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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Auspicious sight of a deity or holy person}}<br />
{{About|the Hindu and Buddhist meanings of the term|the Jewish lay leader also called Darshan|Darshan (Judaism)|the Bangladesh border township|Darshana, Chuadanga}}<br />
{{redirect|Darshana}}<br />
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[[File:Devotees offering prayers at a sanctum in Chennakesava temple at Belur.jpg|thumb|A ''darshana'' literally means a 'sight' 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]].]]<br />
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In [[Indian religions]], a '''''darshan''''' ({{Langx|sa|दर्शन}}, {{IAST3|darśana}}; {{lit.}} 'showing, appearance,<ref name="AESD"/> view, sight') or '''''darshanam''''' is the auspicious sight of a deity or a holy person.{{sfn|Flood|2011|p=194}}<br />
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The term also refers to any one of the six traditional schools of [[Hindu philosophy]] and their literature on spirituality and [[soteriology]].{{sfn|Klostermaier|2008|p=26}}<br />
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==Etymology==<br />
The word ''darshana'', also in the forms of ''darśana'' or ''darshanam'', comes from the [[Sanskrit]] root of {{Lang|sa|दर्शन}} {{Lang|sa-Latn|dṛś}} 'to look at', 'to view', [[vision (spirituality)|vision]], apparition or glimpse.<ref name="AESD">{{cite encyclopedia |title=दर्श ''darśá'' |pages=470–1 |year=1981 |dictionary=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary |first=Monier |last=Monier-Williams |author-link=Monier Monier-Williams |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |place=Delhi, Varanasi, Patna |url=https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-apidev/servepdf.php?dict=MW&page=470 }}</ref><br />
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==Definition==<br />
''Darshana'' is described as an "auspicious sight" of a holy person, which bestows merit on the viewer.{{sfn|Flood|2011|p=194}}<br />
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It is most commonly used for [[theophany]], meaning a manifestation or vision of the divine.<ref name=britdarshan>{{cite encyclopedia | url= http://www.britannica.com/topic/darshan | title= Darshan - Hinduism | encyclopedia= [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] | year= 2015 | via= britannica.com | access-date= 12 February 2013 | archive-date= 26 August 2015 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150826000944/http://www.britannica.com/topic/darshan | url-status= live }}</ref><br />
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==In Hinduism==<br />
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]].<ref name="britdarshan" /> One can also take ''darshana'' of a sacred places like [[Varanasi|Kashi]], [[Yamuna]] or [[Mount Kailash]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ray |first1=Himanshu Prabha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H5eSEAAAQBAJ&dq=darshana+god&pg=PT305 |title=The Routledge Handbook of Hindu Temples: Materiality, Social History and Practice |last2=Kulshreshtha |first2=Salila |last3=Suvrathan |first3=Uthara |date=2022-10-13 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |language=en}}</ref><br />
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In Hindu practice, adherents often refer to their temple visits as going for ''darshana'' rather than simply worship. Darshana, often translated as the "auspicious sight" of the divine, involves seeing the deity's image (''[[murti]]''). This visual experience is charged with religious significance, as the deity is believed to be present in the image, allowing worshippers to receive divine blessings through their gaze.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eck |first=Diana L. |title=Darśan: seeing the divine image in India |date=1998 |publisher=Columbia Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-231-11265-9 |edition=3rd |series=Translations from the Asian classics |location=New York, NY |pages=3}}</ref> <br />
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The term ''darshana'' also refers to the six systems of thought, called ''darshanam'', that comprise classical [[Hindu philosophy]].{{sfn|Nicholson|2013|pp=2–5}}{{sfn|Perrett|2000|pp=88, 284}} The term therein implies how each of these six systems distinctively look at things and the scriptures in Indian philosophies.{{sfn|Perrett|2000|pp=88, 284}}<ref name="britdarshan" /> The six Hindu ''darshana'' are [[Nyaya]], [[Vaisheshika]], [[Samkhya]], [[Yoga]], [[Mīmāṃsā]], and [[Vedanta]]. Buddhism and Jainism are examples of non-Hindu darshans.<ref name="britdarshan" /><br />
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==Mahayana Buddhism==<br />
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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 (Buddhism)|Dharma]] (''dharma-śravaṇa'') are represented as a transformation experience of decisive importance for practitioners, be they who have renounced (mundane life) 'ascetics' or householders."{{sfn|Harrison|1992||p=223}}<br />
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The [[Abhidharma]], collections of systematic summaries of the [[sutra]]s, mention ''Darshana-[[citta]], i.e.'' [[vision (spirituality)|visions]].{{sfn|Gyatso|1992|p=288}}<br />
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Indian Mahayana philosophers [[Vasubandhu]] and [[Asanga]] acknowledged [[Bhūmi (Buddhism)#Five paths and ten stages|five paths to liberation]], of which the third is ''darshana-marga'', the "path of seeing".{{sfn|Gethin|1998|p=194}}<br />
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[[Nagarjuna]], a prominent philosopher of the [[Madhyamaka]] school of Mahayana Buddhism, wrote that the wise person perceives ''[[tattva]]-darshana,'' true reality.<ref>{{Cite book |title=[[Mūlamadhyamakakārikā]] |trans-title=Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way |chapter=Chapter 26 |at=verse 10 }}</ref>{{sfn|Unno|1993|p=347}}<br />
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==Other meanings==<br />
''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#Hinduism|celibacy]]) is not to look lustfully at women: "You should carefully avoid ... Darshana or looking at women with passionate resolve".{{sfn|Sivananda|1988|p=24}}<br />
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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 ''[[Buddhist Paths to liberation|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."{{sfn|Davis|2008|pp=363–364}}<br />
