Seeing Signs: Angel Numbers and the Divine in Everyday life (Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India/Sight)

Seeing Signs: Angel Numbers and the Divine in Everyday Life (Darsan)

By Calliope Mills 

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In a world that constantly rushes forward, many of us long for moments that pull us into deeper awareness—glimpses of the sacred, signs that there’s more to life than the visible. Whether it’s the flicker of a temple lamp or the repetition of 11:11 on a clock, humans have always found meaning in what they see. Across traditions and times, the eye becomes a gateway to the divine. 

  Diana Eck’s Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in Indiaoffers a powerful insight into this connection. In Hindu practice, darsan is not merely about looking at a sacred image—it’s about being seen by the divine. When a devotee stands before a murti (a sacred icon or image of a deity), it’s not just a passive experience. It’s an exchange of presence. The divine is not hidden; it’s made visible, accessible, and relational. In this moment of mutual gaze, the line between seeker and sacred becomes blurred.   

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Although as someone who does not practice the religion of Hinduism, and who also is unsure of a singular or multiple higher power, a visual superstition or spiritual phenomenon I enjoy believing in is  the concept of angel numbers. These are repeating number patterns like 111, 444, or 1234 that many believe are signs from the universe, angels, or higher spiritual beings. To me, I think they fall more in line with openings from the universe, as a channel to direct your manifestational energy into; they reflect the power you give them. Although the personal experience or impact these numbers have is different for everyone, in general, those who resonate with them can find angel numbers to be like whispered messages from beyond—encouragement, guidance, or affirmation that one is on the right path. 
At first glance, Darsan and angel numbers may seem like unrelated concepts—one rooted in ancient temple worship, the other in digital-age spirituality. But I think they overlap in the sense that both speak to the same human search for something beyond what is logical or scientific: a divine communication of sorts.

            In both cases, sight is not just sensory—it’s spiritual. Just as Darsan involves more than seeing an image, recognizing angel numbers is more than noticing a coincidence. Both require attentiveness, a willingness to engage the world as more than material.

Eck emphasizes that in Hinduism, images are not “idols” in the Western sense. They are embodiments of divinity, and seeing them is a way of experiencing the presence of god, “...for ‘seeing’ in this religious sense is not an act which is initiated by the worshipper. Rather, the deity presents itself to be seen in its image…”(Eck 6). Similarly, angel numbers aren’t just numbers; they become symbols, portals, and affirmations—transforming the mundane into something sacred. 

My mileage changing to 44444 

For me, I seem to be most connected to the sequence of 444; commonly associated with the message that one is on the right path, and that your intentions and thoughts are in alignment with the universe, it is also seen as a strong window or sequence for manifestation. I find whenever these numbers find their way to me, I choose to read into their positive and reassuring presence, and ground myself in the fact that life is about the big picture, experience, no matter the challenges at present. I like to believe it is all a matter of coming back to the mean, that things will never be too bad (or too good) for long, and it will all even out in the long run. 

In both traditions, the divine does not reside only in the abstract or the afterlife, but it is visually all around is in the now, “...the divine is visible not only in temple and shrine, but also in the whole continuum of life–in nature, in people, in birth and growth and death” (Eck 10). It meets us where we are—whether in a bustling temple courtyard or on the dashboard clock of a car.

Ultimately, these practices bring about a comforting idea that something bigger is never too far away. Instead, it is near, woven into the fabric of our daily lives. Darsan and angel numbers both urge us to pay attention. The sacred is not only found in grand miracles but in glances, signs, numbers, and moments.

Perhaps the next time we light a candle, look at a sacred image, or catch 11:11 on the clock, we can take a breath and remember: that seeing is a two-way act. And sometimes, the universe is seeing us right back.

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