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GCSE Hinduism Shakti Definition: Shakti : Idea of God As a Female

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GCSE Hinduism Shakti Definition: Shakti : Idea of God As a Female GCSE Hinduism Shakti Definition: Shakti : idea of God as a female power. Some renowned forms of God as Mother, are Parvati, Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, and Saraswati Key Points Parvati: 1) Female Shakti 2) Consort of Lord Shiva. 3) Power to other devis come from her 4) Mother to Kartika & Ganesh Idea of God(shiva) and his manifesting power(parvati) are inseparable Durga 1) Role of the destroyer of evil 2) Sent to kill buffalo-demon, Maheshasura, 3) Carrying many different divine weapons to fight Maheshasura 4) She battled against the demon for 9 days and nights. 5) On the 10 th day the devil was killed – Dusserah 6) Durga puja is the festival celebrated mainly in eastern part of India. 7) She is seated on a tiger – suppression of ego. Lakshmi 1) Consort of Vishnu 2) Goddess of Beauty, Prosperity(wealth) and benevolence(love) 3) Wears a red/pink sari 4) Holds a lotus in 2 hands, and money flowing from other 2 hands 5) Money flowing represents offerings to devotees 6) Particularly worshipped at Diwali - Laksmi Pujan Saraswati 1) Consort of Brahma 2) Personification of Knowledge & aesthetics a. Expressed via art, music & dance 3) Holds a Veena (instrument like a sitar) 4) Wears a white Sari – symbol of purity 5) Holds scriptures in one hand for knowledge & rosary(mala) in another – for austerity Kali 1) Female role of destroyer (like female Shiva) so has scary appearance 2) Has black skin & hair 3) Necklace of skulls 4) Scary appearance shows God is both creator and destroyer, as if god creates everything, then only He can destroy it. 5) She destroys one cycle to allow the next to start Practise questions answered Male gods are more important than female goddesses – 4marks Reasons for: It is clear that male gods, such as trimurti, Krishna, and Ganesh, are more prominent in Hindu worship and mythology than most goddesses Images of gods are more popular than those of goddesses Reasons against: Gods and goddesses are equally important in that they are all expressions of the divinity of the neutral Brahman Some of the most important deities in Hinduism such as durga, lakshmi etc. are female Outline Hindu beliefs about Lakshmi – 6 marks She is the consort of Vishnu She is goddess of beauty, prosperity & benevolence She is particularly worshipped at Diwali, giving hope of a prosperous year She wears pink sari, and gold coins flow from 2 hands as she holds lotus flowers in the other 2. Hinduism has too many gods and goddesses – 4marks Reasons for: The multiplicity of deities in Hinduism is confusing It is a distraction from proper worship of Brahman Reasons against: It allows people to relate to the godhead, Brahman in a very personal way Worshipping different aspects of Brahman can be more suited to a particular situation Explain why female deities are important for many Hindus – 8 marks Female deities – idea of God as feminine power – shakti Popular with many Hindus, as seeing feminine power as energy driving the universe Essential nature of every physical object in the universe , Shakti They are often more sensitive to the devotees needs and hence gather more favour Examples – Lakshmi – pujan at Diwali to ask for wealth... Examples - Saraswati – pujan to attain knowledge .
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