THE GIFT OF DARSHAN

The experience that is freely available to all and the one everyone invariably looks forward to is Darshan. To be in the Divine presence and to catch a glimpse of Swami as He gently glides along is the longing of all devotees. Just for this, they come from all over the world. How they crane their necks to see Him as He comes out! That is hunger for the Divine; that is the deep yearning for the Divine. If that thirst is there, then He makes sure that it is satisfied….whatever the place and circumstances. Our joy is His joy. As Kasturi found out:

Baba visited Kakadi village and Razole in the Delta of Krishna river and then proceeded to the village of Sathyavada, where the yearning of rural hearts drew Him. The village houses have thick and high mud walls around them and so, Baba could not grant Darshan to the thousands who filled the narrow serpentine lanes. Sensing the anguish of the crowds outside the walls, Baba had a ladder brought, a narrow contraption with eight horizontal rods as steps; He climbed it, reached the top, and got a precarious foothold on the crest of the wall. He stood there, silhouetted against the sky, in the hot Sun, to confer coveted Darshan on the people. I have seen Him ascend the parapet of walls of storied bungalows and the top of His own car in order to give Darshan to milling crowds and to calm their ardour. In Bombay, He has walked on the parapet of the Gwalior Palace; in Kurnool, He has stood on the narrow slab on top of an arch; in Budili, He has stood on a chair placed on a bullock cart; in Trivandrum He stood on the top of a Fiat car in the hot Sun so that more people could see Him and feel joy. But, this quick climb up the bamboo ladder placed against the mud wall, the stately stand on the narrow wall, will shine in my mind as a golden memory of His Grace!

On another occasion, Baba went to Hindupur, a town about fifty kilometres away, that He had visited last when quite a boy ………… He was taken in procession through the streets of the town in an open jeep. While devotees felt that He was in the scorching Sun far too long, Baba expressed His joy that the jeep had wound its way through all the roads and by-lanes of the town. Later He said, "How else could the sick, the weak, the lame, and the old get My Darshan?"

The Darshan of Baba is a creative chance to transmute our base metal into gold. To listen to His words is to be charged with the current of spiritual regeneration. To read His writings is to feed the intellect with wholesome sustenance and purge it of egoistic dross.

Let us now find out what Swami Himself has to say about Darshan on various occasions:

Later it may be difficult to approach Me and ask Me. For, people are coming towards Me in full, unending streams, and you may have to have My Darshan from miles away!

There are those who may never see Me in the concrete form. They have, all the same, reached Me through a friend, a book, or a photograph. To each of these, if they yearn deeply, I give My Darshan inwardly. These too I love as deeply, for they have begun to see themselves as being beyond their body, as Divine Souls. This is the advancement towards Self-Realisation.

After My Darshan, always find a quiet corner, where you may enter into the stillness and receive the completion of My Blessings. As I pass you, My Energy goes from Me into you. If, immediately after Darshan, you start talking, the precious Energy gifted to you gets dissipated and returns to Me unused. Be assured that whatever My eyes see, becomes vitalised and transmuted. You are being changed day by day - never underestimate what is being accomplished by the act of My Darshan.

My walking amongst you is a gift yearned for by the gods of the Highest Heavens; but here you are receiving this Grace without much effort. Be grateful for what you are getting. The Blessings you receive would express themselves in due course, when the time comes. But also remember: To whom much is given, from him much also would be demanded!

Well, it is time we realize how lucky we are to be able to see God walking on earth !