Listing of Eternal India events

Indian art created within Buddhist and Hindu traditions is meant as a tool for ritual and practice, rather than something intended for display. Devotees are expected to use these works to further their religious fulfillment. In Hindu worship, images allow one to “see” and make offerings to Indic deities and revered personages. For more advanced devotees, art may serve as the focus of visualization practices in meditation and yoga. Learning about these beautiful objects creates a rich cultural context for India’s religious heritage.

10 to 11 a.m. Sources of India’s Religious Art: The Indus Civilization and Beyond

Sources found in India’s earliest cultures.

11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Buddhist Art of India

Relics and reliquaries in Buddhism; how art helps practitioners fulfill their religious objectives.

12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Lunch

Participants provide their own lunch.

1:30 to 2:45 p.m. The Hindu Art of India

Individual Hindu deities and the Hindu temple as the focus for religious practices.

3 to 4 p.m. Art Not for Art’s Sake: Contextualizing India’s Sacred Art

The concepts of darshan—seeing or beholding a deity’s image—and puja—ritual performed as an offering—are examined to show how art is used in the Indic context; the creation and consecration of sacred images.

Art historian Susan L. Huntington is a distinguished professor emeritus at Ohio State University.