darshan

/dahr"sheuhn/; Seph. Heb. /dahrdd shahn"/; Ashk. Heb. /dahrdd"sheuhn/, n., pl. darshanim Seph. Heb. /dahrdd'shah neem"/; Ashk. Heb. /dahrdd shaw"nim/, darshans. Judaism.

a preacher or teacher of Aggadah or Halakhah in a synagogue.

[1915-20; < Heb darshan, akin to darash interpret, expound]

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or darsan

In Hindu worship, the beholding of an auspicious deity, person, or object.

The experience is often conceived to be reciprocal and results in a blessing of the viewer. In rathayatras (car festivals), images are carried through the streets to allow viewing by those who formerly would not have been allowed in the temple. Darshan may also be imparted by a guru to his disciples, a ruler to his subjects, or a pilgrimage shrine to its visitors. In Indian philosophy, darshan also refers to a philosophical system (e.g., Vedanta).

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▪ Hinduism

Sanskrit“auspicious viewing”, also spelled  darshana 

 in Hindu (Hinduism) worship, the beholding of a deity (especially in image form), revered person, or sacred object. The experience is often conceived to be reciprocal and results in the human viewer's receiving a blessing. The Rathayatras (Rathayatra) (chariot festivals), in which images of gods are taken in procession through the streets, enable even those who in former days were not allowed to enter the temple to have darshan of the deity. Darshan is also imparted by gurus (personal spiritual teachers) to their followers, by rulers to their subjects, and by objects of veneration such as pilgrimage shrines to their visitors.

      In Indian philosophy the term designates the distinctive way in which each philosophical system looks at things, including its exposition of sacred scriptures and authoritative knowledge. The orthodox account is that there are six such darshans: shankhya, Yoga, Nyaya (Nyāya) Vaishesika, Mimamsa, and Vedanta (Vedānta). Other darshans are also considered important, especially those of Buddhism and Jainism.

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