Is there any hidden meaning in the Shiva Linga structure? I have always been intrigued by its shape and structure. Is there any scientific reason to worship it. Please share your thoughts my belo ved global family....... Worship of Siva Linga The popular belief is that the Siva Lingam represents the phallus or the virile organ, the emblem of the generative power or principle in nature. This is not on ly a serious mistake, but also a grave blunder according to Swami Sivananda. In the post-Vedic period, the Linga became symbolical of the generative power of th e Lord Siva. Linga is the differentiating mark. It is certainly not the sex-mark . You will find in the Linga Purana: Pradhanam prakritir yadahur-lingamuttamam; Gandhavarnarasairhinam sabda-sparsadi -varjitam The foremost Linga which is primary and is devoid of smell, colour, taste, heari ng, touch, etc., is spoken of as Prakriti (Nature). Linga means mark, in Sanskrit. It is a Symbol which points to an inference. When y ou see a big flood in a river, you infer that there had been heavy rains the pre vious day. When you see smoke, you infer that there is fire. This vast world of countless forms is a Linga of the Omnipotent Lord. The Siva Linga is a symbol of Lord Siva. When you look at the Linga, your mind is at once elevated and you be gin to think of the Lord. Lord Siva is really formless. He has no form of his own and yet all forms are Hi s forms. All forms are pervaded by Lord Siva Lingam representing Formless manife st into all Form. There is a mysterious power or indescribable Sakti in the Linga, to induce conce ntration of the mind. Just as the mind is focussed easily in crystal-gazing, so also the mind attains one-pointedness, when it looks at the Linga. That is the r eason why the ancient Rishis and the seers of India have prescribed Linga for be ing installed in the temples of Lord Siva. Siva Linga speaks to you in the unmistakable language of silence: I am one withou t a second, I am formless . Pure, pious souls only can understand this language. The Linga as a Symbol of Creation The ancient scripture Linga Purana says that the foremost Linga is devoid of sme ll, colour, taste, etc., and is spoken of as 'Prakriti' or Nature itself. In the post-Vedic period, the Linga became symbolical of the generative power of Lord Shiva. The Linga is like an egg, and represents the 'Brahmanda' or the cosmic egg. Ling a signifies that the creation is effected by the union of 'Prakriti' and 'Purush a,' the male and the female powers of Nature. Linga also signifies 'Satya,' 'Jna na' and 'Ananta' - Truth, knowledge and Infinity. Shiva Linga: From Duality to the Ultimate Union with Non-Duality The true meaning of Shiva Linga goes even beyond the Tantra yoga meaning of unio n and the Creation. It is the eventual union of the duality (of you and me) into the non-duality (where the God is seen in the form of Nirgun/Nirakar or absence of you and me and Eternal Blissful presence of The Divine Awareness (or The Bliss, Sat-Chit-Ananda, Chaitanya, Moksha, Super-Soul, Supreme Awareness or Supreme Con sciousness) A curious passionate, visitor of little understanding of the sacred lingam may w ell say: Oh, the Hindus worship the phallus or sex organ. . .......When a foreigne r tries to learn Tamil or any Indian language, he first tries to pick up some vu lgar words. This is his curios nature. Even so, the curious foreigner tries to f ind out some defects in the worship of symbol. Linga is only the outward symbol of the formless being, Lord Siva, who is the indivisible, all-pervading, eternal , auspicious, ever-pure, immortal essence of this vast universe, who is the undy ing Soul seated in the chambers of your heart, who is your Indweller, innermost Self or Atman, and who is identical with the Supreme Brahman. One might care to remind the visitor from foreign lands that the Britannica Encyclopedia entry on lingam also notes that the lingam is Not considered to be a phallic symbol. A Siva Linga consists of three parts, the lowest of which is the Brahma-Pitha, t
he middle one, the Vishnu-Pitha and the uppermost one, the Siva-Pitha. Some are Svayambhu-lingas, some are Narmadesvaras. There are twelve Jyotirlingas and five Pancha Bhuta Lingas in India. The twelve Jyotir-lingas are: Kedarnath, Kasi Visvanath, Somanath, Baijnath, Ramesvar, Ghrusnesvar, Bhimasankar, Mahakal a, Mallikarjuna, Amalesvar, Nagesvar and Tryambakesvar. The five Pancha Bhuta Li ngas are: Kalahastisvar, Jambukesvar, Arunachalesvar, Ekambaresvar of Kanjivaram and Nataraja of Chidambaram. The temple of Lord Mahalinga at Tiruvidaimarudur k nown also as Madhyarjuna is regarded as the great Siva temple of South India. Spatikalinga is also a symbol of Lord Siva. This is prescribed for Aradhana or w orship of Lord Siva. It is made up of quartz. It has no colour of its own, but t akes on the colour of the substances which come in contact with it. It represent s the Nirguna Brahman or the attributeless Supreme Self or formless and attribut eless Siva. Shiva Lingam-Some Scientific Truths Vishnu signifies Proton with positive electrical charge. Mahesha signifies Neutron with no electrical charge. Brahma signifies Electron with negative electrical charge. Sakthi is Energy. Sakthi is a type of energy field represented by a Disc. Shiva Lingam represents the atomic structure. According to the Rishis, Shiva and Vishnu are present in the Lingam. In Sanskrit, the three lines signify multiple . In the atomic structure, there are Protons and Neutrons which are surrounded b y fast spinning Electrons. Sakthi is represented by a Disc in oval shape with three ridges carved at