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Darshan (Indian religions)

January 01, 1970

This article is about the Hindu and Buddhist meanings of the term. For the Jewish lay leader also called Darshan, see Darshan (Judaism). For the Bangladesh border township, see Darshana, Chuadanga.
"Darshana" redirects here. For other uses, see Darshana (disambiguation).

In Indian religions, Darshana, also spelt Darshan, (Sanskrit: दर्शन, IAST: darśana lit. 'showing, appearance,[1] view, sight') or Darshanam (darśanam) is the auspicious sight of a deity or a holy person.[2]

A darshana literally means a glimpse or view. In a Hindu temple, the term refers to viewing the garbhagriha (inner sanctum) of the temple, which hosts the murti (image of a god). Devotees taking darshana of the god Vishnu in the inner sanctum of the Chennakeshava Temple, Belur.

The term also refers to any one of the six traditional schools of Hindu philosophy and their literature on spirituality and soteriology.[3]

Etymology edit

The word darshana, also in the forms of darśana or darshanam, comes from the Sanskrit root of दर्शन dṛś 'to look at', 'to view', vision, apparition or glimpse.[1]

Definition edit

Darshana is described as an "auspicious sight" of a holy person, which bestows merit on the viewer.[2]

It is most commonly used for theophany, meaning a manifestation or vision of the divine.[4]

In Hinduism edit

In Hindu worship, it refers to seeing a deity (especially in image form), or a very holy person or artifact. One can receive darshana or a glimpse of the deity in the temple, or from a great saintly person, such as a great guru.[4] One can also take darshana of a sacred places like Kashi, Yamuna or Mount Kailash.[5]

The term darshana also refers to the six systems of thought, called darshanam, that comprise classical Hindu philosophy.[6][7] The term therein implies how each of these six systems distinctively look at things and the scriptures in Indian philosophies.[7][4] The six Hindu darshana are Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedanta. Buddhism and Jainism are examples of non-Hindu darshans.[4]

Mahayana Buddhism edit

On the significance of darshana in Mahayana thought, Paul Harrison writes: "By the second century CE... the vision of the Buddha (buddha-darśana) and the accompanying hearing of the Dharma (dharma-śravaṇa) are represented as a transformation experience of decisive importance for practitioners, be they who have renounced (mundane life) 'ascetics' or householders."[8]

The Abhidharma, collections of systematic summaries of the sutras, mention Darshana-citta, i.e. visions.[9]

Indian Mahayana philosophers Vasubandhu and Asanga acknowledged five paths to liberation, of which the third is darshana-marga, the "path of seeing".[10]

Nagarjuna, a prominent philosopher of the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism, wrote that the wise person perceives tattva-darshana, true reality.[11][12]

Other meanings edit

Darshana also sometimes has a more mundane meaning. For example, Sivananda Saraswati wrote in his book The Practice of Brahmacharya that one of the eight aspects of brahmacharya (celibacy) is not to look lustfully at women: "You should carefully avoid ... Darshana or looking at women with passionate resolve".[13]

Scholar of religion Richard H. Davis has said that darshana (viewpoint, philosophical school) is one of three terms in classical Indian discourse that could be considered roughly analogous to what today's English-speakers understand as "religion." The other two terms are dharma (duty, morality, a code of proper conduct) and marga (route, spiritual path). According to Davis, "most Hindu texts accepted that religious paths (marga) are relative to the points of view (darśana) and moral responsibilities (dharma) of practitioners, whose individual circumstances may make one or another course of action more appropriate in their particular situations."[14]

Poet Gary Snyder has given a naturalistic meaning to darshana:

It's a gift; it's like there's a moment in which the thing is ready to let you see it. In India, this is called darshan. Darshan means getting a view, and if the clouds blow away, as they did once for me, and you get a view of the Himalayas from the foothills, an Indian person would say, "Ah, the Himalayas are giving you their darshana"; they're letting you have their view. This comfortable, really deep way of getting a sense of something takes time. It doesn't show itself to you right away. It isn't even necessary to know the names of things the way a botanist would. It's more important to be aware of the "suchness" of the thing; it's a reality. It's also a source of a certain kind of inspiration for creativity. I see it in the work of Georgia O'Keeffe..."[15]

Darshan is also a part of the name of India's public broadcaster Doordarshan combining the word दूर dūra 'far' altogether making दूरदर्शन dūrdarśan 'television'.[citation needed]

