Sringeri Week: The Value of Darshan

First of all, darshan is a word that means seeing and being in the presence of someone like a guru or a deity.

I don’t know how it is that I did not before appreciate the amazing energy that one gets from seeing the guru and being in his presence. It is electrifying.

I felt it a little bit in 2011 but I was tuning it out, focused so much on my own problems and thoughts and miseries. This time I was paying attention and I was amazed by what I felt. I had assumed that you don’t need darshan because God is everywhere and in everything. That is true but there is still something very special about being in the presence of a realized person. It seems to change the energy in the room.

Every darshan I had in Sringeri I felt a calm and peace deep in myself unlike anything I had experienced before. Every darshan I walked out feeling euphoria.

I can’t even begin to describe the feeling. It’s like peace and perfection radiates off His Holiness. 

Now I realize how deeply lucky and blessed I am to have the opportunity to be in the presence of such a spiritual master. Not everyone gets to experience a living master.

Even though God is everywhere and in everything, in day to day life it is so easy to get distracted from that knowledge. The guru’s presence is full of a grace that allows us a small glimpse into the true fabric of reality behind the superficial.