Ahd why
older god
diis
2, new ac-
votees are
Diana L. Eck, from Darshan
Religions,
134.
any clear
ned with
endars),
his time
are sig-
s listed
A common
of a temple
2 sight in India is a crowd of people gathered in the courtyard
or at the doorway of a streetside shrine for the darshan of the
cially to religious seeing, or the visual perception of the sacred. When
deity. Darshan means “seeing.” In the Hindu ritual tradition it refers espe-
the deity—be it Krishna or Durga, Shiva or Vishnu—present in the sanc-
ship,” but rather, “I am going for darshan.” They go to “see” the image of
tum of the temple, and they go especially at those times of day when the
Goddess
sion in
ersity
93),
the
presence
Mu-
image is most beautifully adorned with fresh flowers and when the cur-
tain is drawn back so that the image is fully visible. The central act of
Hindu worship, from the point of view of the lay person, is to stand in
of the deity and to behold the image with one's own eyes,
to see and be seen by the deity. Darshan is sometimes translated as the
“auspicious sight” of the divine, and its importance in the Hindu ritual
complex reminds us that for Hindus “worship” is not only a matter of
prayers and offerings and the devotional disposition of the heart. Since, in
the Hindu understanding, the deity is present in the image, the visual ap-
prehension of the image is charged with religious meaning. Beholding the
image is an act of worship, and through the eyes one gains the blessings
of the divine.
In popular terminology, Hindus say that the deity or the sadhu [holy
man) “gives darshan” (darshan dena is the Hindi expression), and the peo-
ple “take darshan” (darshan lena). What does this mean? What is given and
presents itself to be seen in its image, or the sadhu gives himself to be seen
what is taken? The very expression is arresting, for "seeing”in this religious
sense is not an act which is initiated by the worshiper. Rather, the deity
by the villagers. And the people "receive” their darshan. One might say t
this "sacred perception," which is the ability truly to see the divine image,
Krishna in the theophany described in the Bhagavad Gita.
is given to the devotee, just as Arjuna is given the eyes with which to see
Diana L. Eck
172
nect
the
that it is not only the worshiper who sees the deity, but the deity sees the
The prominence of the eyes of Hindu divine images also reminds us
worshiper as well. The contact between devotee and deity is exchanged
through the eyes. It is said in India that one of the ways in which the gods
unblinking eyes. Their gaze and their watchfulness is uninterrupted. Jan
Gonda, in his detailed monograph Eye and Gaze in the Veda, has enumer-
Exam
concl
pears
upon
imagined
cord
werd
said
only
for
ing
issu
"se
oft
ing
los
to
R
ated the many ways in which the powerful gaze of the gods was
and expressed even in a time before actual images of the gods were crafted.
The eyes of Surya or Agni or Varuna are powerful and all-seeing, and the
gods were entreated to look upon men with a kindly eye.
In the later Hindu tradition, when divine images began to be made, the
eyes were the final part of the anthropomorphic image to be carved or set
in place. Even after the breath of life (prana) was established in the image,
there was the ceremony in which the eyes were ritually opened with a
golden needle or with the final stroke of a paintbrush. This is still common
practice in the consecration of images, and today shiny oversized enamel
eyes may be set in the eyesockets of the image during this rite. The gaze
which falls from the newly-opened eyes of the deity is said to be so pow-
erful that it must first fall upon some pleasing offering, such as sweets, or
upon a mirror where it may see its own reflection. More than once has the
tale been told of that powerful gaze falling upon some unwitting by-
stander, who died instantly of its force.
Hindu divine images are often striking for their large and conspicuous
eyes. The famous image of Krishna Jagannath in Puri has enormous
saucer-like eyes. Shiva and Ganesha are often depicted with a third verti-
cal eye, set in the center of the forehead. Brahma, inheriting the name
“Thousand-Eyes” from Indra, is sometimes depicted with eyes all over his
body, like leopard spots. While it would take us too far afield to explore
the many dimensions of eyepower in the Hindu tradition, it is important
for this study of the divine image to recognize that just as the glance of the
inauspicious is thought to be dangerous and is referred to as the “evil eye,”
so is the glance of the auspicious person or the deity held to be profitable.
