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The True Meaning of Darshan,
Sparshan and Sambhashan
Sai Ram and greetings. In this
article, I intend dealing with a question from one of our readers.
This listener/reader writes to say that in a recent Discourse to
the youth of Kerala, Swami said that “Darshan
alone is not sufficient and that we must have
Sparshan [touch of the Divine] and
Sambhashan [conversation with the
Divine] also.” The reader goes on to add, “But Swami has Himself
stopped giving Pada Namaskar. If
Sparshan is a must, then why this
denial?’ This is Part 1 of the question, if I may put it that way.
Part 2 of the listener’s question [it is actually a statement] is
contained in the following remark: “Swami also says that
Sparshan removes
Karma [consequences of past actions],
and Sambhashan removes
Sankatas [difficulties]. Actually all
three, sins, [bad] Karma and
Sankatas are same. There is no
distinction.” The writer ends by asking for our views.
When we received
this mail it set us thinking and I said to myself, “Yes, Swami has
spoken about the blessings of Darshan
etc. And it is also true that He Himself has put an end to the
much-coveted Pada Namaskar. All this
is true no doubt but whatever happened when there was no
Avatar around, say during the period
from Krishna to Shirdi Baba?” When I began to ponder thus, many
thoughts occurred to me, and this article is the outcome.
Let us start with
the period between say Krishna and Shirdi Baba. If we take Swami’s
observations about Darshan, Sparshan
etc., in the literal sense, then does it mean
that during this long period of five thousand years or so, people
were condemned to eternal damnation? Were they barred from
receiving Divine Grace? Were their problems not solved? Obviously
that could not be true. Then does it mean that Swami is not
correct? Clearly that possibility also has to be ruled out! How
then do we reconcile what appears to be a clear contradiction? The
resolution to the paradox lies in the way we interpret the words
Darshan, Sparshan and
Sambhashan and what they actually
imply.
Let us start with
the word Darshan. For all of us,
Darshan simply means
Darshan of our beloved Swami.
However, if, for the sake of argument, you asked someone say who
lived in the seventeenth century or earlier what that word means,
then that person would possibly say that
Darshan means going to the temple and seeing the deity
installed there. In fact, even today, for millions in India who
are not devotees of Swami, that is what the word would mean.
Just think about
what Meera did, for example. She started by worshipping an idol of
Krishna and that helped her to print His image on her Heart.
Thereafter, she always saw Krishna in her Heart and that for her
was the ultimate Darshan. Was it
make-believe? If it were, then she would not have got the benefits
of Darshan that you and I get. But,
as we all know, she received Krishna’s Grace in full measure.
Then there was
Tyagaraja, the incomparable devotee of Rama. He hardly stirred out
of his house to go to this shrine or that. He had idols of Rama,
Sita and others and worshipped them daily like all others did. But
he also went a lot further because for Tyagaraja the objects of
worship were not mere idols – they were verily the Lord, His
Consort and His retinue. Thus when Tyagaraja’s brother threw the
idols into the river, Tyagaraja wept like one would when one loses
a loved one. And when he discovered the lost idols, he sang with
great joy, after which he ceremoniously welcomed the Lord back
into the house. By the way, Swami has recalled all these incidents
in great detail, as also the songs sung by Tyagaraja on those
occasions. No wonder Swami says: “You can either make a picture
into God or make God into a picture.” As you feel so you become –
if one feels the idol is not an idol but God, then God it is. So
you see, we need not necessarily interpret
Darshan in a limited sense. Mind you, I am NOT, repeat NOT,
trying to say that seeing Swami is nothing unique or great. Far
from it; the joy of seeing that Divine Face and the Divine Smile
will ever remain an incomparable blessing. Nothing on earth can
match that. Only the Avatar is equal
to the Avatar – of that one can be
sure. Then what exactly am I trying to say? Simply this: The
blessings conferred by the physical
Darshan of Swami was available to
devotees even when Swami had not incarnated in His present form;
and that blessing comes from faith. After all, as Swami reminds us
ever so often, God is everywhere and is present all the time.
