Shiva Lingam

Vijay Kumar:
Your primary query relates to Shiva linga Puja. Some call it Shiva lingham, Shiva linga Puja, Shiva lingam, Siva lingam Puja. All relate to Hindu god Shiva. And what this Shiva stands for in Hinduism?

Lord Shiva is one of the three facets of the Creator of the cosmos. As in Hinduism there exists three functional attributes of God Almighty. These are the creative, destructive and the preservative modes of conduct by which God Almighty operates.

The creative power of God Almighty the Creator of the cosmos is vested with Brahma. As Brahma is considered the Creator of the total Cosmos... and the whole creation considered as existing from times immemorial... there is not much religious sentiments attached to this creative power of the Almighty God.

In the whole of India there is only one temple which is dedicated to Brahma. Rest all the temples are either dedicated to Lord Shiva, or lord Vishnu.

Lord Vishnu is considered as the maintainer of the system created by Brahma (the manifest creative attribute of God Almighty). Great importance has been assigned to lord Vishnu for the whole system is considered his responsibility.

All the ten Avatars are of lord Vishnu... the last of whom is being considered as Bhagwan Kalki... one who delivers the mankind from the ills of the present! By this we mean that Lord Vishnu himself manifests on mother earth as an avatar from time to time. Now the time is considered ripe for lord Vishnu to take avatar as Bhagwan Kalki.

And why is it necessary for the Lord himself to manifest as an avatar. It so happens that with passage of time the values in the society stoop so low that it becomes difficult for the mankind to survive in general. The distrust amongst the individuals has so badly affected the society that it is only but an avatar who can set things right.

After Lord Krishna it is now the time for the 10 avatar of the era... Bhagwan Kalki!

We are presently passing through the metal age aka the Kali Yuga. The present Kali Yuga is the phrase in the life cycle of humanity when the values in the society are in their lowest ebb. One who shall lift the community out of the menace of this Kali Yuga shall be Bhagwan Kalki... the 10 incarnation of lord Vishnu.

Lord Shiva is considered the most potent and powerful attribute of the Almighty God. The dance of Lord Shiva at the time of Pralaya (the dissolution of cosmos) announces the demise of the whole Cosmos. This is happening which cannot be imagined with the limited power of senses attributed to human beings.

Lord Shiva maintains the equilibrium of the cosmos. If there is creativity there has to be death also. If something is born then demise also has to occur to maintain the balance in the system. The power over death rests with Lord Shiva. And who does not fear death... most human beings pray to Lord Shiva so that they may not meet untimely death.

Praying to Lord Shiva simply means praying for long life... Lord Brahma or lord Vishnu are not the least related to the life span of a living Jiva nay every human being for that matter. It is the prerogative of lord Shiva alone to maintain the balance sheet of life of every individual existing in whole Cosmos.

This power over death makes attribute of Lord Shiva the most powerful one. It has also been stated in the sacred Scriptures that Yama, the representative of Lord Shiva in matters of death being an extremely wise entity. The maintainer of the records of the life and death of every individual form of life has to be an intelligent person. If it was not so then the affairs in the kingdom of God would have been similar to the fate of Bihar, India where the law practically plays into the hands of the ruling government.

The foremost attribute of Lord Shiva which directly relates to his intelligence is the power of lingam attached to Lord Shiva. In every Shiva Temple we shall find a Shiva lingam. And what does Shiva lingam stand for? Every Shiva lingam represents the creative power dormant within a human being.

Everything creative in the cosmos is directly governed by Lord Shiva. The intelligence aspect of every human being is directly governed by Lord Shiva. How? Shiva lingam is symbolic of that creative aspect of humanity without which the society itself cannot exist. Siva lingam directly represents the creative aspect of the male organ.

It is the male organ which performs the main function in carrying the society to its logical end... to maintain the progeny. There is no other function attributed to this male organ. However by practicing Celibacy Brahmacharya Vrata one reaches the level of an enlightened soul like Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed.

This aspect of Lord Shiva... the creative power associated with the male organ says it all. Praying to Lord Shiva means wishing for the welfare of one and all... the total progeny... the mankind in totality! Rather we are praying for the continuity of life. Prayers to Lord Shiva can be for manifold purposes but the two prime reasons being well-being of the near and dear ones (a wish for their long life) and the birth of a healthy offspring in the family.

Every human being has within him God in miniscule form. our atman the soul within which resides in our heart is the governing authority. Yet, praying to Lord Shiva is trying to eradicate the negative balance of Karma of the present and previous lives. It is like putting balm on an injured hand... the injury resulting due to the accumulated negative balance of Karma of the present or the previous lives.

If we are to live a healthy life... a life full of gaiety and laughter... then we definitely need to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva by worshipping the Shiva lingam. Many people ask of Lord Shiva to be forgiven for the deeds committed by them knowingly or unknowingly in this or the earlier lives. If we repent for the accumulated negative balance of karma then it is possible to negate the negative balance of karma and live a happy life in the present manifestation.

To eradicate the ills of the past is the biggest headache for mankind. It is aka Prarabdha karma. As per theory of karma... our present actions can fructify in present life or four manifestations beyond. We may suffer for acts not committed by us in present life but which got committed four manifestations before.

Unless and until we know the right mantra to eradicate ourselves of the Prarabdha karma in our balance... we may continue facing the wrath of Lord Shiva. Prayers do help and so does performance of Punya karma. If we need to live a happy life... we need to perform only Punya karma in present life. Who knows what negative karma we might have performed in the earlier lives!

One very important aspect of life is being made clear. There has never been anyone like Lord Brahma, lord Vishnu or lord Shiva. They are mere different attributes of the Almighty God. Even if we pray to one God Almighty... it shall suffice.

While offering prayers to God we need to remember that it is only the positive merits we are after. And here our karma becomes governing. As we perform... so shall be our future. As we sow so shall we reap... nothing more or less! We cannot expect mango to grow on a guava tree.

We must as a human being never fear anything... God in miniscule form is always present within us as our atman the soul within. What we really need to do is try hearing the sweet small inner voice which seems to come from within our heart. This is the voice of our atman the soul within. This voice always prompts us on the right path.

Praying to God is a religious code of conduct by human beings towards God Almighty creator. And in the present Kali Yuga phase of life... we need to continue performing the right karma. As has been emphasized by Swami Vivekananda... in the present Kali Yuga phase of life the karma performed by us becomes governing. Even prayers sometimes may not help if our karma performed is to the contrary.

in present life we must trust more on performing the right Punya karma than performance of the rituals alone (performing Shiva linga Puja). Prayers are needed only to reduce the negative effects of the karma performed in the earlier lives.

It is pure Spirituality which should form inner strength of the society as of today. Studying the Bhagavad Gita fulfils all the requirements of becoming a true human being.

Rituals in the present phase of life do not carry much weightage. Why pray and ask for anything when God is himself present in us in form of our atman the soul within!

Always there to clarify your queries (send your query),

Essay by: Vijay Kumar "Atma Jnani" ... The Man who Realized God in 1993!

 Full text of query: Please e-mail me details as to how you go about offering pooja to lord shiva and what mantras you have to recital. Also what you have to do at the shiva lingham.

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