Darshan Messages – The Words of Love and Inspiration

“To bring the Divine Love and Beauty and Ananda into the world is, indeed, the whole crown and essence of our Yoga. But it has always seemed to me impossible unless there comes as its support and foundation and guard the Divine Truth—what I call the Supramental—and its Divine Power.”

These two sentences are the opening of a letter written by Sri Aurobindo on August 13, 1931. Typed copies, individually signed by Sri Aurobindo, were distributed as ‘Darshan messages’ a few days later, on His birthday, August 15, 1931. This was the beginning of the beautiful and deeply meaningful tradition of gifting Darshan cards in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry.

During Sri Aurobindo’s lifetime, printed Darshan day messages were given out once in a while. Afterwards, they were issued with consistent regularity. Some of them were composed expressly by The Mother for the occasion; others were passages from the works of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.

How did the Darshan days came into existence? Darshan means ‘seeing’. In the context of Integral Yoga, it refers to seeing Sri Aurobindo and The Mother and receiving their blessings. Shortly after the Siddhi Day in November 1926, Sri Aurobindo retired from daily contact with his disciples and saw them only a few times a year on what came to be known as Darshan days. At first there were three such days: The Mother’s birthday, Sri Aurobindo’s birthday and Siddhi Day. In 1939, a fourth Darshan day was added: The Mother’s final arrival day at Pondicherry. The fifth and last Darshan day was added on February 29th, 1960. The Mother declared this day to be “The Day of the Lord”, referring to the celebration of the Supramental Descent which happened on February 29th, 1956. It is also named “The Golden Day”.

After Sri Aurobindo left his body in 1950, The Mother continued giving Darshan, each Darshan day containing a message of Sri Aurobindo or The Mother. Sometimes She would even sign the cards to highlight and confirm the force behind their messages. It is known that The Mother took Her time to rewrite the Darshan messages over and over again until She felt the highest consciousness was being expressed in words for the purpose it served.

The Creative Force

What was the purpose of the Darshan message? Darshan cards not only conveyed a spiritual message but also contained the force to help in its understanding and realisation. The Mother explained:

"One must not confuse a religious teaching and a spiritual teaching. Religious teaching belongs to the past and stops all progress, spiritual teaching is the teaching of the future. It enlightens the consciousness and prepares it for the future realisation.” She further explained that “…a spiritual teaching is above religions and strives towards a total truth. It teaches us to come into direct contact with the Divine.”

A sadhak once asked The Mother: “But Mother, what is the significance of the message you give every Darshan? For example, today you gave the picture of the flower that symbolises the supramental manifestation.” To this, She responded:

“Yes, as I have just told, this is spread in thousands of copies all over the world. It is an externalisation of the thing, it is a way of spreading the influence, spreading the message, reaching farther. Everything that is said in a Darshan message has been studied, proved, tested, beforehand. And on Darshan day it is given. First the experiment is made, then it is declared publicly. The first movement is the individual development; at the Darshan time it is spread abroad.”

Darshan cards therefore served a double purpose: addressing the individual who receives it, and addressing the collective. For the focus of the Integral Yoga is not only the formation of the individual in order to be able to reach the goal individually, but also the preparation of the world. Sri Aurobindo had explained:

“The individual movement is always much more rapid and more penetrating; it goes farther, more deeply, and more quickly. The collective movement forms a sort of basis that both restrains and supports at the same time. And it is the balance between these two movements which is necessary.”

The Mother explained that the time factor was crucial for the spiritual messages to be landed effectively into a fertile consciousness. She had distributed on November 24th 1965 a Darshan card with a message from Sri Aurobindo: “It is certainly a mistake to bring down the light by force – to pull it down. The Supramental cannot be taken by storm. When the time is ready it will open of itself – but first there is a great deal to be done and that must be done patiently and without haste.” She explained to Satprem a few days later: “The message we distributed on November 24, 1965, it was Sri Aurobindo who had told me to keep it for the 24th, that was very clear and very categorical, but I didn’t know why. But now he has clearly shown me why and I’ve well understood.” She clarified that the Truth-Power was becoming more and more obvious, but people want to see results right away. As this can create unbalance She had to be careful not to give the messages prematurely to those who were not ready to receive them.

On April 11, 1973, The Mother wrote her last Darshan message, which was issued on April 24th, 1973. She elaborated on it in a discussion with Satprem, recorded in Mother’s Agenda. She said:

"This is what comes to me:

Beyond man’s consciousness

Beyond speech

O Thee, Supreme Consciousness

Unique Reality

Immutable Truth

(Mother hesitates and corrects herself)

Divine Truth."

After The Mother left her body in 1973, the tradition of Darshan card gifting continued. A special card was issued on November 29, 1973, twelve days after The Mother’s Mahasamadhi on November 17th. Over the years, Darshan cards evolved from short and singular spiritual documents into profound inspirational sources for sadhana. Looking back on the history of the Darshan cards, one could say that they are external signs of the aspiration for the Infinite and expressions of Their spiritual legacy. Initiated by Sri Aurobindo and developed by The Mother, this tradition has definitely been one of the divine treasures given by Them to humanity with so much love and compassion.

The tradition of Darshan cards was discontinued in January 2023. The Ashram trustees explained the reason: “The Mother was very particular about the Messages that She gave. The Message distributed by Her always had a deeper meaning and reason. Notwithstanding the fact that we have continued, for many years, the tradition of distribution of Messages on certain dates, it was felt that our selections were no longer the result of direct experiences. Recognizing this limitation, it has been decided to discontinue the practice of distributing printed messages on Darshan and other days.”

However, an exception was made on the February 29, 2024, the Golden Day. On that occasion, everyone was presented with a card along with a golden-colour cloth with the Mother’s symbol sewed on it. Finished with rays around Her symbol, it referred to the Golden Sun.

Spirit in Matter

Even today Darshan cards remain a powerful force that inspires, reaches out to, instructs, and bonds the devotees. Receiving a Darshan card still allows one to feel closer to The Mother and Sri Aurobindo even though They have long departed the physical plane. It was stated by The Mother that a particle of force can be transmitted through an object or a photograph provided one is receptive enough. When spiritual knowledge and experience emerge, it is seen that the creative energy in matter is a movement of the power of the Spirit. So, these cards are precious tools to touch the receiver’s heart.

For many the Darshan cards offer hope, love and inspiration. They affect human consciousness in a way that is quite different from religious messages or objects. The cards can be seen as an invitation and guidance to the inner worlds as well, not only for a sadhak but for everyone who is receptive and open to developing a new perspective. One could even consider the cards a divine invitation to tread the path of ‘seeing’.

The exhibition Darshan messages was meant for everybody. One does not have to be an advanced practitioner of the yoga of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother or possess a special spiritual knowledge to experience an inner nearness to the Divine as the Darshan cards can be seen as tiny vehicles carrying the vibration of the forces that act through them, and guide the viewer to make the first attempt to look inside, to develop his ‘inner seeing’.

Thus, viewing a Darshan card offers a unique opportunity to make a profound connection with the Soul within and experience proximity to the Divine through our psychic senses. It can result in getting a feeling of the Presence more intimate than sight.

*Full text of Darshan card:

“I am the God of Wealth, the Strong and Splendid, I am the Master of the thousands and the Regent of the millions. I am the puissant creator, the full-handed gatherer, the opulent disposer of treasures. All the riches of every kind that are in the earth and on the earth and below it and all the riches that are in the waters are mine by right; I have power of all their plenitudes. My power is for the Mother: I call those riches for her, that I may dedicate them to her, that I may lay them at the feet of the Mother of Radiances. OM, TADHASTU”