Darsan, Seeing the Divine Image in India (Paperback)

~ (Author) "A COMMON SIGHT in India is a crowd of people gathered in the courtyard of a temple or at the doorway of a streetside shrine..." (more)
Key Phrases: aniconic images, United States, Sri Lakshmi Temple, Sri Venkateswara (more...)

Editorial Reviews

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 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 97 pages
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr; 2nd Rev edition (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231108451
• ISBN-13: 978-0231108454
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #970,188 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Visions of God-Hinduism's essence, July 22, 2001

By A Customer

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

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid introduction to the concept of Hindu iconography and related ritual experience, March 28, 2006

By	Sundari "Sundari" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India (Paperback)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eck sees it clearly, September 15, 2005

By	Marleigh Grayer Ryan (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Darsan, Seeing the Divine Image in India (Paperback)

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.