The notion of darsan allow the images of the sacred to be seen as present in the material world that we see today. India places such a great importance role of the eyes and its connection to seeing the sacred, that is makes it such a visual culture. Anyone who visits the country of India is immediately captivated by the visual expression there. This paper will talk about the importance of interpreting images, image forms, festivals in India, and pilgrimages.
Hinduism follows this great tradition with image making which comes from the notion of darsan. The means of film is important to anyone wanting to enter this visual culture. It is important because it allows you to see Hindu traditions through the world of sense and images. Through the work of photography and film making, a mass amount of people are able to see the images of a country we may not be able to easily visit. Through a simple image, people are able to pick up meaning and make connections to tell a story. Before the written text was even invented, ancient civilizations wrote in pictures. Since photographs are basically everywhere we go, it has become more and more important to be able to interpret the meaning of them seriously. When we view a picture by the National Geographic magazine, of a pilgrim bathing in the Ganga River, it is important to interpret what we see from that. From that picture we can imagine a person who has travelled such a long way from his home to a sacred river to wash away his sins, and is hoping to start again once he steps out of the Ganga River. Hermeneutics is the ability to interpret ideas and texts. In the hermeneutic way, we are able to address how we interpret what we see in all types of images. Seeing things is just not a passive a...
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...image of deities are created, architects today are able to construct temples in accordance to the ancient silpin Sanskrit texts. The architects carefully follow the canons of building to shape the temple. Every movement from the beginning to the end is considered to be part of a ritual activity. The ground plan of any temple is a geometric map of the cosmos called a mandala.
The power of one image can be so powerful. This brings so much opportunity to the great visual culture that is present in India today. However, if you visit these cities with these great images without the skill of hermeneutic, the pictures can be more confusing and alienating rather than enlightening and glorious. Through the topics of interpreting images, image forms, festivals in India, and pilgrimages, one can have more understanding of what is trying to be told by various kinds of images.