See also edit

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b Monier-Williams, Monier (1981). "दर्श darśá". A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Delhi, Varanasi, Patna: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 470–1.
  2. ^ a b Flood 2011, p. 194.
  3. ^ Klostermaier 2008, p. 26.
  4. ^ a b c d "Darshan - Hinduism". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2015. from the original on 26 August 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2013 – via britannica.com.
  5. ^ Ray, Himanshu Prabha; Kulshreshtha, Salila; Suvrathan, Uthara (13 October 2022). The Routledge Handbook of Hindu Temples: Materiality, Social History and Practice. Taylor & Francis.
  6. ^ Nicholson 2013, pp. 2–5.
  7. ^ a b Perrett 2000, pp. 88, 284.
  8. ^ Harrison 1992, p. 223.
  9. ^ Gyatso 1992, p. 288.
  10. ^ Gethin 1998, p. 194.
  11. ^ "Chapter 26". Mūlamadhyamakakārikā [Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way]. verse 10.
  12. ^ Unno 1993, p. 347.
  13. ^ Sivananda 1988, p. 24.
  14. ^ Davis 2008, pp. 363–364.
  15. ^ White 1994, p. 148.

Works cited edit

  • Davis, Richard H. (2008). "Tolerance and hierarchy: accommodating multiple religious paths in Hinduism". In Neusner, Jacob; Chilton, Bruce (eds.). Religious tolerance in world religions. West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Foundation Press. pp. 360–376. ISBN 978-1599471365. OCLC 174500978.
  • Flood, Gavin D. (2011). "Miracles in Hinduism". In Twelftree, Graham H. (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Miracles. Cambridge University Press.
  • Gethin, Rupert (1998). The foundations of Buddhism. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192892231. OCLC 38392391.
  • Gyatso, Janet, ed. (1992). In the mirror of memory: reflections on mindfulness and remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0791410773. OCLC 24068984.
  • Harrison, Paul (1992). "Commemoration and identification in Buddhanusmṛti". In Gyatso, Janet (ed.). In the mirror of memory: reflections on mindfulness and remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0791410773. OCLC 24068984.
  • Klostermaier, Klaus K. (2008). Hinduism: A Beginner's Guide. Oneworld Publications. ISBN 978-1851685387.
  • Nicholson, Andrew (2013). Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231149877.
  • Perrett, Roy (2000). Indian Philosophy. Routledge. ISBN 978-1135703226.
  • Sivananda, Sri Swami (1988) [1934]. The practice of brahmacharya (1st rev. ed.). Shivanandanagar, Uttar Pradesh: Divine Life Society. ISBN 8170520673.
  • Unno, Taitetsu (1993). "San-lun, T'ien T'ai, and Hua-yen". In Takeuchi, Yoshinori; Bragt, Jan van (eds.). Buddhist spirituality: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, and early Chinese. World spirituality. New York: Crossroad. pp. 343–365. ISBN 0824512774. OCLC 27432658.
  • White, Jonathan, ed. (1994). Talking on the water: conversations about nature and creativity. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. ISBN 0871565153. OCLC 27640603.

Further reading edit

  • Coorlawala, Uttara Asha (Spring 1996). (PDF). Dance Research Journal. 28 (1): 19–27. doi:10.2307/1478103. JSTOR 1478103. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2015.
  • Dass, Ram (2010). "Darshan". Be love now: the path of the heart. New York: HarperOne. pp. 62–84. ISBN 978-0061961373. OCLC 526084249.
  • DuPertuis, Lucy (1986). "How people recognize charisma: the case of darshan in Radhasoami and Divine Light Mission". Sociology of Religion. 47 (2): 111–124. doi:10.2307/3711456. JSTOR 3711456.
  • Eck, Diana L. (1998) [1981]. Darśan: seeing the divine image in India (3rd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231112653. OCLC 40295673.
  • Grimes, John A. (2004). "Darśana". In Mittal, Sushil; Thursby, Gene R. (eds.). The Hindu world. The Routledge worlds. New York: Routledge. pp. 531–552. ISBN 0415215277. OCLC 54103829.
  • Purdom, C.B., ed. (1955). God to Man and Man to God: the Discourses of Meher Baba. London: Victor Gollancz.
  • Sanzaro, Francis (Fall 2007). "Darshan as mode and critique of perception: Hinduism's liberatory model of visuality" (PDF). Axis Mundi: 1–24.

