Puja is the worship of a deity through offerings and attentive service, in which the deity is received and honoured as an exalted guest.

What is a murti, and why do Hindus object to calling it an idol?

A murti is an image in which the deity is invited to be present, and Hindus object to the word idol because the image is not worshipped as an object but is treated as a form the deity graciously takes so that devotees can serve it.

What is prana pratishtha?

It is the ceremony of installation in which the deity is invoked into a newly made image, after which the murti is treated as a living presence.

Arti is the offering of light, in which a lamp is circled before the deity while a hymn is sung, and devotees then pass their hands through the flame and over their own heads to receive the blessing.

WJEC A-Level Religious Studies 603-0277-X

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Hinduism: Practices and Religious Identity

4 subtopics
12 things to know
AS Unit 1
Hinduism, one religion of six studied in AS Unit 1

What Hinduism: Practices and Religious Identity covers

Hinduism: Practices and Religious Identity is examined in AS Unit 1, An Introduction to the Study of Religion — the Hinduism option, studied instead of the other five. It covers puja in the home and the mandir, Holi and the shaping of religious identity, Durga Puja and the divine mother and Evaluating puja, festivals and Durga.

Where it is assessed

AS Unit 1

An Introduction to the Study of Religion — one religion of six.

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The 4 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What is the social effect of throwing coloured powder at Holi?

Key term

How is Holi kept by Hindu communities in Britain?

Key term

Tell the story of Durga and Mahishasura.

Numbers

How does the community keep the traditions of Durga Puja?

Key term

Give the case that puja in the mandir matters more.

Key term

Give the case that puja is a religious experience.

Key term

What is puja?

Key term

Describe what a Hindu home shrine typically contains.

Key term

Outline what daily puja in the home commonly involves.

Key term

When is Holi celebrated, and what season does it mark?

Key term

Why is Durga shown with many arms holding different weapons?

Key term

Give the case that puja in the home matters more than puja in the mandir.

Take Hinduism: Practices and Religious Identity further

The same content, four other ways.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is puja?
Model answer
Puja is the worship of a deity through offerings and attentive service, in which the deity is received and honoured as an exalted guest.
2
What is a murti, and why do Hindus object to calling it an idol?
Model answer
A murti is an image in which the deity is invited to be present, and Hindus object to the word idol because the image is not worshipped as an object but is treated as a form the deity graciously takes so that devotees can serve it.
3
What is prana pratishtha?
Model answer
It is the ceremony of installation in which the deity is invoked into a newly made image, after which the murti is treated as a living presence.
4
Describe what a Hindu home shrine typically contains.
Model answer
It usually holds images or pictures of the family's chosen deities together with a lamp, incense, a small bell, water and vessels for offerings, set apart in a clean corner or a room of its own.
5
Outline what daily puja in the home commonly involves.
Model answer
The worshipper washes, then wakes, bathes and dresses the deity, offers flowers, incense, water and food, recites mantras and circles the lamp, and the food offered is afterwards shared by the household.
6
What is arti?
Model answer
Arti is the offering of light, in which a lamp is circled before the deity while a hymn is sung, and devotees then pass their hands through the flame and over their own heads to receive the blessing.

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Christianity: Religious Figures and Sacred Texts

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Christianity: Religious Life and Moral Principles

Christianity: Practices and Religious Identity

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A murti is the image itself.

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