Product Description

Although the role of the visual is essential to Indian tradition and culture, most attempts to understand its images are 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 tolerance and imagination.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25120 in Books
• Published on: 1998-04-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 97 pages

Review
Simply one of the best short introductions to Hinduism available. . . . Belongs in every religionist's and South Asianist's library. . . . Enthusiastically recommended as required for undergraduate courses on the Hindu tradition. -- Religious Studies Review

Simply one of the best short introductions to Hinduism available. . . . Belongs in every religionists and South Asianists library. . . . Enthusiastically recommended as required for undergraduate courses on the Hindu tradition. -- Religious Studies Review

Review

"As fine an explanation of temple worship and use of Deity images as can be found. 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." -- Hinduism Today

About the Author
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).

Customer Reviews

Visions of God-Hinduism's essence
Diana Eck is one of the West's greatest writers on Hinduism. In this little book, Darsan..Seeing the Divine Image in India, she captures the essence of Hindu devotion. She is not an apologist; rather, she sees Hindu religious practice just as a Hindu would, perhaps with an even more enlightened understanding. There is a great deal of information that most Hindus would not be aware of. Bringing God into an image for worship is anathema to western cultures and religions. Yet it has been part of Hinduism and Paganism for thousands of years. Diana Eck reveals the nature of image worship, from the selection and consecration of the image, to the actual practice of Hindu devotion. Image worship is part of daily life for hundreds of millions of people today. I cannot think of a better book than this one to help develop a compassionate and enlightened understanding of the practice. It will be part of my home library always. Raja Bhat

Solid introduction to the concept of Hindu iconography and related ritual experience
Diana Eck is a wonderful scholar who has written several great books on Hinduism. Darsan (or "darshan," if you're transliterating it simply for an English-speaking audience) is a wonderfully simple introduction to Hindu iconography and the related ritual experience, a subject that is overwhelmingly broad and often unwieldy.

If you are an undergraduate studying Eastern religions, a graduate student new to Hinduism, a Western devotee wanting better cross-cultural knowledge of how to respectfully relate to your chosen god or goddess as Hindus do, or a curious layperson wanting to know more about the Hindu religious experience and what all the images and rituals are about, this is a great book for you to begin with. This slim volume doesn't go into elaborate depth, but covers a lot of ground and introduces many key terms in a very readable way, and is a useful introductory work.

Eck sees it clearly
Diana Eck has done an excellent job of sifting through the vast amount of material on Hindu imagery in India and presenting an intelligently distilled interpretation. An excellent read on a very difficult subject.