Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India [Paperback]

Diana L. Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies, and director of The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, is the editor of On Common Ground: World Religions in America, a multimedia CD-ROM (Columbia).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.An explanation of temple worship and the use of Deity images. Darsan will give the Hindu deeper insight into the practices of his own religion, provide explanations for non-Hindu friends, and convey useful konowledge to his children.Preface to the Third Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Seeing the Sacred
A. Darsan
B. The Visible India
C. Film Images
D. The Image of God
E. The Polytheistic Imagination
The Nature of the Hindu Images
A. The Aniconic and the Iconic Images
B. The Ritual Uses of the Images
C. Creation and Consecration of Images
D. Festivals and Images
Image, Temple, and Pilgrimage
A. The Temple and the Image
B. Image and Pilgrimage
Afterword: Seeing the Divine Image in America
A. America's Murtis and Temples
B. Sri Lakshmi Temple: The Process of Divine Embodiment
Notes
Appendix I. Bibliography
Appendix II. Note on Pronunciation
Appendix III. Glossary
Index