Brahman: The story of Svetaketu
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how many Hindus understand Brahman as ultimate reality or God.
Key learning points
- In Hindu Dharma there is the concept of one ultimate reality present in everything.
- This ultimate reality is called Brahman.
- The story of Svetaketu helps Hindus to understand Brahman.
- Hindus use the Aum symbol to describe Brahman.
- Many Hindus understand Brahman as God.
Keywords
Brahman - ultimate Rreality in Hindu Dharma
Svetaketu - a character in a story of Hindu Dharma
Omnipresent - belief that Brahman or God is present throughout the universe
Aum - symbol used to represent Brahman and the sound of creation
Common misconception
Hindus worship many gods.
Hindus worship one god in many forms.
Teacher tip
For the story of Svetaketu, you could have some clay and salt and water in the class. Pupils could act out the story to help bring the concept of Brahman to life. Pronounce Svetaketu like Shev -tak -etu.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the Hindu place of worship called?
Q2.Name one festival that Hindus celebrate.
Q3.What does the festival of Diwali celebrate?
Q4.Who is the main character in the story of Holi, who survived the fire?
Q5.The deity Krishna showed what in his mouth when his mum asked him to open it?
Q6.Match the characters with their descriptions from the story of Diwali.
courageous prince who rescued Sita
devoted wife of Rama
loyal deity in monkey form who helped rescue Sita
evil demon king who kidnapped Sita
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the symbol used to represent Brahman?
Q2.How many gods do Hindus believe in?
Q3.What does the sound of Aum represent?
Q4.Match the words to their definitions.
Brahman without form
Brahman with form
Brahman is everywhere, in all things
Q5.How did Uddalaka show Svetaketu that Brahman is everywhere?
Q6.Why couldn’t Svetaketu see Brahman, according to the story?
To help you plan your 6 religious education lesson on: Brahman: The story of Svetaketu, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 6 religious education lesson on: Brahman: The story of Svetaketu, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 religious education lessons from the Hindus: how do Hindus see Brahman? unit, dive into the full primary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.