[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: Significance of Siva Linga
-
To: soc-religion-hindu@uunet.uu.net
-
Subject: Re: Significance of Siva Linga
-
From: nnyxsi@ny.ubs.com (Kunal Singh)
-
Date: 22 Apr 1996 20:31:05 GMT
-
In-Reply-To: Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian's message of 19 Apr 1996 19:52:12 GMT
-
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
-
Organization: Union Bank of Switzerland, New York site
-
References: <4l8qtc$ad5@babbage.ece.uc.edu>
-
Resent-Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 22:26:54 -0700 (MST)
-
Resent-From: Ajay Shah <ajay@mercury.aichem.arizona.edu>
-
Resent-Message-Id: <Pine.ULT.3.90.960422222654.1604L@mercury.aichem.arizona.edu>
-
Resent-To: ghen@netcom.com
In article <4l8qtc$ad5@babbage.ece.uc.edu> Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian <rbalasub@ecn.purdue.edu> writes:
.. stuff deleted ..
Balasubramaniam santhanam <santhan@ee.gatech.edu> wrote:
>I would like to know the origin and significance of the Siva Linga.
>As far as my knowledge goes:
>The bhraman (paramatma) is supposed to be deviod of form or attributes.
>The Siva linga is also deviod of form (arupa svarupam) and is therefore
>representative of the bhraman (siva in particular).
>I would like to know if this interpretation is correct.
shiva is both "with and without attributes". Thus the liN^ga has a form, but
still reminds one of the formless. Other interpretations have also been
given,
like shiva is the BrahmaanDa and so on. He is called by the Tamil saints as
being both "uruvam" and "aruvam" ie, saguNa and nirguNa. The shiva puraaNa
explains that though shiva is nirguNa, he appears as saguNa for the non-
realized. This is the same tattva explained in the "chidambara rakachiyam". In
Chidambaram, the Lord is represented as naTaraaja and the liN^gam there is
called the aakaasha liN^gam. The liN^gam is usually covered and when the
priest
lifts the cover, there is nothing inside! It's significance is that when the
maya (represented by the cover) is lifted shiva shines as the nirguNa
brahman (the "attribute-less").
I'm glad you told this story. It is extremely important for people to
consider how consciousness or the linga can create "attributes" or
diversity in this world.
As far as the orgin goes, you can refer to the shiva puraaNa for the story.
He
appeared as the liN^ga when vishhNu and brahma were arguing who was superior
(liN^godbhava muurti). The place where this happened was thiruvaNNaamalai,
where the column of fire (GYaanaagni) condensed as the mountain. I believe
that
the story can also be found in the skanda puraaNa. A small idol describing
this
is a common feature in many shiva temples in Tamil Nadu.
That's interesting. Where is ThiruvaNNaamlai ? In my own Shiva
Purana, the notes at the bottom seem to mention Kasi. But regardless,
it seems that the idea of consciousness was demonstrated to the
Vaishnav and Brahma philosophers. An interesting detail is that
Vishnu bored into the earth to find the bottom of the lingam, perhaps
looking at the fundamentals of how consciousness could support the
world, and Brahma flew towards the heaven, perhaps looking at the
implications of consciousness. This story is told both in Shiva
Purana and Brahma Purana.
Two monks were arguing about a flag. One said, "The flag is moving." The
other
said, "The wind is moving." The sixth patriarch happened to be passing by.
He
told them, "Not the wind, not the flag; mind is moving." - The Gateless Gate
And then a Shaivite came along and said neither wind nor flag nor mind
is moving. Consciousness is moving.