its pe riphery. She is Energy and plays a vital role in the Universe. If one look at the portrait of Vishnu, a lotus is depicted as arising from the n avel of Vishnu and Brahma is shown as seated on the lotus. Lotus signifies Energ y which has the force of attraction. The stem of the lotus can bend because of i ts flexibility signalling that Brahma moves around Vishnu. This is a message tha t Electron is attracted to Proton because of the opposite electric charge. Moreover, Neutron is depicted as Shiva which has no charge at all. The nucleus o f the atom also contains neutrons. Neutrons are about the same size as Protons, but have no electric charge. Neutrons are bound very tightly in the atom s nucleus with the Protons. When the atom s nucleus contains as many Neutrons as Protons, t he atom is stable. Similarly, the ancient sages provided the idea that when Shiva is not disturbed and separated, he remains calm. Shiva remains calm because Sakthi takes the form of Renuka. The energy which forms the molecules is denoted by its valency, which in Sanskrit is Renuka. Renuka is one produces Renu or mol ecule. Two atoms make one molecule. Hence ancient Hindu sages brought the idea o f Sakthi as Shiva s wife and as part of Shiva and dances around Shiva throughout. However, when Neutron is disturbed and separated natural disaster occur, which s ignify that Shakthi turns out to be a terror known as Rudrani (Kali) performing destructive dance, signalling natural disaster. The actual producer of molecules is Electron which signifies Brahma. Modern phys ics shows that Electrons are shared between the atoms to form a molecule. Theref ore the Hindu concept that Brahma created the earth is in conformity with Scienc e. In Yoga too the first and last postures are that of an ellipsoid. When one focus es his energy on the Dhayanalinga his energy gets refined. It is that's why said that worshiping Shiva Linga will make one reach the spiritual truths. The chakra, the most important one on the head is symbolized. It is Sahasrara an d also called Bramhanda. Here is the place of Ecstasy and Shiva linga symbolizes this- ecstasy stirred by one's own self and not influenced by out. Ananadmite, a scientific proof says that one can be intoxicated by himself and be drunk and not by drinking. This is Bramhanda, fully drunk but fully alert. Shiva linga rep resents this, the highest level of bliss and spirituality. On another question Dharma Somashekar had posted an answer and I am posting a pa rt of it here. The Pineal Gland (in the MIDBRAIN ) known as the master gland, is responsible fo r all the chemical producing glands in the body ( Like Shiva runs the whole Bram
handa ).Pineal gland runs the whole body called "Pindanda" This Pineal Gland is what we see in the form of a SHIVLING. At the physical level it works as Master gland responsible for the production of Amruth , Somras (serotonin, pinoline melatonin, and DMT5). One finds the Shiv-ling placed in the DARK sanctum of the temple. Medical science says, Pineal gland is productive, only in total darkness. (That is the reason Rishies did thapas in caves) There is more science to Shiva linga and more to Shiva. He is the realized soul, the realized Guru. For a sincere devotee, the Linga is not a block of stone. It is all radiant Teja s or Chaitanya. The Linga talks to him, makes him shed profuse tears, produces h orripilation and melting of heart, raises him above body-consciousness and helps to commune with the Lord and attain Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Lord Rama worshipped the Siva Linga at Ramesvar. Ravana, the learned scholar, wo rshipped the golden Linga. What a lot of mystic Sakti there should be in the Lin ga! Interpretation of Lingam in Puranas Puranas, especially the Vamana Purana, Shiva Purana, Linga Purana, Skanda Purana , Matsya Purana and Visva-Sara-Prakasha attribute the origin of Shiva Linga to t he curse of sages leading to the separation of and installation of the phallus o f Lord Shiva on earth. Some also refer to the endlessness of the lingam to be li nked to the egos of Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma. Interpretation in Tantra According to Tantra, Lingam is a symbol of Shiva's phallus in spiritual form. Th ey say, the lingam contains the soul-seed within which lies the essence of the e ntire cosmos. The lingam arises out of the base (Yoni) which represents Parvati according to some or Vishnu, Brahma in female and neuter form according to other s. Interpretation of Shiva Linga as an Abstract Symbol of G-d Scholars of the Hindu Dharma scriptures say that Linga is merely an abstract symbol of the G-d. They point towards several legends in Hinduism where a sundry rock or even a pile of sand has been used by as a Lingam or the symbol of Shiva. Citing a particular instance , Arjuna is said to have once fashioned a linga of clay when worshipping Shiva. Scholars of Puranas, thus argue that too much shoul d not be made of the usual shape of the Lingam. Scholars say that the interpreta tion of Shiva Linga as an abstract form of God is also consonant with philosophi es that hold that God may be conceptualized and worshipped in any convenient for m. The form itself is irrelevant, as the divine power that it represents is all that matters. Scholars thus say that Sivalinga represent the formless Nirguna Brahman or the f ormless Supreme Being. May we all attain the formless Siva through the worship of the Linga, the symbol of Lord Siva which helps concentration of mind and which serves as a prop for t he mind to lean upon in the beginning for the neophytes! ~ Various sources & Quora