Thus, anyone can have the Darshan of
God any time, any place. If one chooses, one can see God in a
sunset, a mountain, in fact anything, which is why the ancients of
India worshipped almost everything from an ant to a mountain,
snakes included!
It is perhaps
pertinent at this point to briefly recall the story of Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa and a young seeker named Narendranath, later to become
famous as Swami Vivekananda. At the time of this story, Narendra
loved Ramakrishna very much but was sceptical about many of the
latter’s teachings. When he asked Ramakrishna whether he had seen
God, Ramakrishna replied in the affirmative adding, “I see God as
clearly as I see you.” Ramakrishna not only saw Mother in the idol
of Kali but also spoke to her regularly. In other words, he not
only had Darshan but also
Sambhashan and it was not related to
the Avatar.
I am sure you will
murmur and say, “But look, this is different. You simply cannot
compare the two.” So it would seem to you and me but we must
remember that for people who are prepared to see God everywhere,
every experience of communion with God is very special! In other
words, they get as much joy from every thing under the Sun as we
get from Swami. That is in fact what Swami actually
expects of us – not to limit God to just one form but see Him
everywhere in the Cosmos and in every living being. That is true
Advaitam or Universal Oneness, and as
Swami often says, Advaita Darshanam Jnanam,
meaning that is the Ultimate and Supreme Knowledge. Agree most of
us are nowhere near that stage; but be that as it may, the
statement remains true.
Let me now move over
from Darshan and
Sambhashan to
Sparshan, which, for most of us, means
Pada Namaskar. “Why this denial?”
asks our friend. That question is being asked because he has
forgotten what Swami said when He brought the curtain down on
Pada Namaskar some years ago. Basically He asked, “Who is
giving Namaskar to whom? You and I
are One; so where is the question of My giving
Namaskar to you?” That remark sends a
strong message: “Snap out of it and go beyond
Dvaitam or duality to
Advaitam or the non-dual state.” We
don’t want to do that and wish to cling to the dual state but the
Master would have none of that. So when we say denial, it simply
means we want to be in the KG while our dear Lord and Master wants
us to move on to a higher class. If the Master for our own good
wants us to go to a higher class, can we call that denial? I
wonder.
I am reminded here
of a conversation I had many years ago with late Mr. Ahluwalia who
served in the Vice Chancellor’s Office. Vice Chancellors came and
went, including myself, but Mr. Ahluwalia remained constant and
saw six of them! One day he told me, “Sir, I have many, many
Pada Namaksars.” This statement
puzzled me because I had not seen Swami giving this venerable
gentleman many Namaskars. Even while
I was wondering, Mr. Ahluwalia cleared my doubt by saying, “I have
a photo of Swami’s Feet, and I not only prostrate repeatedly
before it but also hold the Feet on my head!” Mr. Ahuliwalia was
dead certain that what he was doing was equivalent to a
Pada Namaskar. As is the feeling, so
is the result says Swami often; it was certainly true with this
gentleman.
Talking of
Pada Namaskars, I must not fail to
recall late Brig. Bose, father of Col. Bose who is looking after
the Chaitanya Jyothi. Brig. Bose and I used to sit next to each
other during Darshan many years ago
and in those days when Swami walked past us, Brig. Bose never
sought to touch Swami’s Feet as many others tried to do, often
much to Swami’s inconvenience and annoyance. They simply did not
care what Swami felt; they felt that they had a right to touch and
if Bhagavan did not like it that was His problem! What about Brig.
Bose? After Swami had passed, he would just rub the ground on
which Swami had just walked, and then rub his head with the same
hand. That was his way of getting the blessing. One day he
explained to me why he did so. He said much earlier he too was
addicted to this business of feet grabbing till one day Swami said
to him, “Do you think you can get Liberation, just by touching My
Feet? If it were so easy then every fly that sits on My Feet would
get liberated!” Bose told me that this one remark cured him for
ever!
