Netronmīlanam - Daśa Darśanam 

After the actual ceremony is concluded, before the murtis are unveiled for the people to see, specific items are shown to the Lord. The Devas are allowed to have darshan of these items, before the people are permitted to have darshan of the murti. Darshan means sight. We have darshan of a Deity in the Temple or of a Guru. When we have darshan, we see a little more of Divinity within all things. When the Devas or a Guru has our darshan, they see what binds us. We get a little of their heightened awareness transferred to us energetically. We get a heightened awareness of what is binding our perception also. This is the meaning of darshan. After netronmilanam, ten special things are shown to the Devas, called dasha darshanam. Dasha means ten. The list of the 10 items shown varies according to scriptural source, but common items include gold, a mirror, mother and baby cow, elephant, a horse, a parrot, a saint or guru, a monk / renunciate (sannyasi), a king (raja), brahmins chanting Vedas, married women (sumangali), prepubescent girls (kanyas), prepubescent boys (brahmacharis). Each of these offerings has great mystical significance. 

Objects

Gold, as stated before, has properties to open channels to the inner realms which helps the Devas to see. A mirror is used because the reflection obscures the physical vision, helping to increase the spiritual vision. Typically, if a mirror is offered as one of the ten items, it is shown first and the others are displayed to the Deity through the mirror. Sometimes other objects may be shown like scriptures or conch shells. Each is an item which has some mystical property to help increase spiritual vision / awareness.  ​

​Animals

Animals are important in these rituals for what they symbolize. The elephant has great strength and power. The horse can travel quickly to a desired goal. The parrot is intelligent and can copy what a person has said. In this way, seekers must emulate the good deeds of the saints. The cow is very gentle. People must be very gentle to advance in spiritual practice. The bringing of animals requires people to work together. It requires much planning and resources to accomplish. I recall assisting with the cow puja and helping bring the cows into one temple during this ritual. As we entered the Temple, people rushed toward the cow to see it and receive her blessings. As we entered there was a great deal of commotion. The bells were ringing loudly and the priests chanting loudly. The cow refused to enter this strange and noisy place. She was afraid. Yet as people pushed her onward, she never once demonstrated a hint of aggression. She could have easily crushed us and escaped, but her gentle nature wouldn’t allow this. I asked the people to be aware of her fear and give her space. People stepped back and watched from a distance. But she was still anxious due to the loud sounds. I asked people to inform the priests. Then they became very mindful and began to ring the bells very carefully so that the ringing would barely touch the bell and the sound was as soft as possible. The chanting also was reduced to a minimum volume. Then I asked people to stop pushing her, which was causing her to resist, and asked the cow to walk forward. In this way, I single-handedly led the cow that 10 people could not push into the temple. This scene was a great example of the wisdom of the Sages who designed the rituals of temple consecration. It showed everyone how the people had to all become more mindful and compassionate to enable the cow to comfortably enter the temple.    ​

People ​

The list of people is very interesting, because it includes people from all walks of life: male (brahmachari) and female (kanya), older (raja) and younger (brahmachari), rich (raja) and poor (sannyasi), high caste (brahmana) and outcaste (sannyasi). This demonstrates that God dwells in all people regardless of caste, age, gender, occupation etc. Each person also has mystical significance. The most important is the presence of a guru or sannyasi (renunciate). These souls have elevated consciousness and paranormal spiritual sight. They can by their mere presence help to ensure that rituals to open channels to the inner realms are going well. They can see into the inner realms and help ensure what is needed to help others to be able to do the same is accomplished. Additionally, if anyone else becomes overwhelmed by the process and what may be revealed to them, these great souls are there to help provide guidance and energetic support. This is why these, of the people are always brought first. The texts ask us to bring a king as well to show to the Deity. The Sanskrit “raja” may be translated in modern times to a president, prime minister, governer, mayor, delegate or other similar government official. These people have great fortune to rise to office and bring blessings wherever they go. They also demonstrate necessary skills to lead people and accomplish tasks. Their energetic influence is useful for the continued maintenance of a Temple. It is important whenever consecrating a temple to have the blessings of the community and governing authorities and even the spiritual beings in that place. Inviting government officials to such events makes sure that they are aware of the Temple and that the temple has permission of the authorities to be operating as it is. 

Brahmanas are brought to show the deity chanting Vedas. By their knowledge of the mystical mantras which open channels to the inner realms, their presence assists with the rituals. Married women are brought as well, because the wives play their role by supporting their husbands. The nurturing, sensitive, compassionate, gentle, modest, and giving nature of women makes them closer to God. Often men are at the front during these rituals and women are in the background attending to preparations. We should note that God desires to see the women closely for they are often in closer proximity to God than men. Young boy and girls are innocent. They have not yet been corrupted by years of negative experiences in the world. Their souls have recently come into the physical body from the spiritual realm. They often maintain much more awareness of the spiritual realms than adults. They are cute and inspire compassion in people. It requires a great deal of mindfulness and patience and compassion to get several dozen children to remain in a straight line and to go where needed when desired. This practice helps inspire spiritual qualities in all the devotees which prepare them to see more when it comes time for their darshan of the Lord.   

Darshanam of the Devotees ​

After the ceremonies are concluded, the veil is raised and the devotees are invited forward to have the darshanam of the Deity with newly opened eyes. Throughout the rituals, lights are kept dim and only a few Dim ghee lamps are lit for sight. Additionally, people look at the Deity through a mirror. In these ways, the physical vision is obscured. The veil itself obscures vision and necessitates that if people see anything at all of the rituals, it must be through the spiritual vision of the third eye. People tend to see ghosts at night. This is not because ghosts are not present in the daytime. Ghosts, like people, are often more active during the day. People tend to see them at night however because when it is dark the physical vision is less acute. When our physical vision is obscured, people tend to rely more upon the spiritual vision. This is why people tend to see ghosts more at night time. They see ghosts more in desolate and abandoned places, because there is less comotion and other mental distraction in such places. These physical practices to obscure the physical vision, increase spiritual vision. It is said that the darshan of the Lord is most powerful after these rituals. The devotees all have a powerful experience of God according to their capacity. For some, spiritual awareness increases. Some may have visions. Some may simply feel the presence of God. For some, questions are answer that have been plaguing them for a long time. For others, wisdom about nature and karma and dharma arises spontaneously. The experience is different for everyone. But the elaborate process helps to ensure that each person’s longing for spiritual vision is fulfilled according to their qualification. It is a powerful process to increase spiritual awareness for all who participate, which increases wisdom throughout the world by the influence of the lucky ones who have had the opportunity to participate.  ​