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Year 2

The Blind Men and the Elephant: deeper meanings

I can explain how the deeper meaning of The Blind Men and the Elephant can help Hindus understand truth.

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New
New
Year 2

The Blind Men and the Elephant: deeper meanings

I can explain how the deeper meaning of The Blind Men and the Elephant can help Hindus understand truth.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. We can learn more about Hindu worldviews by understanding the deeper meaning of stories.
  2. For many Hindus the story of The Blind Men and the Elephant has a deeper meaning.
  3. A deeper meaning is that there are many different paths to the truth.
  4. The Hindu worldview is pluralist, meaning that there are many ways of being Hindu.

Keywords

  • Truth - what is real or right

  • Worldview - a way of seeing and understanding the world

  • Hindu Dharma - the ideas and stories that form Hindu practice and beliefs

Common misconception

All Hindus see truth in the same way.

The Hindu worldview is pluralist, which means there are many paths to truth.


To help you plan your year 2 religious education lesson on: The Blind Men and the Elephant: deeper meanings, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Show a picture of a tree and ask students to describe it from different perspectives (e.g., from the top, side, or close up). This activity helps students practise understanding that people can see the same thing in different ways.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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4 Questions

Q1.
The story of the Blind Men and the Elephant is ...
Correct answer: a fable
an adventure story
a poem
an information article
Q2.
The story of the Blind Men and the Elephant teaches Hindus that they should ...
Correct answer: listen to others and work together
not go near an elephant because it is dangerous
only listen to one person
Q3.
Someone who is unable to see clearly is said to be ...
Correct Answer: blind
Q4.
Put the events of The story of the Blind Men and the Elephant in order from first to last.
1 - Six blind men lived in a village in India.
2 - The blind men went to the palace to meet the Rajah’s elephant.
3 - Each blind man touched the elephant to learn what it was like.
4 - They argued about what the elephant was like.
5 - The Rajah helped them see they were all right.

4 Questions

Q1.
A worldview is ...
how we find out about Hindu traditions
only for Hindus and Christians
Correct answer: a way of seeing and understanding the world
Q2.
Which of these are true?
Hindus believe that God is only seen in one way.
Correct answer: Hindus only have one holy book.
Correct answer: Hindus believe there are many paths to truth.
Q3.
Hindus may choose to read different books to help them ...
develop their language skills
Correct answer: understand the truth
Correct answer: learn important lessons on how we should live our life
Q4.
What does the story of The Blind Men and the Elephant tell us?
It’s important to work alone and not listen to others.
Arguing is a good way to find an answer.
Correct answer: Listening to others and working together helps us to see the bigger picture.

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