Julius J. Lipner

Hindu Images and their Worship with special reference to Vaisnavism (eBook, ePUB)

A philosophical-theological inquiry

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Hinduism comprises perhaps the major cluster of religio-cultural traditions of India, and it can play a valuable role in helping us understand the nature of religion and human responses to life. Hindu image-worship lies at the core of what counts for Hinduism - up-front and subject to much curiosity and misunderstanding, yet it is a defining feature of this phenomenon.

This book focuses on Hindu images and their worship with special reference to Vai¿¿avism, a major strand of Hinduism. Concentrating largely, but not exclusively, on Sanskritic source material, the author shows in the course of the book that Hindu image-worship may be understood via three levels of interpretation: the metaphysical/theological, the narratival or mythic, and the performative or ritual. Analysing the chief philosophical paradigm underlying Hindu image-worship and its implications, the book exemplifies its widespread application and tackles, among other topics such as the origins of image-worship in Hinduism, the transition from Vedic to image worship, a distinguishing feature of Hindu images: their multiple heads and limbs. Finally, with a view to laying the grounds for a more positive dialogic relationship between Hinduism and the "Abrahamic" faiths, which tend to condemn Hindu image-worship as "idolatry", the author examines the theological explanation and justification for embodiment of the Deity in Hinduism and discusses how Hinduism might justify itself against such a charge.

Rich in Indological detail, and with an impressive grasp of the philosophical and theological issues underlying Hindu material culture, and image-worship, this book will be of interest to academics and others studying theology, Indian philosophy and Hinduism.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Taylor & Francis eBooks
• Seitenzahl: 258
• Erscheinungstermin: 21. April 2017
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781351967815
• Artikelnr.: 48210481

Autorenporträt

Julius J. Lipner is Professor Emeritus of Hinduism and the Comparative Study of Religion in the University of Cambridge, UK, and a Fellow of the British Academy. He is the author of a number of books, including Hindus: their religious beliefs and practices (2nd edition, Routledge, London, 2010).

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction: On the Object and Scope of our Inquiry Part 1 1. "The heathen in his blindness....": Methodological Considerations 2. In Retrospect: The Trajectory of Image-Worship in the Light of Y
muna's
gamapr
m
ya 3. On Conceptualizing the Foundations of Hindu Image-Worship 4. The S
khya Paradigm re-configured and re-imagined: Three Further Illustrations Part 2 5. The Art of the Possible: On Establishing a Convention 6. Hindu dharma and the Making of Images 7. On the Sense and Sensibility of Hindu Religious Art 8. Deity Embodied: a Theological Consideration of the Form, Worship and Meaning of Hindu Images