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Year 2

The story of waiting for God: deeper meanings

I can explain some deeper meanings of the story of waiting for God.

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New
New
Year 2

The story of waiting for God: deeper meanings

I can explain some deeper meanings of the story of waiting for God.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A deeper meaning of the waiting for God story is that God is inside every living being.
  2. The practice of the namaste greeting is a symbol that all humans have divinity within them.
  3. Most Hindus believe that everyone should be treated with respect.
  4. A traditional Hindu belief is to treat guests as if they were gods.

Keywords

  • Greeting - how people say hello or welcome someone when you meet them

  • Namaste - a Hindu greeting recognising the divine within all

  • Respect - being kind and treating others in a good way

Common misconception

Namaste is simply a way of saying ‘hello’ for Hindus.

Namaste symbolises a deep respect and belief that all humans contain a spark of the divine.


To help you plan your year 2 religious education lesson on: The story of waiting for God: deeper meanings, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Model respectful greetings yourself and encourage students to think about how they greet others. Ask them to share times when they showed respect or felt respected.
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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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5 Questions

Q1.
Who are Hindus?
people who love books on religion
people who travel a lot in order to help people understand God
Correct answer: people who follow Hindu Dharma
Q2.
A is a story that has been told for many years and teaches an important lesson.
Correct Answer: folktale, Folk tale
Q3.
In the folktale about waiting for God, who knocked on the woman’s door first?
a little girl selling biscuits
Correct answer: a magazine seller
a king
Q4.
In the folktale about waiting for God, what lesson did the woman learn?
always keep your house clean
Correct answer: be kind to everyone
Q5.
What does it mean to be content?
to be the best at everything
Correct answer: to feel peaceful and happy
to have lots of nice things

5 Questions

Q1.
Put these events of the story of waiting for God in the right order.
1 - A woman got her home ready because she was waiting for God.
2 - Two strangers came, but she sent them away.
3 - God told her He had come as the visitors.
4 - She realised God is in everyone.
Q2.
What is the deeper meaning of the story of waiting for God?
the woman was waiting for a visitor
Correct answer: God is inside every living being
Q3.
What does the story of waiting for God teach about how to treat others?
only help friends and family
ignore people who visit
Correct answer: treat everyone with kindness and respect
Q4.
What does ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ mean?
Correct answer: the guest is God
strangers should stay outside
Q5.
Why do Hindus say ‘namaste’?
Correct answer: to show respect and that God is in everyone
to ask for help
to give thanks for the food they are about to eat