Atma-Darshan, Centre for Spirituality and Counselling, was blessed and inaugurated on October 1, 1998. One of its birthing ideas was to fill the void in a crowded city like Mumbai where people could find a quiet place for reflection and renewal irrespective of their religion and make good the words of Jesus “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying your heavy loads, and I will give you rest“ (Mt. 11:28). Two Priests were directly and actively involved in giving shape to Atma Darshan – Fr. Gregory Pinto who made the concept of Atma Darshan as a centre for spirituality and counselling a reality, by designing the initial programs and providing a direction for the daily functioning of the centre, and Fr. Sylvester Rego who oversaw the physical construction and the layout of Atma- Darshan.
Under the leadership of Fr. Gregory Pinto, Atma Darshan from the beginning of January 1999 started conducting a number of courses, workshops, and retreats. These programs were multi-faceted and addressed a number of day-to-day human concerns. Specific courses to address developmental issues such as adolescence, midlife and aging were organized. Awareness and general wellbeing was promoted through courses like Yoga meditation, Vipassana and naturopathy. Family retreats, marriage enrichment retreats and companionship retreats were organized to encourage and support families in Gospel values. Right from the beginning care was taken to base every programme in both spirituality and psychology. Over the years Atma Darshan has evolved as a place for prayer, counselling, spiritual direction and personal renewal. It respects all people irrespective of religion, sex, colour, region or linguistic group. All participants, guests and visitors at Atma Darshan are strictly required to do the same.
In October 1999 a lay association of those who had attended Atma Darshan programmes was started by Fr. Gregory Pinto. They were called ‘Disciples of the Divine Word’ (DDW) and the initial aim was to reflect over, pray for, and reach out to the poor and marginalized. The purpose of the group got fine-tuned as the years went by and today they have a 3-fold purpose :
(a) to know, learn and integrate aspects of SVD spirituality relevant to their personal and family lives;(b) to grow as a team, and(c) to reflect over, pray for, and reach out to the poor and marginalized.
The vision statement of Atma Darshan reads, ‘Happy Persons, Families and Communities through Psycho-Spiritual Growth’. In line with its vision, Atma Darshan conducts several programmes throughout the year. These programmes cater to the body-mind-spirit development of the person. Programmes like Vipassana (conducted under the supervision of Shri Goenkaji of Dhamma Giri, Igatpuri, Nashik-Maharastra) which have a follow-up every month, attract people from all walks of life to the centre. The participants see Vipassana meditation as not only a way to personal enlightenment but also a means where people of all religious backgrounds can sit together, meditate together and understand the deeper connections that all peoples share. Vipassana with its deeply spiritual aims of liberation and enlightenment along with rooting out the causes of unhappiness – avarice, aversion and ignorance, is thus found to be a very valuable discipline towards both personal enlightenment and communal harmony.
With a similar aim of body-mind-spirit enhancement as in Vipassana, courses like Yoga based meditation and Brahma Vidya (conducted by the BrahmaVidya Sadhak Sangh) are hosted at the centre.
Atma Darshan believes that a good family life is essential to the overall quality of life. Family wellbeing is part of the Atma Darshan vision. In line with this Atma Darshan conducts family and couples workshops where issues like husband-wife relationships, family conflicts, bringing up of children, and family prayer are addressed. Atma Darshan offers free psychological counselling services to families from all backgrounds on the above mentioned issues.
Catering to the weaker and unattended sections of society is also a priority at Atma Darshan. Empowering programmes for widows and the elderly are conducted at the centre. The volunteer helpers at the centre also reach out to the elderly who live alone and put them in touch with other elderly people so that they are able to have a social support system. Educational, medical and clothing materials are collected at the centre to be given to the less-privileged and those in need.
A healthy mind resides in a healthy body and a healthy body is often a result of a healthy mind. Keeping this in mind, courses like emotional intelligence, stress management, self-discovery, are arranged at the centre. These courses are so designed that they cater to the needs of all sections of the population – professionals, housewives, people of all religions, different age-groups etc.
Besides the courses and programmes, the staff at Atma Darshan strives to address individual concerns. The staff being well-qualified in the area of psychology and spirituality, individual counselling is given to people struggling with their problems both in the area of their personal life and their relationship to God. The spirituality practiced at Atma Darshan is a blend of both Indian Thought as well as Western Philosophy. The Atma Darshan logo depicts the inner journey and the inner search which is so typical of Indian spirituality. The western emphasis on logic and reasoning is integrated in this journey and search.