Atma Darshan

VISION STATEMENT: Happy Persons, Families and Communities through Psycho-Spiritual Growth

In the Gospel Jesus says, “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying your heavy loads, and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:28). In a crowded cosmopolitan city like Mumbai, one may at times wonder where such an invitation can be realized. Atma-Darshan, located right in the heart of the suburbs, is an attempt to just do that.

Established in 1998, Atma-Darshan over the period of time has evolved as a well-known Centre in Andheri-Mumbai that enhances the Psychological and Spiritual wellbeing of people in order to foster the values of Love, Peace and Justice. Managed by the SVD Fathers, the Centre conducts courses, retreats and seminars for the Laity as well as Priests and Religious all round the year. There are some programs which cater to all people irrespective of their religious background. The course and retreats generally follow a pattern of being based on well accepted psychological theories of human behavior, and an integration of the spiritual quest in every person for Meaning in Life and the Connection to the Divine. Some popular courses are: Psycho-Spiritual Inner Healing Retreat; Meditation for God-Experience and Healing; Family Retreat; Couple’s Enrichment Seminar, Stress Management; Emotional Intelligence; Journey through Mid-Life Retreat; Aging Gracefully; Retreat for Widows, Happiness in life Retreat, NLP, Retreats for Priests and Religious etc.

Some specific objectives of Atma-Darshan are:

• To facilitate the building of the Christian families so that they may be true to the discipleship of Christ and thereby enrich the Church and the society as a whole.
  
  
• To orient the youth to realize their potentials and guide them in the service of humanity.
  
  
• To help priests and religious to achieve a deeper psycho-spiritual integration so that they may be inspiring witnesses of Christ.
  
  
• To promote among all religions and ideologies the “Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of man” and work together for the establishment of peace, justice and love with mutual respect for one another.
  
  
• Retreats (Psycho-Spiritual, Inner Healing, Yoga and Vipasana based etc.) life-enhancing seminars (for couples, youth, singles, widows, ageing, etc) and holistic health courses (Meditation, Stress Management, Relaxation etc) for various groups of people.
  
  
• Collaborating with a community of lay Atma-Darshan volunteers called “Disciples of the Divine Word” to reflect over, pray for and reach-out to the poor and marginalized.
  
  
• Individual and group counseling and spiritual direction through the year.
  
  
• Facilities for individuals and groups to conduct their own prayer meetings and retreats.
  
  
• Facilities for individuals and families for solitude, prayer and meditation.