When Hindus stand on tiptoe and crane their necks to see, through the
crowd, the image of Lord Krishna, they wish not only to "see,” but to be
seen. The gaze of the huge eyes of the image meets that of the worshiper,
tr
E
and that exchange of vision lies at the heart of Hindu worship.
In the Indian context, seeing is a kind of touching. The art historian
Stella Kramrisch writes,
Seeing, according to Indian notions, is a going forth of the sight towards the
object. Sight touches it and acquires its form. Touch is the ultimate con-
Darshan
173
eye
touches
o reminds us
deity sees the
is exchanged
hich the gods
th is by their
rrupted. Jan
has enumer-
as imagined
consciously regarded as a form of contact ap-
nection by which the visible yields to being grasped. While the
the object, the vitality that pulsates in it is communicated. ....
Examining the words used in the Vedic literature, Gonda reaches the same
conclusion: "That a look was
s from the combination of flooking' and 'touching.' Casting one's
upon a person and touching him were related activities.”
eyes
pears
[...]
-ere crafted
ng, and the
cording
it; not him who has said 'I have heard it.” Seeing is not
were to come
said 'I have seen
e made, the
rved or set
the image,
ed with a
common
-d enamel
The gaze
so pow-
Not only is seeing a form of “touching," it is a form of knowing. Ac-
to the Brahmanas, “the eye is the truth (satyam). If two persons
disputing with each other, ... we should believe him who
only an activity of the eye, however. In India, as in many cultures, words
for seeing have included within their semantic fields the notion of know-
issue of complexity, of the “vision” of people of wisdom. In Vedic India the
ing. We speak of “seeing” the point of an argument, of “insight” into an
"seers” were called risis. In their hymns, collected in the Rig Veda, “to see”.
often means a “mystical, supranatural beholding” or “visionary experienc-
weets, or
e has the
ting by-
ing." Later on, the term darshana was used to describe the systems of phi-
losophy which developed in the Indian tradition. However, it is misleading
to think of these as “systems” or “schools” of philosophical thought.
Rather
, they are “points of view” which represent the varied phases of the
truth viewed from different angles of vision.
picuous
ormous
d verti-
THE VISIBLE INDIA
2 name
over his
explore
portant
of the
1 eye."
Gtable.
-h the
Hinduism is an imaginative, an “image-making,” religious tradition in
which the sacred is seen as present in the visible world—the world we
see in multiple images and deities, in sacred places, and in people. The
notion of darshan calls our attention, as students of Hinduism, to the fact
that India is a visual and visionary culture, one in which the eyes have
a prominent role in the apprehension of the sacred. For most ordinary
Hindus, the notion of the divine as “invisible” would be foreign indeed.
God is eminently visible, although human beings have not always had
the refinement of sight to see. Furthermore, the divine is visible not
only in temple and shrine, but also in the whole continuum of life-in
dature, in people, in birth and growth and death. Although some Hin-
to be
niper,
Orian
dus, both philosophers and radical reformers, have always used the terms
Nirguna ("qualityless") and nirakara ("formless") to speak of the One
Brahman, this can most accurately be understood only from the per-
spective of a tradition that has simultaneously affirmed that Brahman is
also saguna ("with qualities"), and that the multitude of "names and
e
tasting, and hearing. One “sees” the image of the deity (darshan). One
"touches" it with one's hands (sparta), and one also "touches” the limbs of
one's own body to establish the presence of various deities (nyasa). One
(shravana). The ringing of bells, the
offering of oil lamps, the presentation of flowers, the pouring of water and
"hears "the sacred sound of the mantras
milk, the sipping of sanctified liquid offerings, the eating of consecrated
food these are the basic constituents of Hindu worship, puja. For all of
its famous otherworldliness, India is a culture that has also celebrated the
life of this world and the realms of the senses.
forms” of this world are the exuberant transformations of the One
Brahman.
