The kit consists of a box with a flip lid, which opens to show several compartments housing objects that can be used in meditation; illustrated mantra cards, mala (prayer beads), incense with holder, a brass offering bell, achman cup (sacred water cup), tilak (sacred clay), a 4 track mantra CD and an illustrated guide book.

The title of the kit is ‘Meditation Kit, Traditional Tools to Awaken the Soul’. This appears on all 6 faces of the box. The front of the box is illustrated with a figure sitting in a classic meditation pose on a rock, eyes half closed. Leaning towards him are snakes, tigers, elephants and mythical creatures with spears. He is surrounded by a yellow light and seems serene and controlled amongst the chaos.

The dominant colours of the box are earthy tones of yellow and orange. The illustration can be easily recognised as Eastern but of which country specifically it is not immediately apparent. The title type is set to a boxed background of Sanskrit lettering in long continuous lines. This lettering seems mainly decorative and is cut off at the sides to accommodate the shape of the text box.

On the side panels of the box are small photos of the kit’s contents. Three of the photos depict hands using the objects. The back of the box has a photo of all the kit’s contents spread out and an introduction to the kit with the heading ‘Transcend the ordinary, and awaken the soul….’ A cooler colour palette is introduced at the bottom with an illustration of a river with lily pads, flowers, fish and cranes.

This is clearly a mass produced item. It is made from thick cardboard and has been printed with a smooth finish. However it is covered in decorative illustration to give it a textured, authentic, individual look. The authenticity of the product is somewhat compromised by the idea that everything required for spiritual transcendence can be found in this kit, the design of which lends itself to be compared to a make-and-do kit for children. This over simplification of such a topic is quite shocking, more especially because it was for sale in the Asia Society in New York, a society that takes itself and its role in representing Asia to the Western world very seriously.

“Beginners and practitioners will find this kit an invaluable companion in opening the heart and calming the mind with India’s rich spiritual tradition”.

This is the only direct reference to India on the exterior of the kit. The colours and style of illustration used are certainly evocative of Asia but the visual imagery is not strikingly Indian. Given the tools supplied and the slant taken by the instruction booklet however it is clear that this is not a kit for secular meditation. It has a strong yet ambiguous religious basis. On looking further in to the contents of the kit one could reasonably presume it is vaguely Hindu in approach but at no point is a specific religion stated. Nor is any effort made to explain in any depth the true meanings behind the rituals described and encouraged throughout the kit.

This simplification of such a varied and rich culture holds many of the hallmarks of contemporary Orientalism, which I have discussed in my previous essay. Despite all the various forms meditation can take it is presumed that it can be marketed as a generally Asian practice. Its exotic and foreign roots are being emphasised by the visual forms and language used but

specific details and definite associations with any religious following are absent, and no acknowledgement of its wider cultural references are made.

In our society a high emphasis is being placed on ‘cultural awareness’, it seems that this is becoming one of the new markers of social status. A connection to the exotic could be understood to establish an air of cultural sophistication. As is typical of a postmodern society, different aspects of Eastern culture have been taken and repackaged into a pleasing, consumable and accessible form. Consumers want quick access to the appealing aspects of the exotic while leaving behind those that do not fit into the West’s idealized view of the East. Producers are filling this demand with products such as this meditation kit, which sate one’s appetite for the exotic in an unobtrusive and superficial way.

 “…some representations are idealized and sentimentalised rather than degraded, while remaining stereotypical.”[1]

Photographs and illustration have been used to very interesting effect in this kit. The representation of Eastern people is undeniably stereotypical and very traditional. This serves to somewhat remove the viewer from the person they are looking at. This object is made for use by Westerners to feel a connection with the exotic but at a safe distance. The West only wants to engage with it’s own idea of the East, a surface reality. The use of illustration stops the East from ever becoming ‘too real’. When photos of people are used (inside the guide book) they are photos of people in traditional dress, taken at a distance and the subject is never looking directly at the camera. There is at all times a strong sense of distance. It portrays a very comfortable and unchallenging image.

The way Eastern people are visualized is also possibly to keep them in a spiritually elevated position, further marking their difference. It is the idea of difference that makes the East so appealing.

‘…a certain will or intention to understand, in some cases to control, manipulate, even to incorporate, what is a manifestly different (or alternative and novel) world.’[2]

These images must strike a fine line between making the East seem within reach to its Western audience and preventing it from becoming too familiar or accessible or at the very worst in any way ordinary. The myth of the exotic cannot be broken.

Eastern influenced images are everywhere in today’s visual world. Given their popularity it is particularly striking how rare it is to see modern Asian faces in advertising and other visual medias. So often the idea of the East is presented through the use of symbols and when people are present they are often in illustrated, abstracted or cartoon form. When photos are used the Asian people are often presented in a stereotypical or traditional light or in non-dominant roles.

‘Construction of meaning is made by the presence and absence of particular objects.’[3] 

The absence of the Eastern face and the abundant use of eastern symbols and illustration in Western media is very interesting and may give insight into the way we perceive and represent the East in Western visual culture. I plan to take this as a focus and use it to help build upon the work I have started to do on the subject of contemporary orientalism and the commodification of Eastern culture.