Word: darshan
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...Ordinarily he gives long, rambling, extemporaneous talks in English, full of digressions and schoolmasterly asides, that are translated into the local dialect by interpreters. Vast crowds of up to a million assemble to hear him, but the contact is more emotional than verbal. What happens is called by Indians darshan, communion. The multitude is somehow comforted and reassured not by the words but by the presence of Nehru. And Nehru himself seems to lose every trace of fatigue, becomes more alive, uninhibited and relaxed, and he returns to his job with his spiritual batteries recharged...
None of this, nor the fact that many do not even know the language he addresses them in, bothers his audience. They have come not to hear Nehru but for darshan, the spiritual impact of being in the presence of a great personality. When the speech is over, the crowd cheers, and amidst the applause Nehru bounds down from the platform, smiling at everyone, his irritability gone. "Nehru," says one American familiar with these spectacles, "is the opium of the Indian masses-and they...
...holy place of Deoghar, in Bihar, where proud pandas (priests) still cling to the tradition in spite of the law. At a prayer meeting, Bhave expressed gentle regret that Untouchables were not permitted to enter Deoghar's 1,200-year-old Temple of Baidyanath to receive darshan, or spiritual blessing. "On the question of service and devotion to God," he said, "there should be no barrier." Later, as dusk spread across the ancient holy grounds, Bhave put his faith in man's conscience to test. The holy man walked silently to the temple with his disciples, among them...
...they swap profundities. She: "How can one know the time?" He: "You cannot know until it has come." She: "The readiness is all? But I am ready." He: "Then you cannot have long to wait." This kind of talk is a bit heady for Liz and she experiences darshan, "a certain electro-magnetic flow...
...ascetic in loincloth, walking among the villages, won the hearts of millions of Indians. "Gandhi says" became synonymous with "The truth is," for many a peasant and villager. When simple peasants crowded round to see him (many tried to kiss his feet), Gandhi tried to stop "the craze for darshan" (beholding...