The wonder of darshan: Going beyond the local and the national

Abstract

Darshan is a classical theme in studies on Hinduism. Recent studies have called for a retheorization, pointing to diverse forms of darshan or similar practices in other religions. However, such critiques do not adequately explore darshan in transnational guru-led movements where both gurus and devotees cross religious, social and cultural boundaries to inhabit and create new devotional lineages in unfamiliar lands. Based on fieldwork among a transnational spiritual community in India, this article shows how darshan in the community is shaped by the intersections of interpretations of neo-Vedantic and western esoteric thought. Thus, it is argued that darshan needs to be understood as historically and discursively shaped. The article also considers the wonder-ful nature of the experiences and politics of darshan. The inner transformation of devotees, it is argued, is paralleled by the exterior transformation of the abstract imaginary of ‘spiritual India’ into the concrete place of achieving spiritual communion with the guru and realizing oneself. The wonder of darshan in this context lies in the traversing of the multiple axes of interiority and exteriority.