Von den mythologischen Genealogien bis zu historischen Augenzeugenberichten, von der rein geographischen Reiseleitung über die archäologische Rekonstruktion bis hin zur politischen Geschichte hat Diana L. Eck eine Liebeserklärung und zugleich ein Standardwerk geschaffen.
Many people are not familiar with it, and yet Kumbh Mela is the largest celebration on earth: depending on the zodiacal positions of Jupiter, the sun, and the moon, Hindus travel to certain places along holy rivers, the Ganges for example, for the purpose of bathing and cleansing themselves of sin. In 1989 fifteen million people are said to have attended, in 2001 around thirty million, and in 2013 approximately thirty-four million. In order to transport, house, and feed these enormous crowds of people, functioning temporary structures are required, which in each case are created by the communities hosting the gathering. In 2013, a team from Harvard University monitored the large-scale event from its preparation to the actual celebration itself. The fascinating prototypes for flexible urban planning were investigated and documented, and the organizers received advice in issues around environmental protection. The volume presents the comprehensive research findings and includes city maps, aerial images, and photographs—for instance a spectacular photo series by Iwan Baan.
A clarion call for interfaith dialogue in the U.S., this “splendid exposition of non-Christian approaches to God . . . encourages an increased religious literacy that . . . will contribute richness and diversity to our national identity” ( Publishers Weekly ) In this tenth-anniversary edition of Encountering God , religious scholar Diana Eck shows why dialogue with people of other faiths remains crucial in today’s interdependent world—globally, nationally, and even locally. As the director of the Pluralism Project—which seeks to map the new religious diversity of the United States, from Hinduism and Buddhism to Islam—she reveals how her own encounters with other religions have shaped and enlarged her Christian faith toward a bold new Christian pluralism.
Although the role of the visual is essential to Indian tradition and culture, most attempts to understand its images are laden with misperceptions. 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 tolerance and imagination.