The Controversy About Shiva Linga

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Kedarnath

There is some deliberately planted disinformation on the internet about shiva linga that it stands for the male genital organ. Some of it has gone to the extent of obscenity. Fortunately many of the popular sources like wikipedia have dispelled this ridiculously wrong idea about shiva linga. Let's try to get to the root of this. We know very well that in the shiva linga the linga portion represents the shiva tatwa and the peetha portion represents shakti tatwa. They are always together. Shiva linga without peetha should not be ....

There is some deliberately planted disinformation on the internet about shiva linga that it stands for the male genital organ.

Some of it has gone to the extent of obscenity.

Fortunately many of the popular sources like wikipedia have dispelled this ridiculously wrong idea about shiva linga.

Let's try to get to the root of this.

We know very well that in the shiva linga the linga portion represents the shiva tatwa and the peetha portion represents shakti tatwa. They are always together.
Shiva linga without peetha should not be worshiped.
Even if you are getting a bana linga from river Narmada, it should be worshiped only after placing it on top of a peetha.

The notion that Linga represents the male genital organ and peetha represents the female genital organ is wrong.

Because genital organs are at the level of procreation, not at the level of creation.

There are several methods of creation.

Brahma created his manasa putras merely by wishing so. There was no female element involved in this creation.

He produced so many objects and beings from his own body.

Splitting himself into male and female parts came much later.

Male female union is needed only for procreation.

Even now, there is asexual reproduction like how it happens in bacteria.
A bacterium just splits into two. And both have lives.
Scientists have cloned animals, without the need for male - female union.

At this level itself when male female union is not necessary

At Brahma's level of creation itself when male female union is not necessary

How can at Shiva's level, which is much much higher, this idea can exist?

Brahma is for our this one universe.

There are billions of other universes.

They have all come out of Shiva as nada and Shakti as bindu.

Even above this is Shiva in the united state of Shiva and Shakti in which Shakti tatwa is dormant within Shiva tatwa.
When the universe comes into existence, the shakti tatwa envelops and limits shiva tatwa in that limited space where the universe appears.

This is what the peetha of shiva linga signifies.

Not the female genital organ.

The confusion has come in due to the reason that in Sanskrit the term lingam has two diverse meanings.

Lingam is sign or symbol
Lingam is also the male genital organ

But for the male genital organ, there are many other terms as well like shishna, medhra, mehana.

लिङ्ग्यते अनेनेति लिङ्गम्
That which symbolizes something, is a sign of something stands for something represents something is lingam.

It is like the icons of various apps that you have on your mobile.

The icons stand for those apps. You can activate those apps through those icons.

That's the whole point here.

You can access shiva through shiva linga.

You can gain access to shiva through shiva linga.

But then why this unique form?

Other Gods have got idols with specific forms, with hands and legs.

We should go back to the scene of the dispute between Brahma and Vishnu as to who is greatest.

This is the form in which Lord Shiva appeared before then at that time.

As a pillar of fire.

Vishnu went in search of its base.
Base means beginning.
He couldnt find it.

Brahma went in search of its top.
Top means end. He couldn;t find it.

What does this mean ?

Shiva is beginning less and endless.

The linga portion of shiva linga represents this ultimate truth that shiva is beginningless and endless.

And the peetha represents the truth that when the world is there, that is between creation and elimination, Shiva allows himself to be restricted in space and time by using a power which has sprung out of himself. This power is Shakti.
Shiva Linga represents both these aspects of Shiva.
Unlimited and limited at the same time.
Telling us that the world we experience is not different from him.
It is his own manifestation with limits in terms of space and time.

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