The Hindu home - Daily worship in the home.

Daily worship in the home Hinduism is the third most popular religion in the world. A lot of Hindus worship in their homes swell as Temples. Hindus usually have a small room in the house in which they keep all their deities of gods and picture's of gods and which they pray in daily. Hindu Worship is known as puja. It can be carried out in the home of Hindus before a shrine, or in the Hindu temple, which is known as a mandir. Hindu worship involves all five senses of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing, and also what Hindus consider to be the five basic elements: light, fire, earth, air and water. Hindus wash thoroughly before prayers at home. When they enter the temple whether it is at home, they remove their shoes. They show respect to the gods by making offerings of money or food (rice, nuts or fruit) to the shrines of the gods. Puja begins with the washing of the images of the gods. They are washed with water, and sometimes with milk based mixture called panchamrit. Then the images of the gods are anointed with a perfumed, coloured marks made of haldi (turmeric) and kumkum (is a red powder). These marks are called tilaka. The tilika is a sign to resemble god. Offerings of food and flowers are now made to the images. The offering of food is made because the gods provide people with all their needs. The offerings of flowers are a sign of respect and worship. Incense

  • Word count: 1263
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Embryos Are Not People Right or Wrong?

Embryos Are 'Not People' - Right or Wrong? Embryos are organisms in its early stages of development and by destroying them, most of the population would think that you are effectively destroying human life; however this is not quite the case in many peoples' eyes. Everyone has a different point of view on the question above; a somewhat conspicuous question leaving the reader with only two choices - right or wrong. Nevertheless, these two outcomes need quite a lot explanation behind the thoughts of the person who is answering the question. This is exactly what is going to happen and as you read through this discursive essay, not only will you encounter my thoughts on this significant point but also others. In 1991, 3,000 embryos were frozen. This was because IVF (in vitro fertilisation) was taking place. In vitro fertilisation is basically fertilising a woman's egg in a test tube. Once the egg has been fertilised by a man's sperm, the egg is then implanted into the woman's womb. However, there is one major drawback; doctors need many attempts before an embryo actually implants. So as a result, the embryos were frozen and were saved for future use. A new law was made stating that the embryos could not be stored for more than five years unless they had the couples consent. By 1996, 5 years had passed and thus meaning that the clinics had to contact the embryo owners regarding

  • Word count: 1030
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Cities and Myths of Ancient West Asia

Nandita Natasha Naidu Mr. Crandall-Bear History-2 Section 6310 1th February 2005 Cities and Myths of Ancient West Asia Unit 1 The Mesopotamia cities of Uruk and Ur are cities of sacred and monumental images. These cities of Mesopotamia have unique characteristics, which go into the design of these two cities. Monumental organization and planning was carried out only in the centers and complexes of Mesopotamian cities. These centers were laid out using axial planning (rectangular arrangements). These huge centers contrast strikingly with the most important parts of the cities, which were not planned at all. Housing areas grew from the inside out, which made the house based on rooms around a central courtyard. Uruk culture (3200 to 2350 B.C.E) had two very important scores: religion and science, which is confirmed by the thousands of clay tablets, dug in it, which goes back to the beginning of the writing. It was also the center of the worship of the goddess Inanna (goddess of love and war). The Eanna precinct was dedicated to Inanna. A ziqqurat was constructed under the command of King Ur Nammu (2112-2095 B.C.E). "To serve as an elevated platform for a temple to Inanna" (p.6 Primacy Source) Amid the rubble of temples in the Eanna precinct found ""Warka Vase," an " alabaster cult vessel 39 inches high with a scene of priest- king making on offering to the goddess Inanna

  • Word count: 939
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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'The principle of ahimsa is Hinduism's greatest gift to the world.' Many people, especially Hindus agree with the statement that the key principle of ahimsa in

