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Please discuss this statement in light of its meaning for Hinduism and in relation to the
religions that we have studied.
Cannon states: "The structure (of the temple) symbolizes all creation and the human body.
It is form that matters: a Hindu temple is designed as if it were three-dimensional carved
stone."
Introduction
Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and Hindu architecture are all similar in that they in various ways
portray creation and help the devotee connect to the Divine. In Hinduism, in a way, it is as if the
structures represent the human body in its quest to unite with the Ultimate Being or God.
Hinduism
The Hindu temple is constructed according to various prescriptions and may actually house a
deity or deities. All of the elements of a Hindu temple including the design, open air altar, the
proportions, the elaborate sculpted forms, and the ways in which individual gods and goddesses
are depicted – ‘are governed by a tight canon of rules, refined and elaborated over many
centuries in texts known as the sastras’. (Cannon, 192) Cannon says that the ‘Vastu and Shilpa
sastras, which cover building and sculpture, include instructions for everything from the
choosing of a site to the consecration of a finished structure, as well as for the correct appearance
of deities.” (Cannon, 192) Cannon explains that, “The sastras have at their heart an idea of Vedic
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origin, in which the plan of an altar is specified as if it were a kind of sacred diagram. A square
mandala, the vastupurushamandala, underlies much Hindu temple design, and it represents
Purusha (‘primordial’ or ‘cosmic’ man), from which everything was created. The purpose of an
Indian temple, then, like that of a Brahminical altar, is to be efficacious in embodying the divine
– to help to incarnate sacred energy. For this reason, the rules for temple design, for the depiction
of Hindu gods and goddesses, and the guidelines for the performance of rituals by the Brahmins,
all show strong continuity with those for other art forms.” (Cannon, 192)
The ultimate goal of Hindu architecture is to connect to the Divine. Cannon says, “The aim of
this architecture, then, is a profound one: to make buildings that are inhabitable by the divine,
and to provide humans with a space where they can come close to their god or gods.” (Cannon,
192) “The structure symbolizes all creation and the human body. It is form that matters: a
Hindu temple is designed as if it were three-dimensional carved stone.” (Cannon, 192)
Cannon explains, “Hinduism attempts to crystallize in stone a series of forms that not only
embody the energy, beauty, and abundance of the created world, but also have the potential to
bring the divine into the presence of humans.” (Cannon, 193)
Huyler elaborates on the structure of a Hindu temple and its’ purpose to house a deity or deities
and connect to God. Huyler says, “A temple is usually aligned on an east-west axis so that the
entrance and all of the subsidiary gates, where applicable, are directly in front of the inner
sanctum. Ancient scriptures govern the ground plan of the temple and the position of all the
subsidiary buildings to conform to the delineations of a sacred geometric diagram, or mandala.
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This large square mandala is divided into a grid of many smaller squares, each associated with
positions of the stars, sun, moon, and planets, and with the deities related to those heavenly
bodies. The sanctum is placed at the center of the mandala – all other buildings, walls, and
entrance ways revolve around it. The temple compound is a microcosm, a conscious replica of
the conceptual universe. It functions not only as a seat of the Gods, but also as a metaphysical
means of transcending the exterior worlds and entering the center, visualized as the matrix of
creation. Consequently, the entire temple plan is intended to assist the progression of the devotee
from mundane existence to divine realization.” (Huyler, 131-132)
Cannon re-iterates, “All Hindu temple architecture is derived from the grid-like
vastupurushamandala representing the ‘cosmic man,’ an idea earlier evoked in the forms of Vedic
altars.” (Cannon, 31) Cannon points out that, “The mandalas of Tantric Hinduism…are at one
and the same time diagrams of sacred universes, images of imagined buildings and aids to
spiritual progress.” (Cannon, 31) The Hindu temple represents a micro-cosm of the Universe,
man, and man’s potential to connect to the Absolute and therefore moksha or liberation.
Cannon elaborates, “Vastupurushamandalas…are subdivided squares used to create the plans of
Hindu temples. These are derived from Vedic stories about existence (vastu) having originated
out of the body of Purusha, the vast primordial man, who was ritually sacrificed and
dismembered. Each part of the Vastupurushamandala’s grid pattern is dedicated to different parts
of the human body, as well as to different gods: the main, central, square belongs to Brahma and
also to Purusha’s heart…The final temple design will be the result of a process of subdivision
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and fractal expansion within grids, with squares arranged in complex, interlocking patterns. The
resulting building is not only an image of the universe, it also embodies the image of man.”
