Customer Reviews

Darsan, Seeing the Divine Image in India

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

This book was my introduction to Hinduism, given to me by a friend following my first personal experience with darsan and Hindu devotion. It is a stunningly clear and subtle book, offering a careful, complex discussion of the unique nature of the Hindu conception of the divine. I read it then in 3 days and am rereading it now as a student of Hinduism, looking forward to seeing this great book from a new perspective.

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.

Having read this book twice, it simply is not for me, nor would I strongly recommend it. While the scholarship is evidently good, I can't see anything in here which an accomplished scholar of Hinduism wouldn't already know, nor can I see this as a particularly helpful introduction to Hinduism for beginners. Yes, it does get the idea of "Darsan - seeing the divine" down well, and debunks the Western criticisms and shallow reactions to Hinduism. I cannot see, however, how this would be useful to an introductory student of Hinduism, because it is far too brief and the manuscript wanders freely from topic to topic, asking far too many questions, giving too little context and in-depth answers. I feel like this was originally a scholarly essay which turned into a book, and which probably worked better as a shorter scholarly essay. A good topic, but not the best read I would say.

This is a required text for just about every introductory course on Hinduism. Essential reading for anyone wishing to understand how Hindus worship and see the divine.

The book arrived right on time for when I needed it for class. I've learned a lot from it. Great book. :)

Diana Eck's book provides information about image and idol worship in Hinduism. It specifically discusses the nature of darsan and "seeing" in the culture of Hinduism and the complex rituals involving consecration of images/"murtis". This book effectively introduces Hinduism from an alternate, arguably more effective, perspective of perhaps one of the most central "Hindu" practices. I read this book for my Introduction to Hinduism class and can say it greatly enhanced my knowledge of Image/Idol worship in Hinduism.

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.

This book really captures the incredible beauty of Hindu devotional practices. I treasured this book.