(b) Evaluation - 'The principle of ahimsa is Hinduism's greatest gift to the world.' Many people, especially Hindus agree with the statement that the key principle of ahimsa in Hinduism is the greatest gift that the religion has to offer to the rest of the world. Ahimsa translates as 'non-violence' or 'non-injury' and is quite an ancient theory as it is described in the Vedas. These four holy books contain a teaching reading "Do not kill any living being". Hindu teaching illustrates that all living things contain Brahman and they all also have an atman. So if a violent action is done by a Hindu on a living creature then he is also harming the atman containing Brahman leading to him gaining bad karma. Ahimsa also plays a key role in Hindu ethics whereby decisions about fighting wars, abortion, contraception and euthanasia are accounted for by the teaching and many Hindus are vegetarian because of their belief in ahimsa. Hindus also use this principle in the protection of cows because of non -violence as well as heir sacredness and economic value. The concept of ahimsa is taken to its extremes in Jainism. Jains choose their occupation on the principle of ahimsa and are strictly vegetarian because of it. Also, Jain monks are very ascetic so they wear facemasks to try to not kill airborne organisms such as bacteria. Gandhi also used this principle to gain independence for India

  • Word count: 1389
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Hinduism and the environment.

Front cover Page 1 Contents Page Page 2 Introduction Page 3 How Hindus in India Respond Pages 4 to 6 to Environmental Issues The Effects of a Damaged Pages 7 to 8 Environment to Hindus and India Glossary Page 9 The religion I have chosen to do this project on is Hinduism. This is my second Religious Studies project for GCSE Short-course. This project focuses on Hindu attitudes towards the Environment, environmental issues and animal rights. For this religious studies project I will focus on how Hindus feel about environmental issues such as recycling and wasting. I will also compare how Hindus who live in India and Hindus who live in the West (Western Europe and America) have many different attitudes and feeling towards environmental issues and animal rights I will also mention what certain religious Hindu movement groups are doing to protect the earth and the environment and what lone Hindus have done to make the environment a better place to live in. I shall use quotes from many famous Hindus and from religious texts such as the Bhagavad-Gita and the Mahabharata as well as everyday prayers that focus on the subject. At the end of this project I will include a glossary which will contain many key words to do with Hinduism, Animal rights and Environmental issues and their meanings. 83 percent of the Indian

  • Word count: 1549
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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IS FUNDAMENTALISM SPECIFIC TO ANY PARTICULAR RELIGION

IS FUNDAMENTALISM SPECIFIC TO ANY PARTICULAR RELIGION? For a vast majority, the term "fundamentalism" evokes images of hostage crises, embassies under siege, hijackings, and suicide bombers. But these images hardly present a comprehensive picture. People in the west associate fundamentalism with Islam, this is indeed a mistaken belief. Fundamentalism is defined as " the affirmation of religious authority as holistic and absolute, admitting of neither criticism nor reduction; it is expressed through the collective demand that specific creedal and ethical dictates derived from scripture be publicly recognized and legally enforced ." (Lawrence) Therefore the essence of fundamentalist belief is doctrinal confirmity, of not only oneself but the conformity of the rest of society too .While some try to reach their goals through violence, the majority work through political parties within the electoral process. People like Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network are only at fringes. Even if fundamentalism is to encompass such aberrations, such brand of fundamentalism is a characteristic of all (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism) the religions. This paper by citing episodes of fundamentalism in leading religions substantiates the theseis that fundamentalism is not specific to any particular religion. Beginning with Judaism, the bombing of Hotel King David in July 1946

  • Word count: 915
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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What do shivars believe about Shiva?

What do shivars believe about Shiva? Plan * Discover what is Shiva * Discover what are shivars * To use a number of websites/ books to discover what exactly shivars believe about Shiva. * To gain this information and put in the essay what shivars believe about Shiva? * What is the popular Hindu believe in Shiva * And how dose this believe differ from the popular Shiva believe in Shiva. * To include a conclusion * To include name and a word count of up to 1500 words or more. What is Shiva? Shiva somaskanda is one of the three large groups of which Hinduism falls into in what gods/goddess they worship fully. Shiva is the god of destruction according to popular Hindu believes. Shiva forms part of the trinity of brama Vishnu and Shiva. And is referred in his role in creation. Shiva also forms one of the three main branches of Hindus sharkti, Shiva, Vishnu. Shiva is in the eyes of most other Hindus referred as the god of destruction. But to Shiva worshipers he is referred as the god of creation destruction and preserver. He is also known to be the lord of the dance to all Hindus. But to most Hindus only his dance of destruction is recognised. However to his foll9owers he has many different dance creation preserving and destruction. And also his followers believe in only Shiva and believe Shiva is the one true god. He is also normally seen with his third all

