Eck, a religious studies scholar, sketched a vivid account that offered dazzling insights into the citys cloistered world of rituals, mythology, and sacrality. Diana eck brilliantly portrays the kaleidoscopic changes taking place in religious america today, and then courageously addresses the critical civic question what kind of e pluribus unum work for the 21st century. This is another book for my macedonian ministries group that will be journeying to the holy land this winter. Eck s pioneering 1982 book on the indian pilgrimage center of banaras. Diana eck is one of the wests greatest writers on hinduism. Her perspective has become ever more expansive, as she has explored the interconnected pilgrimage sites throughout india.
The countrys landscape is crowded with holy places. It addresses issues of christian faith in a world of many faiths and, more broadly, the issues of religious diversity. Diana eck s founding premise, which is demonstrated across the 10 chapters of the book, is a simple one. Hinduism resource hinduism resource reference books. Some scholars hold that the idea of hinduism, too, is the modern tracing of a circle around a diversity of ancient religious beliefs never. The role of the visual is essential to hindu tradition and culture, but many attempts to understand indias divine images have been laden with misperceptions. The book explores the sacred places of india, taking the reader on an extraordinary trip through the beliefs and history of this rich and profound place, as well as providing a basic introduction to hindu religious ideas and. A sacred geography is the culmination of more than a decades work from the renowned harvard scholar diana l.
Eck born 1945 in bozeman, montana is a scholar of religious studies who is professor of comparative religion and indian studies at harvard university, as well as a former faculty dean of lowell house and the director of the pluralism project at harvard. The book explores the sacred places of india, taking the reader on an extraordinary trip through the beliefs and history of this rich and profound place, as well as providing a basic introduction to hindu religious ideas and how those. In this lucid, learned and luminous book, diana eck introduces the western reader to the sacred landscape of india. I doubt i would have ever chosen this book for myself, but i. Sanskrit, meaning seeing, to see and be seen by a deity or holy person, diana l. Though many of these doctors, engineers, and scientists were not observant back home, in the u. A spiritual journey from bozeman to banaras, by diana l. A sacred geography, renowned harvard scholar diana eck offers an. A sacred geography, renowned harvard scholar diana eck offers an extraordinary spiritual journey through the pilgrimage places of the worlds most religiously vibrant culture and reveals that it is, in fact, through these sacred pilgrimages that indias very sense of nation has emerged. Now she explicates that interwoven worldview of the sacred and the profane in india. City of light, exploring hinduism through its holiest pilgrimage site. City of light, diana eck, a scholar and professor of hindu religion in the department of sanskrit and indian studies at harvard, has written a notable book about this greatest of.
The book explores the sacred places of india, taking the reader on an extraordinary trip through the beliefs and history of this rich and profound place, as well as providing a basic introduction to hindu religious ideas. 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 appreciation and imagination. No major civilization has made sacred the very ground of its being. Eck comparative religion and indian studiesharvard univ. One of the oldest living cities in the world, banaras is the holy place of the hindus, as significant to them as jerusalem.
Early in the first chapter the author, diane eck, uses the kaleidoscope metaphor visual revelation of the divine, an experience which the hindus call darshan. A common sight in india is a crowd of people gathered in the courtyard of a temple or at a doorway of a streetside shrine for. A sacred geography, renowned harvard scholar diana eck offers an ex. The book explores the sacred places of india, taking the reader on an extraordinary trip through the beliefs and history of this rich and profound. Diana eck on hindus sacred geography india harvard magazine. Explaining how the various gods in the hindu pantheon are associated. Highlighting hinduism, buddhism and islam, her symphonic concept of the new public square involves deep listening as well as passionate participation. Eck is professor of comparative religion and indian studies and director of the pluralism project at harvard university. There are seven sacred rivers, including the ganges.
Early in the first chapter the author, diane eck, uses the kaleidoscope metaphor to describe the incredible diversity of the hindu experience, and for the rest of the book, she skillfully reveals how the tapestry of hindu shrines, processions, iconography, symbols, rituals, and more, all kaleidoscopically combine to give the devotee a vibrant. Its traditions of ritual and reverence are linked primarily to placeto hill tops and rock. A spiritual journey from bozeman to banaras beacon press, 1993, studies the question of religious difference in the context of christian theology and the comparative study of religion. Tirtha is a sanskrit word that means crossing place, ford, and refers to any place, text or person that is holy. In this book, hinduism scholar diana eck makes a compelling case of why. The two books have hinduism as their subject but their approach is different.
She reveals the spiritual and historical resonance of this holy place where great sages such as the buddha and shankara were taught, where ashrams, palaces, and universities. Among other works, she is the author of banaras, city of light, darsan. Diana eck provides a richlytextured, nuanced, sensitive account of a city that the hindus consider most holy. A couple or so days ago i received the copy i had ordered of india. Intead, she chose the third world, and her junior year in. In a book planned for 2012, i show that hindu influences on christian theology far exceed the greek influences but that hindu sources have to be. Diana eck obviously has a deep understanding of and respect for the hindu tradition so there is also real spiritual insight to be found amongst the. Sacred city on the banks of the ganges washington post. Americas hindu population, eck reports, has roughly doubled over the last decade, to 1. No matter where one goes in india, one will find a landscape in which mountains, rivers, forests.
Considering its long history, india has had but a few hours of. Crossings in sacred geography one of the oldest strands of the hindu tradition is what one might call the locative strand of hindu piety. The holy spirit is not the same as shakti america magazine. There are few cities in india as traditionally hindu and as symbolic of the whole of hindu culture as the city of banaras. On the economy of scale, i read diana eck s short masterpiece darsan. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. I learned a lot about the image in india, formalizing.
In a joint imaginative and descriptive undertaking, mythology and geography have produced what she calls a living landscape in which mountains, rivers, forests and villages. A sacred geography is the culmination of more than a decades work from. The book is based on observations, interviews and analysis of textual documents to argue that the essence of banaras remains unchanged despite numerous attempts to redefine it by various invaders. Eck s introduction to the visual tradition in india is a magnificent little primer. More than anything else says diana eck, writing of the holy city of varanasi, formerly known as banaras, it was the multitude of divine images that elicited the strongest response of westerners in their encounter with banaras and with hinduism generally. It particularly refers to pilgrimage sites and holy places in hinduism as well as jainism the process or journey associated with tirtha is called tirthayatra, while alternate terms such as kshetra, gopitha and mahalaya are used in some hindu.
The real reason wendy donigers book on hindus was banned. Alongside donigers 683page behemoth, i am also reading diana eck s india. Seeing the divine image after wendy donigers colossal the hindus. This is the acclaimed study and interpretation of banaras, the holy place of the hindus.
Every place in this vast landscape has its story, and conversely, every story of hindu myth and. Eck born 1945 in bozeman, montana is a scholar of religious studies who is. Eck master of lowell house and wertham professor of law and psychiatry in society a scholar of south asian religions, despite her chairs titlewrote banaras. Seeing the divine image in india, encountering god. City of light hinduism bhajans chalo man ganga jamuna tir books india. The book explores the sacred places of india, taking the reader on an extraordinary trip through the beliefs and history of. Eck didnt want to go to paris with the smith girls that to go to paris for her junior year abroad. It addresses issues of christian faith in a world of many faiths and, more broadly, the issues of religious diversity that. I doubt i would have ever chosen this book for myself, but i am so glad to have read it. The image of god in the life of hinduism edited by j. I flipped through the pages of the 559 page book published in 2012 and was awestruck by its sweeping coverage of hinduism in india. Indias spiritual landscape the heavens and the earth. Eck later embraced hindu, muslim and buddhist beliefs about spirituality and now. The answer is hinduism, argues diana eck in her sprawling and convincing new book.
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