On 8/27/05 9:56 AM, "TurquoiseB" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> The question from my point of view, 28 years away
> from it, is -- was it darshan or was it something
> else, something more occult? I don't have an
> answer to this question, because it really has
> been so long since I've been in Maharishi's
> presence, but I wonder about it sometimes.
It's been interesting to watch this whole idea of "darshan" as something
"important" develop. From my perspective, it's largely an artifact of
spiritual materialism and one-upmanship in the spiritual supermarket.
Originally "darshan" was just hanging with the guru.
It began to take importance as a buzzword when Baba Muktananda brought the
Siddha tradition to the west. In his trad. darshan *is important* because it
is part and parcel of how the teaching was transmitted. He (and his
successors) had the unique siddhi of transmitting shakti, either
deliberately, or just by being in their presence during nightly "darshan".
Attending one of these events one would see people who had never meditated
going into deep spontaneous absorptions, assuming yoga asanas spontaneously
and a long list of experiences.
Good news like this spread fast. It also upped the ante in the spiritual
supermarket. If we had the "highest" teaching, then surely OUR teacher had a
profound "darshan" as well! Never mind if you were from a totally different
tradition where shaktipat was *not* part of the game plan--darshan was HOT
and everybody had to have it. It became like "my father is stronger than
your father kind of mentality."
I'm surprised someone hasn't developed a darshan rating scale.
Any hew, then MMY just HAD to have a good darshan. Man that's where it's at!
But it's really mimicry of the most pathetic kind IMO.
My .02 USD
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