity, in the presence and sight of God. It is said that deities and enlightened spiritual masters give Darshana and devotees or spiritual aspirants take Darshana. The eyes are said to be the mystical place through which divine energy is imparted and given to spiritual aspirants and devotees. Many devotees often wait for many hours to see a saint and receive Darshana or to see the statue of the Divine in powerful temples. Swamiji often says that the words said by him are secondary during satsang. It is his presence that is important and the fact that he imparts spiritual knowledge and energy to us through his powerful gaze. This is Darshana. Atma-Darshana means the divine vision of the Self. This is, in fact, self-realization or enlightenment.