1 of 17 KS3 Religious Studies The Mandir

2 of 17 Learning objectives What is a mandir? What do mandirs look like? What is the purpose of the murtis? What is puja? What is the role of the priests? How should we behave in a mandir? What makes the mandir special to Hindus? 2 of 17

3 of 17 What is a mandir? Hindu temples are called mandirs. The word mandir comes from the Sanskrit mandira, meaning ‘house’. We believe that the mandir is the house of God. It is a very sacred place.

4 of 17 What do mandirs look like?

5 of 17 What do mandirs look like?

6 of 17 Hindu deities There are hundreds of different gods and goddesses in Hinduism, yet Hindus believe that essentially there is only one god. This is because Hindus believe that God can take many forms. Brahman, the Supreme Being, has three aspects: Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the protector; and Shiva, the destroyer. In turn these three aspects have different human or animal forms or avatars – Vishnu, for example, has ten avatars, amongst them the legendary heroes Rama and Krishna who stand for bravery and justice. It is easier for humans to feel close to a deity representing justice or kindliness than it is to understand the mystery and enormity of Brahman. For this reason, most Hindus choose one or two deities and form a special relationship with them.

7 of 17 Which deity?

8 of 17 Murtis Each mandir is dedicated to a particular deity. Hindus believe that this deity is literally present in the mandir in the form of a murti. A murti is a statue or image of a deity which is blessed by the priests in a special ceremony. Once this ceremony has taken place, the deity is present in the murti. To Hindus, the murti is the deity, and must be treated with all due care and respect.

9 of 17 Caring for the murtis The mandir is the house of God, and the main job of the mandir priests is to serve God by taking care of the murtis. Every morning the priest wakes the murtis up, bathes them and dresses them in clean clothes. He offers them meals throughout the day, and closes the shrine to the public in the afternoon so that the murtis can rest. In the evening he dresses them in their nightclothes and gets them ready for bed.

10 of 17 Why murtis? We believe that God is present in everything. Logically, therefore, God is also present in the murtis. They simply provide us with a focus for our devotions. They allow us to pray to God in a concrete form rather than in the abstract. This makes God seem closer to us. It makes God more accessible. I like to think of the murti as being a bit like a computer interface. Just as we use a monitor, a mouse and a keyboard to interact with the electronic brain of our computers, so the murti is a way for human beings to communicate with the mystery that is God.

11 of 17 Why murtis? Sometimes people ask us why we worship dolls and idols. They don’t understand what murti-worship is about. We don’t worship a statue, we worship the deity within. It’s also important to understand that although we believe the murti is a deity, that deity is far more than just the murti. In our religion we have a saying: ‘He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak and in the diseased, really worships Shiva. If a worshipper sees Shiva only in the image his worship is preliminary.’