Hindu & Hinduism Posters, Prints, Photographs & Charts
for classrooms, home schoolers, and theme decor.

Ancient India
(2500 B.C. — 1500 B.C.)
When historians talk about India, they usually mean the area that now includes Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as modern India. It was in this region, just south of the world's tallest, and most rugged moutains, that one of the great civilizations of ancient times flourished. This civilization is known as the Indus Valley civilization, because it grew up along the Indus River in the north. Like the Nile and the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers, the Indus River flooded its banks every year, creating a rich soil on which farmers could grow crops. ...

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Sanskrit, a historical Indo-Aryan language, is one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism and one of the 22 official languages of India.

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Civilizations Series: Ancient India

Yoga- Comprehensive chart with explanations of the Chakras, locations, mantras, yantras, descriptions of related energies, related mandalas, explanations of the major schools of yoga, the eight limbs of Ashtanga Raja yoga, illustrations of the basic asanas, pictures of important gods and goddesses, quotes from the scriptures.

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Chakras & Mudras Poster

Chakra & Mudras

Poster text:
Sanskrit for Wheel, the word Chakra represents the 7 energy centers of the body.

Chakras are believed to contain energies called Prana, corresponding to higher cerebral functions. Practitioners of various Yoga styles nurture what is considered to be the spiritual energy known as Prana-Kundalini, which resides coiled in the base Chakra or Muladhara. The location of each Chakra over specified points on the cerebrospinal axis, referred to as Merudanda corresponds to the nerver groupings emanating from the spine.

Mudras - Intended to guide the flow of energy to the brain during meditation, hand positions ccalled Mudras assist the practitioner in estabishing strong mind and body communication.
Each finger represents one of the fie basic elements of which our bodies are made. Mudras are used to coordinate these elements and restore properties.

• Sajasrara • Ajna • Vishudda • Anahata • Manipura • Svadhistana • Muladhara

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The Hindu Temple in Pushkar, Rajasthan is the only standing Hindu temple in India dedicated to Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe.

The architecture of a Hindu temple symbolizes Earth/Feet, Space/Body, and Heaven/Head in the base, walls and a pyramid shaped tower called a “shikara”.

Gandhi

“An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.”

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Hindu Sanyasi

Sanyas means renunciation of worldly life.

Papier Mache Effigy to be used in Religious Procession, Delhi, India

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Nataraja is the dancing posture of Shiva in his divine dance of creation and destruction. Most often depicted through a bronze statue, Nataraja shows Shiva in a circle of flames over a figure who symbolizes ignorance.

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Krishna & Kaliya

Statue represents Krishna dancing on the head of Kaliya, a naga.

Saratheswathee, Hindu Goddess of Learning, with Singhalese and English Inscription

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Ganesh, the Hindu elephant headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is the Lord of Wisdom and Good Fortune, the Remover of Obstacles, the god of domestic harmony and of success.

Earth Supported by Elephants Standing on a Tortoise, Giclee Print

According to Hindu mythology Vishnu, in his second incarnation, becomes a tortoise supporting Mount Mandara so the gods can churn the cosmic ocean for the drink of immortality.

• see Wikipedia for “Turtles all the way down”.

World Religions -
Hinduism Wall Poster

“The truth is one; sages call it by various names.” – Rig Veda

Hinduism is the oldest of the world's major religions. It developed as a combination of ancient Indian religions and the religion of the Aryans. The Aryans were nomads who invaded northern India between 2000 and 900 B.C. Hindus worship many different gods and goddesses, but these gods and goddesses are all part of Brahman, the absolute and supreme realty. Hindus believe that everything – all things and events – plays a role in universal order. Today, Hinduism is the major religion of India. More that 760 million Hindus live in India and around the world.

The Vedas – which means “body of knowledge” – are the most honored texts in Hinduism. The Upanishads [oo-PAHN-ih-shads], an important part of the Vedas, explain the concept of Brahamn. The Upanishads also discuss reincarnation, the belief that when a person dies, his or her soul is reborn in another living being. Hindus compare the soul to a river. Like a river, the soul flows continuously, but it is always the same. Other Hindu holy texts tell the stories of gods and goddesses. The three most important Hindu gods are Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. Individual devotion to a personal god is a major part of modern Hindu worship.

The Vedas also set up a “caste system,” a formal division of people into different social classes. Hindus believe that good actions in one life can lead to rebirth in a higher caste in the next life. A person's caste is determined by karma, the consequences of human actions. During the 1800s people started to work against the caste system because it denied basic rights to many. Under the caste system, “Untouchables,” people of the lowest social class, had to perform the worst jobs and couldn't use such public facilities as roads and wells. One man who led the struggle to end this system was the Hindu religious and political leader Mohandas K. Gandhi. Gandhi also helped India gain independence from Great Britain in 1947.

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