January 01, 1970
darshan, indian, religions, this, article, about, hindu, buddhist, meanings, term, jewish, leader, also, called, darshan, darshan, judaism, bangladesh, border, township, darshana, chuadanga, darshana, redirects, here, other, uses, darshana, disambiguation, ind. This article is about the Hindu and Buddhist meanings of the term For the Jewish lay leader also called Darshan see Darshan Judaism For the Bangladesh border township see Darshana Chuadanga Darshana redirects here For other uses see Darshana disambiguation In Indian religions Darshana also spelt Darshan Sanskrit दर शन IAST darsana lit showing appearance 1 view sight or Darshanam darsanam is the auspicious sight of a deity or a holy person 2 A darshana literally means a glimpse or view In a Hindu temple the term refers to viewing the garbhagriha inner sanctum of the temple which hosts the murti image of a god Devotees taking darshana of the god Vishnu in the inner sanctum of the Chennakeshava Temple Belur The term also refers to any one of the six traditional schools of Hindu philosophy and their literature on spirituality and soteriology 3 Contents 1 Etymology 2 Definition 3 In Hinduism 4 Mahayana Buddhism 5 Other meanings 6 See also 7 References 7 1 Citations 7 2 Works cited 8 Further readingEtymology editThe word darshana also in the forms of darsana or darshanam comes from the Sanskrit root of दर शन dṛs to look at to view vision apparition or glimpse 1 Definition editDarshana is described as an auspicious sight of a holy person which bestows merit on the viewer 2 It is most commonly used for theophany meaning a manifestation or vision of the divine 4 In Hinduism editIn Hindu worship it refers to seeing a deity especially in image form or a very holy person or artifact One can receive darshana or a glimpse of the deity in the temple or from a great saintly person such as a great guru 4 One can also take darshana of a sacred places like Kashi Yamuna or Mount Kailash 5 The term darshana also refers to the six systems of thought called darshanam that comprise classical Hindu philosophy 6 7 The term therein implies how each of these six systems distinctively look at things and the scriptures in Indian philosophies 7 4 The six Hindu darshana are Nyaya Vaisheshika Samkhya Yoga Mimaṃsa and Vedanta Buddhism and Jainism are examples of non Hindu darshans 4 Mahayana Buddhism editOn the significance of darshana in Mahayana thought Paul Harrison writes By the second century CE the vision of the Buddha buddha darsana and the accompanying hearing of the Dharma dharma sravaṇa are represented as a transformation experience of decisive importance for practitioners be they who have renounced mundane life ascetics or householders 8 The Abhidharma collections of systematic summaries of the sutras mention Darshana citta i e visions 9 Indian Mahayana philosophers Vasubandhu and Asanga acknowledged five paths to liberation of which the third is darshana marga the path of seeing 10 Nagarjuna a prominent philosopher of the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism wrote that the wise person perceives tattva darshana true reality 11 12 Other meanings editDarshana also sometimes has a more mundane meaning For example Sivananda Saraswati wrote in his book The Practice of Brahmacharya that one of the eight aspects of brahmacharya celibacy is not to look lustfully at women You should carefully avoid Darshana or looking at women with passionate resolve 13 Scholar of religion Richard H Davis has said that darshana viewpoint philosophical school is one of three terms in classical Indian discourse that could be considered roughly analogous to what today s English speakers understand as religion The other two terms are dharma duty morality a code of proper conduct and marga route spiritual path According to Davis most Hindu texts accepted that religious paths marga are relative to the points of view darsana and moral responsibilities dharma of practitioners whose individual circumstances may make one or another course of action more appropriate in their particular situations 14 Poet Gary Snyder has given a naturalistic meaning to darshana It s a gift it s like there s a moment in which the thing is ready to let you see it In India this is called darshan Darshan means getting a view and if the clouds blow away as they did once for me and you get a view of the Himalayas from the foothills an Indian person would say Ah the Himalayas are giving you their darshana they re letting you have their