Lingam: Encyclopedia - Lingam

Lingam

Lingam (also, Linga; Sanskrit liṅgaṃ, meaning "gender" in general, and also "phallus" in particular by some entymologists) is used as a symbol for the worship of the Hindu God Shiva. Others state that the lingam means "mark." The use of this symbol as an object of worship is a timeless tradition in India; mainstream scholars connect the origin of the lingam to the early Indus Valley civilisation. Lingam is usually found with Yoni. It was natural for the tribes of Indus Valley to look at the togetherness of genital parts of the male and female (Lingam and Yoni) as the point of energy, point of creation, and point of enlightenment. Such revelation was later enriched by many philosophies and theologies as man's knowledge of God widened with civilization.

Lingam - Etymology

The term, "linga" has many meanings. Monier-Williams gives "a mark, spot, sign, token, badge, emblem, characteristic" as general meanings.

Swami Sivananda, said that "the linga means a mark, in Sanskrit. It is a symbol which points to an inference. When you see a big flood in a river, you infer that there had been heavy rains the previous 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 begin to think of the Lord."

Bansi Pandit, in his book, Hindu Dharma said, that "Shivalinga means "Shiva symbol." He further adds that the word linga is derived from the two Sanskrit words laya (dissolution) and agaman (recreation). Thus, shivalinga symbolizes that entity in which the creation merges at the time of dissolution and out of which the universe reappears at the beginning of the new cycle of creation."

Shivling (6543m) is also a mountain in Uttaranchal (the Garwhal region of Himalayas). It arises as a sheer pyramid above the snout of the Gangotri Glacier. The mountain resembles a shivling when viewed from certain angles; especially when travelling or trekking from Gangotri to Gomukh as a part of a traditional Hindu pilgrimage.

The word is first attested in the Brahmanas, both with general meanings of "sign, mark, characteristic" and of "gender mark, genital". Its etymology is uncertain, suggestions include Germanic *leik (English alike) as a cognate.

Lingam - Interpretations

Various interpretations on the origin and symbolism of the Shiva lingam obtain. While the Tantras and Puranas deem the Shiva lingam a phallic symbol representing the regenerative aspect of the material universe, the Agamas and Shastras do not elaborate on this interpretation, and the Vedas fail altogether to mention the Lingam.

Lingam - Lingam as a phallic symbol

Hinduism conceptualizes Brahman, the supreme power, as having three main roles: that of God the Creator, God the Preserver and God the Destroyer. This trinity is represented iconically by the deities Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva respectively. Thus, it is Shiva, the destructive form of the Almighty, who is represented by the Lingam or Mark, which is manifestly the CREATIVE power of Divinity. This points to an origin of the tradition of using the Lingam as a divine symbol that is utterly sublime Light(Jyoti) in its philosophical underpinnings.

The form of the Lingam serves to further emphasize this inference. The base of the Lingam is the Yoni which has been termed 'Parashakti' elsewhere in this article. The upright portion of the Lingam is shown as being protuberant through the yoni, and the two form a unified structure. Thus, the Lingam represents the very instant of creation, or rather of regeneration, when the perishable and eventually destructible Old renews and regenerates itself in another form, the New that is to come.

Some Tantras consider the lingam to be a phallic symbol and to be the representation of Shiva's phallus, in its erect form. Accordingly, the lingam contains the soul-seed containing within it the essence of the entire 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 others.

The puranas, especially the Vamana purana, Shiva purana, Linga purana, Skanda Purana, Matsya Purana, and Visva-Sara-Prakasha, have narratives of the origin and symbolism of the Shiva lingam. Many puranas attribute the origin to the curse of sages leading to the separation of and installation of the phallus of Lord Shiva on earth; many also refer to the endlessness of the lingam, linked to the egos of Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma.

Lingam - Lingam as an abstract symbol of God

Some knowledgeable interpreters of Hindu scripture believe the lingam to be merely an abstract symbol, and point out that Lingams in many of the more important temples are not of the shape described above. Furthermore, many are the instances in Hindu lore where a sundry rock or pile of sand has been used by heroic personages as a Lingam or symbol of Shiva. For example, Arjuna fashioned a linga of clay when worshipping Siva. Thus, it is argued, too much should not be made of the usual shape of the Lingam. This view is also consonant with philosophies that hold that God may be conceptualized and worshipped in any convenient form; the form itself is irrelevent, the divine power that it represents is all that matters.

Sri K. Thirugna Sambantha, in his web site of Saivism, [1], explains that the Siva lingam is the ruparupa aspect because it is neither a manifested form of Siva, nor is it formless, because the linga is a tangible piece of stone, and an symbol of God. Thus, it is intermediate between the formless Absolute, Parasiva, which is beyond the sensory perception of man, and the many manifest forms of Siva.

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami explains in the lexicon section of his book, Dancing with Siva, that "Sivalinga is the most prevalent icon of Siva, found in virtually all Siva temples. It is a rounded, elliptical, aniconic image, usually set on a circular base, or peetham. The Sivalinga is the simplest and most ancient symbol of Siva, especially of Parasiva, God beyond all forms and qualities. The Peetham represents Parashakti, the manifesting power of God. Lingas are usually of stone (either carved or naturally existing, svayambhu, such as shaped by a swift-flowing river), but may also be of metal, precious gems, crystal, wood, earth or transitory materials such as ice. According to the Karana Agama (6), a transitory Sivalinga may be made of 12 different materials: sand, rice, cooked food, river clay, cow dung, butter, rudraksha seeds, ashes, sandalwood, darbha grass, a flower garland, or molasses."

Swami Sivananda,states that the linga represents the formless, attributeless Nirguna Brahman or the formless Supreme Being Lord Siva, who is the indivisible, all-pervading, eternal, auspicious, ever-pure, immortal essence of this vast universe, the undying soul seated in the chambers of your heart, and the Indweller, innermost Self or Atman and who is identical with the Supreme Brahman.

He further holds that although the Agamas do not derive their authority from the Vedas, the two are not mutually antagonistic. Some scholars hold the view that anything that contradicts the Vedas or is inconsistent with its spirit is not authoritative. According to this perspective, the Puranic and Tantric conceptualizations are secondary to the Vedas and the Agamas which are vedic in spirit. In this point of view, the conceptualization of the lingam as a phallic symbol does not carry much weight, since the Vedas & Agamas say nothing in the matter.

Lingam - A naturally occurring lingam

A lingam at Amarnath in the western Himalayas formed every winter by dripping water freezing. It is very popular with pilgrims. A stone lingam is a naturally occurring oval stone.

Lingam - In popular culture

Something that resembled a Siva linga was called the Sankara Stone in the movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In Hindi/Sanskrit, Sankara or Shankar is another name for lord Shiva.

See also

• Phallicism
• Yoni
• Völsa þáttr

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Lingam", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki