Diana Eck’s writings in Darsan: Seeing the Devine Image in India address many of the key elements of the Hindu culture and traditions. Much of her writing deals with the visual aspect of the religion, and how it is more about the spirituality rather than the actual image itself. Within each chapter she hit on other major details within in the Hinduism. However this essay will discuss the specific concepts such as pilgrimage to certain sites, importance of the visual aspect, and how the construction is a religious discipline in itself.…
The statues of Aphrodite and the Yogini both feature feminine beauty, with full breasts and revealing body. Aphrodite is mostly covered while the Yogini is mainly nude, but both emanate an aura of superiority above the everyday civilian, and thus commands an air of respect. However, Aphrodite’s depiction is gentler, focusing on her physical features. Perhaps she once held objects in her hands, representative of something beyond bodily appearance, but that is unknown. The Yogini is more aggressive and fearsome. While she holds the traits of womanly beauty, her depiction is more explicit with spiritual Hindu elements. Aphrodite remains simpler, while the Yogini has many forces to balance and represent. This may indicate the cultural differences…
The Hindu is more concerned with the rituals and rites that they follow, than the gods they worship.…
In the Hindu religion, there are three main gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the sustainer, and Shiva is the destroyer and regenerator. Brahma’s doings are done and world has already been created so he is not as worshipped, while Vishnu and Shiva are often seen with their consorts as there many avatars in the Puranas. These 3 main gods spread out to millions of different avatars while at the same time being all one. Since Brahman created the universe and is the universe at the same time, he is all of the gods together. Whom one chooses to worship whether is be Brahman or an avatar of any of the other gods, is completely up to the follower.…
The Thomistic Account of Omnipotence states that x is omnipotent, by definition for any logically possible state of affairs, o, it is possible for x to bring it about that o.…
Many people say that Hinduism is the product of melding different religions and cultural influences. Around the 5th or 6th centuries, two religions emerged in India that had heavy influence on the formation of Hinduism (Kinnard, 2013). Those two religions were Jainism and Buddhism, and are of course not new, but formulated newer ideas through Hinduism (Kinnard, 2013). Like Hinduism, there are many other Eastern Religions that worship more than one god. However, it is believed by many that Hinduism has the most gods that are worshiped. There are over 300 million Hindu…
Idolatry-Idolatry can be defined as "worship or reverence given to any created object or person." It actually takes many forms, not just the "praying to statues" that many people think of when they hear the word "idolatry."…
This is significant for their religious heritage because all of the rituals and sacrifices too place in these temples, so they represent the religious experience at the time. 3.…
Everyone did fear Odin and Zeus; they were considered the almighty gods. I also do not believe that Zeus would of made the same sacrifice. I figured that Zeus valued women, pride and power more than he valued wisdom. I think that the only way that Zeus would sacrifice his eye for wisdom is because he wanted to pride himself in that experience. Overall, I believe that there is a slim chance that Zeus would ever make the same sacrifice.…
Hinduism is a way of life. Hindu’s worship multiple deities, but Christians’ only believe in a single God, who created the ethereal and temporal worlds. Hindu’s adorn themselves ornamental clothing that have a specific religious meaning and some Christians wear special trinkets of faith, according to different denominations. Hindu’s are noted to pray three times a day and depending on the denomination, Christians will attend church several times a week to only once a week. Hindu’s believe in reincarnation once death has transpired (Sharma, 2002), while Christians believe upon death, the soul ascends to heaven and the body stays on…
Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, Ca. offers a whole level devoted to Asian Art, which is why I decided to go to this Museum. I chose the Bronze statue of Shiva as Nataraja or Lord of the Dance. We studied this in class, and I was taken with it then, and even more so in person. The statue is from India: Tamil Nadu, c. 1000. The statue is a form of Shiva, with four arms and a raised leg, standing over a dwarf, with different objects in his hands or forming meaningful hand gestures, and flowing hair. He is then surrounded by a slender circle of flames. Shiva is one of the principal gods of Hinduism. In this form as Lord of the Dance he displays both destructive and regenerative powers. The Statue has a third-eye (tri-locana) which symbolizes Shiva’s ability to see all and destroy ignorance with his gaze. Ganga, the goddess of the Ganges River is caught in Shiva’s hair before bringing the water of life to earth. Shiva is holding a double-sided drum signifying creation. Shiva is also holding flames. The fire of destruction and transformation represents Shiva’s role as the destroyer at the end of each world age. The cobra represents his mastery over death. Under Shiva’s standing leg is a dwarf. The dwarf is the demon of forgetfulness and Shiva is trampling him, indicating his ability to overcome ignorance. Shiva’s other foot is held up in the dancing motion to signify liberation. The four arms represent the God’s dominion over the four directions.…
Hinduism is a very unorganized, complex religion. It does not have a set of straightforward rules like other religions. Many things influence the study and practice of beliefs in Hinduism. However, there is something in common throughout all of these different forms. It is the belief in a higher, supreme power and devotion to concepts like Truth, Karma, and Dharma. Also, the belief in the jurisdiction of the sacred Hindu scriptures called the Vedas. There is many beliefs, teachings, practices, and important holidays.…
The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the statue of a god or goddess, or multiple deities, and might be decorated with relief scenes depicting myths. Divine images were common on coins. Drinking cups and other vessels were painted with scenes from Greek myths.…
Although Islam and Hinduism both believe in a higher power, they do not agree on how many gods there are. Islam teaches that there is only one God named Allah (Squires). Since Islam believes there is only one God, they worship the same God as Christians do (Squires). However, Islam rejects the Christian belief system (Squires). On the other hand, Hinduism believes in 33 million Gods (Dasa). They believe that the Krishna, the Supreme One, created demigods to run and rule over certain aspects of the universe (Dasa). For example, there is a demigod that is in charge of the sun (Dasa). They believe that their gods eventually die and are replaced by new gods…
With the integration of different cultures, our world as we know it is becoming more diverse and knowledgeable about the philosophies of different regions of the world. We are becoming more aware of the different philosophies, therefore, expanding our views on various social issues. Doing so will enable us in making more informative decisions without becoming bias. However, there still may exist differences and similarities between western and non-western philosophies. Hinduism is known as the oldest religion in the world.…