Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India
by Diana L. Eck
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Book Summary Information
Author: Diana L. EckEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-04-15
ISBN: 0231112653
Number of pages: 97
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Book Reviews of Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India
Book Review: Hindu Worship Clearly Explained
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not a book about Hinduism as such. But it explains the concept of "Darsan", the Hindu practice of the devotee ritually communing with the divine, rather beautifully. The author hits the nail on its head with her reasoning that the Westerner is at a disadvantage understanding Hindu ritual practices because of his/her upbringing in an Abrahamic (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) tradition which particularly shows "hostility to graven images expressed in the Commandments and echoed in the Hebrew Bible combined with the distrust of senses in the Greek tradition highlighted in Plato's allegorical cave." Further she highlights that the Quran and Bible are filled with injunctions to "proclaim" and "hear" the word rather than "see" the divine. The author presented arguments cogently about the Western misunderstanding of Hindu worship as "sin of idolatry" and she puts the blame where it belongs: in the eyes of the beholder. I have never seen anyone express this concept so clearly nor could I have articulated in such clear terms.
Summary of Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India
The role of the visual is essential to Hindu tradition and culture, but many attempts to understand India's divine images have been laden with misperceptions. Darsan, a Sanskrit word that means "seeing," is an aid to our vision, a book of ideas to help us read, think, and look at Hindu images with appreciation and imagination.
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