(Cannon, 163)
“Susan Lewandowski states that the underlying principle in a Hindu temple is built around the
belief that all things are one, everything is connected. A temple, states Lewandowski, "replicates
again and again the Hindu beliefs in the parts mirroring, and at the same time=being, the
universal whole" like an "organism of repeating cells".[46]: 68, 71 =The pilgrim is welcomed through
mathematically structured spaces, a network of art, pillars with carvings and statues that display
and celebrate the four important and necessary principles of human life—the pursuit
of=artha=(prosperity, wealth), the pursuit of=kama=(desire), the pursuit of=dharma=(virtues, ethical
life) and the pursuit of=moksha=(release, self-knowledge).
At the centre of the temple, typically below and sometimes above or next to the deity, is mere
hollow space with no decoration, symbolically representing=Purusa, the Supreme Principle, the
sacred Universal, one without form, which is present everywhere, connects everything, and is the
essence of everyone. A Hindu temple is meant to encourage reflection, facilitate purification of
one's mind, and trigger the process of inner realization within the devotee.” (Wikipedia)
Thus, the temple structure embodies creation as well as houses deities, channels sacred energy or
sacred energy incarnate, represents the body of man, and provides a platform for devotees to
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come close to God and achieve moksha or liberation. The temple acts as a platform to connect
the deities, the heavens, and the people and reflect the inter-connectedness of man, all beings,
and the Divine.
Islam
In Islam, the mosque serves a similar purpose of depicting Creation and possibly the afterlife and
offers a space where devotees can come close to God. In a sense, a mosque also provides a space
for the depiction of the inter-connectedness of man and the Divine. Using domes and vaults in
mosque aided this purpose, especially in depicting Heaven. Furthermore, calligraphy combined
with patterns often evoked creation as well as Divine themes. Often, in Islamic art, the absence
of artwork or form and the dissolution of matter aids in the devotee’s connection to Allah.
For instance, in the dissolution of matter, according to Professor Louise Victor, transformation is
of the utmost importance. Victor says that ‘the ornamentation of surfaces of any kind in any
medium with the infinite pattern serves the same purpose – to disguise and ‘dissolve the matter,’
whether it be monumental architecture of a small gold box.’ Victor says, ‘the result is a world,
which is not a reflection of the actual object, but that of the superimposed element that serves to
transcend the momentary and limited individual appearance of a work of art, drawing it into the
greater and solely valid realm of infinite and continuous being.’
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Connecting to the infinite and continuous being are key goals and relate to sacred space, in
particular the void in Islamic art as this is a common goal shared between dissolution of matter
and use of the void in Islamic art. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein in his chapter ‘The Significant of the
Void in Islamic Art’ in his book Islamic Art and Spirituality discusses the void in Islamic art.
Nasr says that the Void reflects Unity, the oneness of God, and forces us to contemplate God,
bringing one closer to God. Furthermore, one reflects upon how only God is real (and not the
dunya or the earthly life). (Nasr, 185)
Nasr says in fact that ‘The void…is the symbol of both the transcendence of God and his
presence in all things.’ (Nasr, 186) Nasr says, ‘…emptiness in art becomes synonymous with the
manifestation of the sacred.’ (Nasr, 187) In fact, according to Nasr, because Islam does not use
icons or portray the Divine, or any type of God-man, this further induces man to look inward and
contemplate God.
