The RE department took a group of year 8 students to Manchester in January to visit the Gita Bhavan Hindu temple. It is a great opportunity for the students to learn more about Hinduism, about how Hindus practise their religion and about the role the temple fulfils in the local community.
In years 7 and 8 students learn about the Abrahamic faiths – Christianity, Islam and Judaism – focusing on what followers of these major ‘western’ religions believe and how they live their lives according to their faith. They then go on to learn about the Dharmic religions – Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. This gives them an ‘eastern’ perspective on faith and belonging.
Hinduism is an Indian religion based on the worship of God, who Hindus call Brahman. They believe that God can be worshipped through deities, which are human representations of God. Popular Hindu deities include Ganesha, Krishna and Parvati.
Hindus worship in a temple called a mandir. When Hindus visit the temple, they make offerings of fruit, flowers and incense to the deities. The students also made offerings of food and flowers when they visited the temple as a gesture of respect.
They then listened carefully to a talk by the brahmin (priest) about the temple and about how he practises his religion. They also asked the priest some thoughtful questions, helping to deepen their understanding of Hinduism and its role in people’s lives.
