Talk:Darshana – Vision of the Divine
By Vishal Agarwal
While the previous two sections summarize numerous reasons why a Mandir is important, the core reason why the Mandir is established is ‘Darshana’ – seeing the Lord manifested as the Mūrti, and being seen by Him/Her. The ceremony, accompanied by the waving of lamps, chanting of prayers, offerings or fruit and flowers, etc., gives great peace of mind to the worshippers and helps in finding their bearings. The Bhakta starts beholding the Deity in the image from feet upwards and then exchanges eye contact with Him. The last ceremony to bring the Mūrti to life is the ritual opening of its eyes.
Even a shrine that does not serve any of the functions in the previous two sections is nevertheless a Mandir if it provides a venue for Darshana. For this reason, a Hindu Mandir need not be elaborate, because a congregation of devotees is not its central function. Hindus have other institutions too that provide services other than Darshana, but a Mandir exists for the primary purpose of Darshana.
At the same time, however, some Hindu traditions do not worship images. But often, they substitute the Mūrti of the Deity with an image of their founding saint (e.g. the Sai Baba Mandir of Shirdi), their holy scripture (e.g. Bhāgavata Purāṇa in shrines of followers of Shankardev in Assam; Guru Granth in Gurudwaras of Sikhs, Kulzām Svarūp in the shrines of Krishna Praṇāmai tradition of Mahāmati Prāṇanāth) or the Vedic fire altar (Yajnavedī in Ārya Samāj Mandirs). In these shrines, Darshana is not performed exactly as in the case of Mandirs with Mūrti-s. In the Gurudwaras, for instance, reverence is paid to the installed scripture, the Granth Sahib, which is nevertheless treated similarly to the images in temples. But instead of Darshana, the Granth is read out as the word of the divinely inspired Gurus who are said to be embodied in the scripture.
Story of Dhanurdāsa:
How the love for Bhagavān, arising from Darshana, enables us to transcend love for our near and dear ones but does not eliminate it, is illustrated by this story from the 11th century CE. Ramanuja thought, “I wish that his infatuation for beauty were directed towards Vishnu, the most beautiful one! If that happens, this man would attain great spiritual heights.” Therefore, the saint said, “If you worship beauty, then come today evening to the Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam at the time of the ārati (prayer ceremony done with lamps).”
The man was reluctant to go to the temple but his lady-love said, “Perhaps a misfortune would befall you if you do not obey the command of a holy man. So just go for today.” The man showed up at the required time in the temple, and he was overwhelmed when he saw the beauty of the lamps being waved around the Deity. He was moved by the beauty of the prayers being chanted by the devotees, and by the faith in their eyes.
His transformation occurred there and then. He gave up his wrong ways and became a true devotee of Vishnu. His name is recorded as Dhanurdas in the Hindu tradition. Dhanurdasa married his girlfriend with the blessings of Ramanujacharya and they both settled down in the temple city of Srirangam, where the couple spent their lives in the worship of Bhagavān.