view This comfortable really deep way of getting a sense of something takes time It doesn t show itself to you right away It isn t even necessary to know the names of things the way a botanist would It s more important to be aware of the suchness of the thing it s a reality It s also a source of a certain kind of inspiration for creativity I see it in the work of Georgia O Keeffe 15 Darshan is also a part of the name of India s public broadcaster Doordarshan combining the word द र dura far altogether making द रदर शन durdarsan television citation needed See also editBlessing Dharma transmission Guru shishya tradition Jharokha Darshan PranamaReferences editCitations edit a b Monier Williams Monier 1981 दर श darsa A Sanskrit English Dictionary Delhi Varanasi Patna Motilal Banarsidass pp 470 1 a b Flood 2011 p 194 Klostermaier 2008 p 26 a b c d Darshan Hinduism Encyclopaedia Britannica 2015 Archived from the original on 26 August 2015 Retrieved 12 February 2013 via britannica com Ray Himanshu Prabha Kulshreshtha Salila Suvrathan Uthara 13 October 2022 The Routledge Handbook of Hindu Temples Materiality Social History and Practice Taylor amp Francis Nicholson 2013 pp 2 5 a b Perrett 2000 pp 88 284 Harrison 1992 p 223 Gyatso 1992 p 288 Gethin 1998 p 194 Chapter 26 Mulamadhyamakakarika Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way verse 10 Unno 1993 p 347 Sivananda 1988 p 24 Davis 2008 pp 363 364 White 1994 p 148 Works cited edit Davis Richard H 2008 Tolerance and hierarchy accommodating multiple religious paths in Hinduism In Neusner Jacob Chilton Bruce eds Religious tolerance in world religions West Conshohocken PA Templeton Foundation Press pp 360 376 ISBN 978 1599471365 OCLC 174500978 Flood Gavin D 2011 Miracles in Hinduism In Twelftree Graham H ed The Cambridge Companion to Miracles Cambridge University Press Gethin Rupert 1998 The foundations of Buddhism New York Oxford University Press ISBN 0192892231 OCLC 38392391 Gyatso Janet ed 1992 In the mirror of memory reflections on mindfulness and remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism Albany NY State University of New York Press ISBN 0791410773 OCLC 24068984 Harrison Paul 1992 Commemoration and identification in Buddhanusmṛti In Gyatso Janet ed In the mirror of memory reflections on mindfulness and remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism Albany NY State University of New York Press ISBN 0791410773 OCLC 24068984 Klostermaier Klaus K 2008 Hinduism A Beginner s Guide Oneworld Publications ISBN 978 1851685387 Nicholson Andrew 2013 Unifying Hinduism Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History Columbia University Press ISBN 978 0231149877 Perrett Roy 2000 Indian Philosophy Routledge ISBN 978 1135703226 Sivananda Sri Swami 1988 1934 The practice of brahmacharya 1st rev ed Shivanandanagar Uttar Pradesh Divine Life Society ISBN 8170520673 Unno Taitetsu 1993 San lun T ien T ai and Hua yen In Takeuchi Yoshinori Bragt Jan van eds Buddhist spirituality Indian Southeast Asian Tibetan and early Chinese World spirituality New York Crossroad pp 343 365 ISBN 0824512774 OCLC 27432658 White Jonathan ed 1994 Talking on the water conversations about nature and creativity San Francisco Sierra Club Books ISBN 0871565153 OCLC 27640603 Further reading editCoorlawala Uttara Asha Spring 1996 Darshan and abhinaya an alternative to the male gaze PDF Dance Research Journal 28 1 19 27 doi 10 2307 1478103 JSTOR 1478103 Archived from the original PDF on 3 April 2015 Dass Ram 2010 Darshan Be love now the path of the heart New York HarperOne pp 62 84 ISBN 978 0061961373 OCLC 526084249 DuPertuis Lucy 1986 How people recognize charisma the case of darshan in Radhasoami and Divine Light Mission Sociology of Religion 47 2 111 124 doi 10 2307 3711456 JSTOR 3711456 Eck Diana L 1998 1981 Darsan seeing the divine image in India 3rd ed New York Columbia University Press ISBN 0231112653 OCLC 40295673 Grimes John A 2004 Darsana In Mittal Sushil Thursby Gene R eds The Hindu world The Routledge worlds New York Routledge pp 531 552 ISBN 0415215277 OCLC 54103829 Purdom C B ed 1955 God to Man and Man to God the Discourses of Meher Baba London Victor Gollancz Sanzaro Francis Fall 2007 Darshan as mode and critique of perception Hinduism s liberatory model of visuality PDF Axis Mundi 1 24 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Darshan Indian religions amp oldid 1217353246, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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