India presents to the visitor an overwhelmingly visual impression. It is
beautiful, colorful, sensuous. It is captivating and intriguing, repugnant and
puzzling. It combines the intimacy and familiarity of English four o'clock
tea with the dazzling foreignness of carpisoned elephants or vast crowds
bathing in the Ganga during an eclipse. India's display of multi-armed im-
ages, its processions and pilgrimages, its beggars and kings, its street life and
markets, its diversity of peoples—all appear to the eye in a kaleidoscope of
images. Much that is removed from public view in the modern West and
taken into the privacy of rest homes, asylums, and institutions is open and
visible in the life of an Indian city or village. The elderly, the infirm, the
dead awaiting cremation—these sights, while they may have been ex-
punged from the childhood palace of the Buddha, are not isolated from the
public eye in India. Rather, they are present daily in the visible world in
which Hindus, and those who visit India, move in the course of ordinary
activities. In India, one sees everything. One sees people at work and X
prayer; one sees plump, well-endowed merchants, simple renouncers,
fraudulent “holy" men, frail widows, and emaciated lepers; one sees the fes-
tival procession, the marriage procession, and the funeral procession.
Whatever Hindus affirm of the meaning of life, death, and suffering, they
affirm with their
eyes
wide
open.
So abundant are the data of the visual India, seen with the eye, that what
one has learned from reading about “Hinduism” may seem pale and per-
haps unrecognizable by comparison. As E. M. Forster wrote of the enter-
prise of studying Hinduism: “Study it for years with the best of teachers
,
and when you raise your head, nothing they have told you quite fits.”'
The medium of film is especially important for the student of Hin-
duism, for it provides a way of entering the visual world, the world of sense
and image, which is so important for the Hindu tradition. Raising the
eye
from the printed page to the street or the temple, as conveyed by the film,
provides a new range of questions, a new set of data. In India's own terms,
seeing is knowing. And India must be seen to be known. While Hindu
spirituality is often portrayed in the West as interior, mystical, and other-
worldly, one need only raise the head from the book to the image to see
how mistakenly one-sided such a characterization is. The day to day life
and ritual of Hindus is based not upon abstract interior truths, but upon
the charged, concrete, and particular appearances of the divine in the sub-
stance of the material world.
Many Westerners, for example, upon seeing Hindu ritual observances
for the first time, are impressed with how sensuous Hindu worship is. It is
sensuous in that it makes full use of the senses-seeing, touching, smelling,
iPad
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Re: 2: Eck (Amma)
by Justine Gamez - Monday, March 13, 2017, 10:13 AM
I thought that this chapter was very interesting to read. I had no idea the
way that the Hindu worship in India and all around the world. It is
interesting to me that the “amma” is a female and not a male. I think that
this is a great thing and although I could not see the image in the link that
was provided I am sure that she is an absolutely beautiful woman. The
philosophy that the amma is teaching about love, compassion and union
with the divine is very similar to what the Christians learn from the word of
God. It is stated in the bible many times the importance of love, that God
is love, and to love one another. It is state din the chapter the importance
of the eyes in the Hindu religion. They stress the importance of all of the
five senses but the eyes and vision being the most important. They say
that you do not know anything until you have seen it. This here is a little
different than what Christians believe. We are taught to have faith in what
we cannot see. We cannot see God but we have faith that he is here with
us and that little bit of faith will bring a person a long way. With the Hindu,
they come from all around the world to see and be seen by the amma.
They believe that it is not only good to see her for themselves but they
also really want her to se them as well. They believe that once they both
make eye contact with each other then they will be fulfilled with what it is
they came there to do. I would love to experience this practice one day
just out of curiosity to see what it is all about.
Show parent Reply
Re: 2: Eck (Amma)
by Nicole Ngo - Thursday, March 16, 2017, 2:53 PM
Hi Justine!
I too thought it was really interesting and different that there was a
female modern day saint. Usually whenever I think of a higher power or
someone such as a God, I always think of a male. It think that it has to
do with society and popular culture about how men are leaders and
women are otherwise. What the Amma taught was definitely similar to
what Christians believe which is to be good to others and treat people
the way that you want to be treated. If anything, all religions in some
sort of way preach this same thing. I found it interesting that Amma is a
modern day saint but within Christianity, I have seen no saints with my
own actual eyes. I'm Catholic but I don't really keep up with super
recent news or anything, but I'm wondering if they still name new
people saints in the Catholic church?
Show parent | Reply
Re: 2: Eck (Amma)
by Francis Ngo - Saturday, March 18, 2017, 3:20 PM
Hey Justine, I agree with you and thought this chapter was interesting
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