Hindu Images and their Worship with special reference to Vaisnavism: A philosophical-theological inquiry...

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Julius Lipner (University of Cambridge, UK)

Hindu Images and their Worship with special reference to Vaisnavism

A philosophical-theological inquiry

Julius Lipner (University of Cambridge, UK)

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English

Routledge
08 August 2019

Philosophy of religion; Hindu worship, rites & ceremonies

Series: Routledge Hindu Studies Series

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 Vaiṣṇavism, 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.

By: Julius Lipner (University of Cambridge UK)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 385g
ISBN: 9780367427061
ISBN 10: 0367427060
Series: Routledge Hindu Studies Series
Pages: 260
Publication Date: 08 August 2019
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

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).

Reviews for Hindu Images and their Worship with special reference to Vaisnavism: A philosophical-theological inquiry

In this volume, Julius J. Lipner offers a learned and detailed examination of Hindu images particularly, as the title suggests, in the Vaisnava tradition. He reflects on them by way of a close reading of relevant texts, with attention to aesthetic, philosophical, religious, and theological implications. Underlying this study is Lipner's keen sensitivity to the long history of Christian and Western hostility to idols, grounded in a sad history, in the deep-rooted religious dispositions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and in large part in grave misunderstanding of what Hindus actually do and mean by their worship. His richly nuanced, multifaceted study of images and their worship is a fine effort to remedy such misunderstanding, drawing as much as possible on Hindu sources, classical and modern, in order to counter a long history of confusion and suspicion. Rigorous in his scholarly standards throughout, Lipner also demonstrates comparative empathy, the desire to open channels of communication in relationships of true reciprocity, . Francis X. Clooney, International Journal of Hindu Studies (2019)