In both dissolution of matter and the Void in Islamic Art, one transcends space and time to
connect with the Divine through a spiritual experience invoked by either the void itself or
through the transcendence of patterns, which dissolves into another experience, wherein which
one can attain closeness to God. This can be achieved either through a simple mosque, which
lacks diverse forms and colors, or through a geometrical and floral designs, through the use of
colors, through the arabesque, and also calligraphy. (Nasr, 187)
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Christianity
Christian architecture and art including stained glass, imagery, paintings, frescoes, domes, and
vaults, etc. often evokes Creation and Heaven and other themes of Christianity. “The most
common theme in the decoration, both external and internal, of any church, is the=salvation=of
humankind by=Jesus Christ.” (Wikipedia) “Western Christians had long believed that the soul
after death went to purgatory, where it would be ‘purged’ of sin before entering heaven, and
intercessionary prayers or good deeds done on its behalf could help the deceased’s soul reach a
hopeful outcome at the Last Judgement.” (Jon Cannon, 128) This belief was reflected through
architecture. “In Romanesque and Gothic buildings, this is usually a sculptural group, and may
entail a whole scene of the=Last Judgement=with details of souls being weighed and rewarded, or
dragged down to=Hell=by=demons.” (Wikipedia)=The creation and depiction of Heaven often with
light and color, interior and exterior decorations, and eventually with domes was important to
Western Christians and their architecture. For example, Western churches in the Gothic era were
filled with light and color, an evocation of heaven. (Jon Cannon, 126) “Gothic fused architecture,
sculpture, glass, and paint; it blurred the distinction between furnishing and building.” (Jon
Cannon, 126)
What does the Eastern church building symbolize? … perhaps the oldest and most prominent is
the concept that the church is the Ark of Salvation (as in=Noah's Ark) in which the world is saved
from the flood of temptations.
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Judaism
Jewish synagogues also often depicted Creation and Heaven, however, with an emphasis on
sacred words or texts. Cannon explains, “It may only be in this period after the loss of the second
Temple that there emerged a consistent arrangement for the interior of the synagogue: the space
is usually rectilinear, with its longitudinal axis pointing towards Jerusalem. In the middle of the
Jerusalem-facing wall is a sanctuary area containing an elaborate fitting, the Holy Ark, or Aron
Kodesh, within which is a copy of the holy Torah. Also on the axis, but varying in its location
vis-à-vis the Ark, is a platform from which prayer is led, called the bimah or tevah. The sides of
the room are occupied by worshippers, who sit on ledges on the walls. This arrangement has
distinct echoes of the hierarchies of sacred space – culminating in an enclosure within which sits
a sacred text – seen in both the Temple and the Tabernacle. (Cannon, 105)
Cannon points out that, “The major monotheistic faiths have attached deep importance to the
revealed word of God. Jews, Muslims, and many Christian denominations have created an
architecture focused on the sacred word.” (Cannon, 38) “Islam in particular has built an entire
body of art around devotion to the revealed word of the Quran, Judaism, earlier, did something
equally reverential: the sacred word as revealed to Moses by God, and written by divine power
on tablets of stone, was the main object in the Holy of Holies of the Temple in Jerusalem, and
Torah scrolls remain the sole truly sacred object in synagogues. Often, in such cases, the
inscribed word has become a form of art, attracting the kind of intensity of response that other
faiths reserve for images of gods and goddesses.” (Cannon, 39)
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In Judaism and Islam, idolatry is frowned upon, therefore, more emphasis may have been placed
on the sacred word or text in evoking Creation and Heaven, although domes (and the use of
vaults) usually depict Heaven as well. Christianity is ripe with depiction of Jesus Christ, which
for Christians evoked Divinity.
Conclusion
As one can see, the architecture of Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict Creation
in some way and may utilize art and architecture to illustrate Heaven and other religious themes
particular to each religion. Hinduism seems unique in its’ representation of the human body
through architecture, but all religions similarly reflect the man’s interconnectedness and
connection to the Divine through their art and architecture.
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Bibliography
1. Cannon, Jon, The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces (London, Duncan Baird Publishers:
2013).
2. Huyler, Stephen P., Meeting God, Elements of Hindu Devotion (New Haven, Yale
University Press: 1999).
3. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Islamic Art and Spirituality (State University of New York: 1987).
4. Wikipedia; Wikipedia’s Entry, “Eastern Orthodox Church Architecture,” accessed on
June 25, 2024, Eastern Orthodox church architecture - Wikipedia
5. Wikipedia; Wikipedia’s Entry, “Iconoclasm,” accessed on June 25, 2024, Iconoclasm -
Wikipedia.
6. Wikipedia; Wikipedia’s Entry, “Architecture of Cathedrals and Great Churches,”
accessed on June 25, 2024, Architecture of cathedrals and great churches - Wikipedia.
7. Wikipedia: Wikipedia’s Entry, “Hindu Temple Architecture,” accessed on July 9, 2024,
Hindu temple architecture - Wikipedia .
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