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Poet [[Gary Snyder]] has given a [[Naturalism (philosophy)|naturalistic]] meaning to ''darshana'':<br />
{{blockquote|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]]...{{sfn|White|1994|p=148}} }}<br />
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''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#Etymology|television]]'.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}<br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Blessing]]<br />
* [[Dharma transmission]]<br />
* [[Guru–shishya tradition]]<br />
* [[Jharokha Darshan]]<br />
* [[Pranāma]]<br />
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==References==<br />
===Citations===<br />
{{reflist|25em}}<br />
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===Works cited===<br />
{{refbegin}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Davis |first=Richard H. |chapter=Tolerance and hierarchy: accommodating multiple religious paths in Hinduism |pages=360–376 |editor1-last=Neusner |editor1-first=Jacob |editor1-link=Jacob Neusner |editor2-last=Chilton |editor2-first=Bruce |editor2-link=Bruce Chilton |title=Religious tolerance in world religions |location=West Conshohocken, PA |publisher=Templeton Foundation Press |year=2008 |oclc=174500978 |isbn=978-1599471365 }}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Flood |first=Gavin D. |year=2011 |chapter=Miracles in Hinduism |editor-last=Twelftree |editor-first=Graham H. |title=The Cambridge Companion to Miracles |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Gethin |first=Rupert |author-link=Rupert Gethin |title=The foundations of Buddhism |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |oclc=38392391 |isbn=0192892231 |url=https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe }}<br />
* {{cite book |editor-last=Gyatso |editor-first=Janet |title=In the mirror of memory: reflections on mindfulness and remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism |location=Albany, NY |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1992 |oclc=24068984 |isbn=0791410773 }}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Paul |chapter=Commemoration and identification in Buddhanusmṛti |editor-last=Gyatso |editor-first=Janet |title=In the mirror of memory: reflections on mindfulness and remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism |location=Albany, NY |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1992 |oclc=24068984 |isbn=0791410773 }}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Klostermaier |first=Klaus K. |year=2008 |title=Hinduism: A Beginner's Guide |publisher=Oneworld Publications |isbn=978-1851685387}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Nicholson |first=Andrew |year=2013 |title= Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn= 978-0231149877}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Perrett |first=Roy |year=2000 |title= Indian Philosophy |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1135703226}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Sivananda |first=Sri Swami |author-link=Sivananda Saraswati |title=The practice of brahmacharya |location=Shivanandanagar, Uttar Pradesh |publisher=[[Divine Life Society]] |year=1988 |orig-year=1934 |edition=1st rev. |isbn=8170520673 }}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Unno |first=Taitetsu |author-link=Taitetsu Unno |chapter=San-lun, T'ien T'ai, and Hua-yen |pages=343–365 |editor1-last=Takeuchi |editor1-first=Yoshinori |editor2-last=Bragt |editor2-first=Jan van |editor2-link=Jan Van Bragt |title=Buddhist spirituality: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, and early Chinese |series=World spirituality |location=New York |publisher=Crossroad |year=1993 |oclc=27432658 |isbn=0824512774 }}<br />
* {{cite book |editor-last=White |editor-first=Jonathan |title=Talking on the water: conversations about nature and creativity |location=San Francisco |publisher=Sierra Club Books |year=1994 |oclc=27640603 |isbn=0871565153 |url=https://archive.org/details/talkingonwaterco00whit }}<br />
{{refend}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
* {{cite journal|last=Coorlawala |first=Uttara Asha |title=Darshan and abhinaya: an alternative to the male gaze |date=Spring 1996 |journal=Dance Research Journal |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=19–27 |doi=10.2307/1478103 |jstor=1478103 |url=http://srjan.com/articlesfile/Darshan%20and%20Abhinaya.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403105817/http://srjan.com/articlesfile/Darshan%20and%20Abhinaya.pdf |archive-date=2015-04-03 }}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Dass |first=Ram |author-link=Ram Dass |chapter=Darshan |pages=[https://archive.org/details/belovenowpathofh0000ramd/page/62 62–84] |title=Be love now: the path of the heart |location=New York |publisher=HarperOne |year=2010 |oclc=526084249 |isbn=978-0061961373 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/belovenowpathofh0000ramd/page/62 }}<br />
* {{cite journal |last=DuPertuis |first=Lucy |title=How people recognize charisma: the case of darshan in Radhasoami and Divine Light Mission |year=1986 |journal=Sociology of Religion |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=111–124 |doi=10.2307/3711456 |jstor=3711456 }}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Eck |first=Diana L. |author-link=Diana L. Eck |title=Darśan: seeing the divine image in India |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |edition=3rd |year=1998 |orig-year=1981 |oclc=40295673 |isbn=0231112653 }}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Grimes |first=John A. |chapter=Darśana |pages=531–552 |editor1-last=Mittal |editor1-first=Sushil |editor2-last=Thursby |editor2-first=Gene R. |title=The Hindu world |series=The Routledge worlds |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |oclc=54103829 |isbn=0415215277 }}<br />
* {{cite book |editor-last=Purdom|editor-first=C.B.|title=God to Man and Man to God: the Discourses of Meher Baba|location=London|publisher=Victor Gollancz|year=1955}}<br />
* {{cite journal |last=Sanzaro |first=Francis |title=Darshan as mode and critique of perception: Hinduism's liberatory model of visuality |journal=Axis Mundi |date=Fall 2007 |pages=1–24 |url=https://sites.google.com/a/ualberta.ca/axis-mundi/forms-cabinet/2007-08%20Darshan%20as%20Mode%20and%20Critique%20of%20Perception-Hinduism%E2%80%99s%20Liberatory%20Model%20of%20Visuality.pdf }}<br />
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