Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India | 
 enlarge | Author: Diana L. Eck
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.00
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 3535
Media: Paperback
Edition: 3rd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 97
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 0.3
ISBN: 0231112653
Dewey Decimal Number: 294
EAN: 9780231112659
ASIN: 0231112653
Publication Date: April 15, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Excellent Introduction to Hindu "Idolatry" November 27, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Not only does this book explain the way Hindus view the iconic (formed) and aniconic (abstract) images of the gods, but also the corollary view and conception of temples and holy personages. The title and key idea in all this is "darsan," which means not only viewing the sacred, but simultaneously being viewed by the gods. The way in which the statues (murtis) are treated with continuous attendance in the form one would typically associate with a human guest--bathing, feeding, clothing, putting to rest, etc.--is made comprehensible via this small book's explanation. The statue, image, or the temple itself is the body of the divine, in which the sacred consents to be present to humans...thus, treating the sacred body with reverence and devotion is deemed appropriate and important.
This book is useful not only to Hindus and those interested in better understanding the Hindu religion, but also any thoughtful person who wishes to consider the relationship of sacred to symbol, and the way in which the divine might be present to us.
Excellent and essential July 26, 2006
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
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.
Solid introduction to the concept of Hindu iconography and related ritual experience March 29, 2006
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
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 September 16, 2005
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
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.
A Profound Book September 17, 2004
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
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.
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