Interesting history of darshan in the West. Still, there's a Wednesday night satsang in Fairfield premised on the fact that people seem to "get it" when in the physical presence of others who've got it.
What I'm picking up from this discussion is that there is darshan that's all about the wakefulness in the room, and there's darshan that's about shakti, or energy. Different things? - Patrick Gillam Vaj wrote: > > 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." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/JjtolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
