For me, darshan is to be in the presence of the divine and to experience the divinity, love, grace, and compassion of my Shri Gurumayi.

It is so beautiful to schedule darshan every day and have personal time with my sweet Guru. I can offer her garlands, delicious meals, fruits, sweets, dakshina. I can also offer puja and arati, offer pranam and sit at her feet, and listen to what she wants to tell me for the day.

After receiving her blessings, I can carry on my day with joy and happiness, approaching what is presented before me with enthusiasm and fresh energy. At the end of the day, expressing my heartfelt gratitude and wishing Gurumayi a good night bring a smile to my being.

Oakville, Canada

Like that seven-year-old girl, I too have never had Gurumayi ji’s physical darshan; I only heard stories about it from my father. For a long time, I believed that having the physical presence of the Guru in one’s life was very important. Because of that belief, a thought often arose within me: Why am I unable to receive the darshan of Gurumayi?

This question had been swirling in my mind for a few days. Then today when I opened the website, I read “Meditation on Gurumayi’s Words: Booking Darshan,” and somehow it felt as if Gurumayi ji knew exactly what I had been thinking and what was going on in my mind—and she answered my question.

I had never imagined looking at darshan from this perspective: to find the Guru’s presence within the heart. At that moment, something within me opened to a new dimension. I realized that this very darshan, which I once believed could only mean the physical presence of the Guru, can also be experienced within the heart at every moment.

Wardha, India

For a long time now, I have made it a habit to think of God and the Guru before falling asleep in the warm, dark silence of my bedroom. It is my intention and my goal to feel and experience the presence of my Guru and God. In the broadest sense, I could say that I “book” a regular appointment.

I often begin by expressing my gratitude. Sometimes I begin by offering flowers, or I simply remember a moment when I met Gurumayi in person. But I always open my heart and let it breathe. It is a very sacred time for me, which I look forward to every evening and prepare for through prior meditation to purify and calm my mind.

Konolfingen, Switzerland

Eesha’s invitation to contemplate “booking darshan” connects me to my deepest longings. I came to my first Shaktipat Intensive with one wish, “To see the beauty of my own soul.” I have no idea where this phrase arose from, but even as I write it now, tears spring to my eyes.

I arrived at Shree Muktananda Ashram late at night and, after registering, I went outside to catch the shuttle, all the while repeating inwardly, “I just want to see the beauty of my own soul.”

The August air was humid and warm as I stepped out into the night, and right then, Gurumayi rounded the corner driving a golf cart and looked right at me. Her gaze pierced me, and that was all I needed.

Off she sped, and I stood there, tears streaming down my cheeks, full of my own beauty, full of God, full of the Guru. With that one glance, everything happened. I was home. When I consider it now, the tears of recognition are the same—darshan in my own heart.

Massachusetts, United States

I loved this piece about “booking darshan” and its questions at the end. On reflection, I realized I sometimes “book darshan” unconsciously. This happened recently as I kept dipping into Gurumayi’s books, searching for a teaching to bring into the satsang on her Message for 2026 that we are planning to hold in the Siddha Yoga meditation center. The search kept me reading more and more deeply, saturating myself in the Guru’s words.

That night I had a dream in which I was experiencing darshan with Gurumayi. I was sitting in a grassy place in her presence. We were still, and I felt bathed in her love and a feeling of acceptance.

A dream like this is a rare gift, and a great blessing. Suddenly I realized I had “booked” it through my immersion in Gurumayi’s teachings. This enabled me to answer the question about what darshan means to me—it is coming so close to my Guru that I become one with her. This was the gift of my offering of seva, and it brought a feeling of deep peace and contentment.

Auckland, New Zealand

Listening to Eesha’s words, I found myself feeling open and tender as I recognized the truth in what she was speaking about.

Over the past nine months, my experience of darshan has changed since it was pointed out to me that we come before the Guru to “receive” the Guru’s darshan. There was something about the word receive that opened me to a whole new experience of darshan.

I now go before my puja altar, or Gurumayi’s chair in the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney, with no expectation other than an unwavering knowing that I am receiving Gurumayi’s darshan in my heart. My experience has been that I am filled with qualities such as peace, light, divine confidence, love, warmth, or bliss. I have noticed that the gift of darshan blesses my day as I am able to share my state with others as I go about my day.

I look forward to setting aside additional times during the day to receive the Guru’s darshan. Reading and listening to “Booking Darshan” has kindled my longing to deepen my practice of receiving darshan.

Sydney, Australia

When Gurumayi told this story, I remembered an experience from the first time I visited Gurudev Siddha Peeth in 1983. At this time, you could actually “book” a darshan with Gurumayi! There was a little notebook in the office where you could write your name under a particular day.

I waited at the back of Baba’s house after lunch with five other people. One by one we were called in to Baba’s house to have darshan with Gurumayi. I was so nervous, but Gurumayi showered me with love.

She asked me, “Do you love yourself?” I said, “Sometimes, Gurumayi.” She said “Love yourself all the time… and don’t worry.” I gazed into her eyes—they seemed to go on into infinity, and I felt the same space expand within me. I felt so full.

Whenever I recall this darshan, I receive the experience of it again. It feels like part of me. So, when I think of “booking darshan” with Gurumayi, I know that my longing will be heard and answered.

Leichhardt, Australia

I experienced a feeling of melting into Gurumayi’s heart-presence while listening to this loving “Meditation on Gurumayi’s Words” tonight. In this melting, there seemed to be one powerful and loving inner awareness—and the magic of darshan was able to manifest.

I also absolutely love the freedom to “book” darshan and make darshan a practice! What a great freedom this is, and I plan to explore it!

Florida, United States

The child inquiring about a darshan booking was very sweet, and I, like others, laughed. Later it occurred to me that we all had a booking to be in the presence of beloved Gurumayi in the Siddha Yoga Universal Hall, and we have another wonderful booking coming in April. “Why not?” indeed!

Woollamia, Australia

Knowing I can “book” darshan with Gurumayi any time I go within, I wish to embrace this knowledge by making time for meditation, and to approach all the Siddha Yoga practices with the exuberance and innocence of the seven-year-old girl whom Eesha writes of in her “Meditation on Gurumayi’s Words.”

Warrnambool, Australia