Download Draw your idea of what God looks like on your mini whiteboard.

Draw your idea of what God
looks like.
All your pictures look very different, but most of
you are probably thinking about the same God.
How could that explain why Hindus have many
gods ?
BRAHMAN
One God or Many ?
To describe Hindu beliefs
about Brahman
To explain why Hindus
have many gods.
To reflect about whether
God in Hinduism is one or
many.
Explain who Brahman is and how “it” is different from
the Christian God.
2. Explain what Pantheism is. Pantheism is the belief that…
3. Draw 4 things that Hindus believe Brahman is present
in and label them to show Brahman is in them
* What difference does it make to how Hindus live if
How is this different from the Brahman is in everything?
Brahman: the pure eternal
spirit, who is present in
everything. “It” has no
emotions. It just is.
1.
Christian God?
BRAHMAN, the eternal spirit
is in everything
=This belief is called pantheism
Look at this diagram. See
if you can work out from
it how Brahman creates
1. Explain in your own words
how the world was made.
**How is the story of creation
The first Life-giving
vibrations in the
universe.
similar or different in Christianity?
“Om” creates
atman: the soul,
present in every
living creature.
The soul is part of
Brahman.
“Om” creates the
Hindu Trinity of gods:
•Brahma – the creator
•Vishnu – the sustainer
•Shiva – the destroyer
Each male god has a female
partner.
These 3 gods create, keep
alive, and & destroy
everything in the world
Who..
•
•
•
•
•
Is Brahman?
Is Brahma?
Made the OM vibrations?
Made atman, the soul?
Is Shiva? (creator, sustainer or destroyer?)
Think about your mother. How many
“roles” does she play in her life ?
1. Draw someone you know. Label
all the different roles they do.
2. Write out and complete this
Meet Barbara. She has manysentence:
roles: wife, mother, engineer,
“There are many g___ in Hinduism, but
businesswoman, student, cave explorer. Hindus
This only believe in ONE God,
photo shows her different roles.
B________. All the other gods are roles of
Brahman. For example, I only have one
Are there 5 Barbaras, or just one ?
mother but….
**Why do you think it helps
Hindus to “break down” Brahman
into different roles?
Whatever god Hindus are worshipping, they will always finish with
this prayer:
You alone are our mother and father
You alone are our sibling and friend
You alone are our knowledge and well-being
You alone are everything to us
My Lord, my lord.
This suggests that they were, after all,
praying to One and the only God.
Family Tree
Use the picture and information
on the sheet to construct your
own family tree of the Hindu
Gods.
Try and answer the question: why do you
think Hindus like to show their gods with
superhuman qualities eg 4 heads or many
arms ?