Hindu Gods in an American Landscape

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In India, Hindu images have been cast for millennia through the lost wax process and brought to life by priests--becoming not merely venerated icons but actual embodiments of gods. Second and third generation Hindu Americans have increasingly adopted a more worldly perspective toward religious objects, viewing them as symbolic rather than actual presences of the deity. The author traces the origins of this important shift, and examines Western attitudes regarding sacred objects, as well as the complex layering of traditional and modern Hindu attitudes in a globalized world. Inhaltsverzeichnis Table of Contents Acknowledgments viii Explanation of Diacritical Marks Introduction One: Globalization and Shifting Cultural Trajectories of Hindu Sacred Objects Two: Bringing God to Life: The Trajectory of Presence and Ritual Production Three: Imagining God: The Trajectory of Sacred Objects as Symbols Four: Putting God on Display: Interpreting Hindu Image Through the Lens of Art, Symbolism and Meaning Five: Transnational Hinduism and Shifting Trajectories Glossary Chapter Notes Bibliography Index