Let me now put all
this together. Yes, Swami has pointed out the advantages and
merits of Darshan etc. All that is
undoubtedly true, but the unstated part of that is that the
literal aspect of these words applies only to
starters. One cannot expect to remain a beginner for all times but
must keep moving up the [spiritual] evolution ladder. Moving up
implies, among other things, interpreting the words
Darshan etc., in a larger sense as I
explained earlier. In the ultimate analysis, one must aim at
Advaitam, when the difference between
God and man must get erased. May be we are light years away from
such a destination but nevertheless, we must accept the shock
therapy that Swami gives us to keep us moving towards that
seemingly distant goal. We must always accept what God gives us
and asks us to do instead of demanding what God must do and say!
A few words now
about Part 2 of the question. Our friend says that sins, [bad]
Karma and
Sankatas are the same – there is no distinction. Is this
so? I am not too sure. As I see it, among these three, there is
both cause and the effect. Sin is the cause and
Sankatam is the effect. Incidentally,
I would prefer to use the term “impurity” or attachment rather
than sin, for attachment it is that eventually leads to misery -
no attachment, no misery. The Lord makes this very clear in both
in the Gita and in the
Gitavahini.
OK, what happens
when there is no attachment? Swami has explained that also. He
reminds us of what He told Arjuna as Lord Krishna – attachment
produces bondage to the cycle of life and death, and embedded in
this bondage is Karma, both good and
bad. In other words, attachment is the primary
cause for Sankatam. Attachment is a
body related feeling and that is why Swami tells us again and
again to rise above body-consciousness. No body-consciousness, no
attachment, no Karma, and no
Sankatam!
It is really simple
in principle but in practice we find it tough because we are not
prepared to put in the time for serious
Sadhana. Incidentally, you would notice that perfect
detachment confers all the benefits of
Darshan, Sparshan and
Sambhashan. And that is what devotees
resorted to when the Lord was not manifest in human form as He is
now. As a matter of fact, this triple benefit is a “bargain offer”
and surely one cannot expect it to last long!
So Swami is weaning
us away what He once used to grant freely so that we become mature
and His actions cannot be hastily described as denial. God never
denies, and it is only humans who do. To substantiate this, let me
recall a small story that Swami sometimes narrates, and with that
I shall end.
The story goes like
this. It appears that when Krishna was very young, one day He was
playing near the area where Yashoda was filling water in her pots.
After she had done the filling she called out, “Hey Krishna, come
and help me to load the pots on my head.” Krishna just laughed and
ran away. Yasoda grumbled, complained about her “unhelpful son”
and trudged back home. When she reached the doorstep there was
Krishna waiting for her. Not just that; with a big smile, He even
helped Yasoda to unload the pots, although she did not ask for
help. Yasoda was quite surprised and said, “Krishna, You are
strange. When I asked You to place the pots on my head You refused
but now when I did not even ask You, You have voluntarily helped
me to bring down the pots from my head. What is the meaning of all
this?” Krishna smiled and replied, “I do not place burden on
people; I only help in removing them!”
Everything that God
says and does is ALWAYS for our own good. Of that we must be
clear. If we are, then many of our doubts will simply not occur.
Any views on this?
Here is a question I
would like you to consider. Some say, “God knows whatever I do
because He is my Indweller.” Others say, “I don’t do anything; He
is the doer.” Which of these two is correct and why?
Why don’t you write
to us your views and comments? Make it like a Letter to the
Editor, and we shall publish them. Later we shall try to air our
own views on the subject. Any takers?
Jai Sai Ram.
Dr.G.Venkataraman
Source:
Radio Sai E-Magazine,
June 1, 2004
http://www.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_02/11June01/03_Spiritual_Blossoms/02_Reflections/reflection.htm
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