Seeing, Imagined, and Lived

Creating Darshan in Transnational Gaudiya Vaishnavism

Authors

  • Anandi Silva Knuppel Emory University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/bar.15677

Abstract

Scholarship on Hindu traditions and practices proposes the practice of darshan as fundamental to Hindu traditions, particularly in temple worship, observing that devotees seek out images of deities primarily to see them and “receive” their darshan. These works typically gloss the definition of darshan with a sentence or two about seeing, exchanging glances, and/or receiving blessings. In this paper, I focus on the ways in which darshan is ideally imagined in conjunction with other bodily sensory practices through sources of authority, such as texts and senior devotees, to create a specific sensory experience and expectation in the transnational Gaudiya Vaishnava community. I then look to the lived realities of darshan in this tradition, specifically how devotees negotiate the structures created through sources of authority in their daily lives. Through this juxtaposition of idealized and lived darshan, I argue that we need a new approach towards theories of practice to take into account the complexities of darshanic moments in this and other religious practices.

Author Biography

  • Anandi Silva Knuppel, Emory University

    Anandi Silva Knuppel is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Lawrence University. Her main research focuses on themes of lived religion, multisensory ethnography, and religious practices in transnational Hindu traditions. She has also published works on performance and classicality in Indian classical dance, and consults on digital humanities projects in South Asian Studies and related fields.

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Published

2020-10-30

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Section

Body and Religion

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