  • Word count: 1646
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Hinduism - Have you ever wondered if Hindus worship one God or many Gods, why do Hindus worship images and icons, why does the God in Hinduism have multiple names and multiple forms of God?

Hinduism Have you ever wondered if Hindus worship one God or many Gods, why do Hindus worship images and icons, why does the God in Hinduism have multiple names and multiple forms of God? If so I hope I can help you find all the answers that you need. I have included colourful pictures and I hope the information helps with your research. Firstly I am going to introduce the main God in Hinduism, he is called Brahman. Hindu's believe that * There is one universal spirit called Brahman which pervades the whole universe and is symbolised in the syllable OM (AUM) * There are three main aspects to Brahman, called the Hindu Triad of Brahman the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer. * There are human and animal forms of Vishnu. Brahman The syllable OM, also spelt AUM, is believed to have been the first word or sound spoken when the world was made. Brahman made this sound. There is not a picture of Brahman as Brahman is a spirit and he pervades the universe, which means he is everywhere. Brahman is God in Hinduism and all the other Gods are to show different aspects of Brahmans personality and characteristics. The Hindu Triad The Hindu triad consists of 3 Gods. The three Gods are called Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. These are all male god's and each one covers the three main aspects of Brahman. Brahma

  • Word count: 575
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Explain how believing that Vedas and Upanishads are holy books might affect the lives of Hindus

Explain how a Christian might respond to someone who was thinking of committing suicide. Many things have changed over the years, as well as the way Christian's think of people who commit or try to commit suicide. In the past, churches taught people that suicide was a serious sin and so suicides were not allowed to have a funeral or be buried in holy ground. This was because people who committed suicide were seen to be rejecting God's gift, especially because life is sacred and should not be taken advantage off. However, nowadays churches think differently of this matter, and instead of punishing suicides, they try to understand and support them. This does not mean that Christian's think it is right for people to commit suicide, but means that they are forgiving and try to help them. On the other hand, Christians believe that it is immoral to commit suicide as God chooses when we die, it is selfish as relatives and friends will be hurt, suicide is killing yourself, which is against the will of God; 'You shall not kill,' and because God lives in each person; 'you are the temple of God.' Christians may support a group called the Samaritans because it is all about supporting and preventing suicides. The group also try to make the public aware of suicide and depression so that people will be more understanding. To Christians, joining the group is a good way of putting their

  • Word count: 532
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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What factors did an architect have to consider when designing a temple?

Maximilian Ottersbach L6O January 2004 Question What factors did an architect have to consider when designing a temple? In Ancient Greek times, building temples was a vital and emotional event for the people. The main objective of constructing these colossal temples was to house statues of the gods. Besides this, they were also storage places for libations and offerings to the deities of the concerned temple. It must be noted that in order to build these magnificent buildings, a lot of work and time was put into these projects. Architects had to abide by designs when building temples. This meant that it wasn't up to the architect to put in his own personal taste into the building. Although the architect who was in charge of the construction of the temple could not add his own individual touches to it, it was essential to consider the factors that would affect the building of the temple. I'm going to focus on two specific sanctuaries in Greece. These will be the Sanctuary of Delphi and the Sanctuary of Olympia. These sanctuaries have very different characteristics in the sense that the ground on which they stand is quite diverse. The Sanctuary if Delphi is a pan-Hellenic temple meaning it is important to the whole of Greece. It contains several vital buildings which are very special to the Greek people. These buildings include the Treasury of Sikion, the

  • Word count: 729
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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