Query: Shiva Lingam
Celibacy absolutely necessary... I just bought a small Shiva lingam. Where do I get ash to apply on forehead?
Do I need to worship the lingam every day, How do I keep the lingam cool when away at work? Where do I get
bel leaves? Is celibacy absolutely necessary? When is Shiva
Ratri?
Vijay Kumar:
In all your queries... you have not specified the purpose of your
purchasing a Shiva lingam! Shiva lingam is symbolic of the creative power of the Cosmos... the self effulgent
power of the Cosmos... the beginningless Cosmos!
Lord Shiva who forms part of the trinity of Hindu gods... is considered
the most powerful among all Hindu gods! Shiva (aka Mahesh) is deemed the destroyer... the ultimate maintainer
of the Cosmos! If death did not exist in the Cosmos... the existence of the Cosmos would have negated! If
something is born... it also must die... that is how the system... life in the cosmic system maintains
itself.
Worshiping Shiva lingam denotes worshiping the ultimate Hindu entity...
God Almighty himself! Amongst all the attributes of God almighty... death is considered most fearful. The
controller of death... the master of death is none other than Lord Shiva under whose control acts
Yama!
The evolution of life on Mother Earth gets started when a lingam
copulates with Yoni. The moment the two meet... it results in creation of life! Lingam represents the
masculine attribute of life... whereas Yoni... the feminine attribute! The combination of two is lethal for
generation of life on Mother Earth!
Worshiping Shiva lingam... worshiping God almighty... worshiping the
ultimate Creator of the Cosmos is the necessity of the day! In the field of spirituality... rituals play only
the symbolic role. For a true seeker of spirituality... the symbolic attributes... the lingam and yoni are
almost non-existent.
For reaching God Almighty... for gaining enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) in lifetime... worshiping Shiva lingam
alone would not serve purpose. We need establishing absolute control over five senses and the mind. Furthermore,
practicing absolute celibacy for a minimum period of 12 years in continuation is a must!
For reaching the stage of enlightenment kaivalya jnana... full awakening
of the Kundalini is necessitated. The full awakening of the Kundalini becomes possible only when one
practices absolute celibacy for a minimum period of 12 years in continuation... never otherwise! Mahavira did
it... so did Gautama Buddha! Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed... both practiced absolute celibacy for a
continuous minimum period of 12 years.
The uncharted path of spirituality has to be traveled all alone. As many
human beings... as many different paths to God Almighty can there be! In the field of spirituality... there
is no scope for shortcuts. In present times... rituals alone do not mean much. One needs diving deep into the
bottomless pit of wisdom contained in the Sacred Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism.
Spirituality is something that can never be gained literally. Bhagavad Gita... the most sacred scripture of
Hinduism on Mother Earth is available for only Rs 20/= ($.40) from Gita press, Gorakhpur, India or any of the major
railway stations of India. Yet, how many people fathom the depth of wisdom contained in the sacred Bhagavad Gita of
Hinduism?
The path of enlightenment... gaining kaivalya jnana in present life is
very difficult... yet, not impossible! In the last about 150 years only two persons gained enlightenment
(amongst 6500 million people existing on Mother Earth)... Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana!
Reading literature related to Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana greatly helps.
Traveling the path undertaken by the realized masters paves way for
gaining wisdom contained in the Sacred Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism! Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism is the foremost
of all sacred scriptures existing on Mother Earth. The knower of Bhagavad Gita finally becomes the knower of
all... gains omniscience forever!
During the period of Vedas... when spirituality was still in its infancy... rituals played a significant role...
but not now! The voluminous Vedas... the wisdom contained in Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda and Atharva
Veda was limited to spiritual stalwarts of the era. With the coming of Lord Krishna... whatever was contained in
Vedas... was precipitated by Lord Krishna into Bhagavad Gita... the reason why Bhagavad Gita is also termed Vedanta
(the end of Vedas).
In present times one must stick to core of spirituality... the wisdom
contained in the Sacred Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism! The wisdom contained in the Sacred Bhagavad Gita of
Hinduism... the doctrine given to mankind by Lord Krishna in the battle of Mahabharata is unparalleled! By
assimilating the pearls of wisdom contained in Bhagavad Gita... one finally reaches the end goal of life...
the 8.4 millionth manifestation... when human beings gain enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and finally
salvation (moksha).
The goal of human life from manifestation to manifestation, body after
body... remains the same. Reaching the end goal of life... the 8.4 millionth manifestation! It is our soul
atman that is the master and controller of the body. It is our soul atman that has manifested the human form
to work out its karma... remove the dross impurities within!
All goals of human life belong to the soul atman within! The form of human life is but a puppet in the hands of God
Almighty. However, every soul atman needs manifesting the human body as in absence of the human body... it simply
cannot reach the last stage of manifest life... the 8.4 millionth manifestation!
Similar as one K. G. of metal present within hundred KG lump of metal ore
cannot separate itself of its own and requires the requisite mining machinery and processes for the same...
every soul atman on its cosmic journey requires manifesting its karma through the human form. It is only
through a human body the soul atman within cleanses itself of the impurities dross within!
The human form of life is the highest manifest stage in the cosmic life
cycle. Amongst 8.4 million manifestations on the whole... the initial 7.3 million manifestations are spent as
insect, plant and animal life! In the human form alone we have 1.1 million manifestations! During this period
of 1.1 million manifestations (an earthly life cycle of 12.4 million years) the soul atman is expected to
reach the 8.4 millionth manifestation... the last leg in the cosmic life cycle!
God Almighty... the Creator of the Cosmos always acts as a Dhrista (onlooker)... never interfering in the creation
of his. The moment life supporting planets like Mother Earth become available... souls' atmans manifested life...
manifestation after manifestation... the prime reason why importance has been attached to yoni... the feminine
symbol of life!
In a nutshell... from the cosmic angle... the soul atman is
representative of the masculine power of the Cosmos... the Karta of the Cosmos! And Mother Earth represents
the feminine aspect... one who enables the soul atman to manifest a body... a life!
May God Almighty help you understand the spiritual terminology!
A to Z of Shiva Lingam explained in words everyone can easily understand and
fathom. More on celibacy can be found at : Celibacy Definition... Vijay Kumar - 5th June 2010.
Full text of query: I just bought a small Shiva lingam. Where do I
get ash to apply on forehead? Do I need to worship the lingam every day, what do I do if out of town? How do
I keep the lingam cool when away at work? Where do I get bel leaves? Are there any big mistakes I should
avoid? If my performance is not perfect, have I wasted my time? Is celibacy absolutely necessary? When is
Shiva Ratri?