Shiv Lingam

Why is Shivling called the Vigraha and why are females not supposed to worship and touch Shivling?

To begin with, God never excluded himself from a certain group, race or creed. Women, like men, are just worshipping. That distinction is there because of the fact that it was men who wrote the scriptures. Women were not allowed to be a part of the decision making of what is a good or a bad ritual. There is nothing stopping you at all from worshipping whomever you want. If we were to say do not worship Shivling but worship Krishna, are we not differentiating between Krishna and Shiva? Are we not then dividing God?

Why is Shiv Lingam called a Vigraha? Anything in which you worship divinity is a Vigraha. If you are offering abhishekam to Lord Vishnu's idol, similarly you are offering abhishekam to Shiv Lingam. First of all it is a symbol of Lord Shiva. In the yogic texts, ling is a name of the body that is referred to as your subtle body so this is symbolic of Lord Shiva. That said we did go through a time where sex was not a taboo and it was okay to talk about it and that is why so many old temples have sculptures of poses of kamasutra on the walls. But all humans are conceived the same way. So Shiv lingam is on a yoni. It is the ultimate union and a reminder that if you could see divinity in the act of intimacy then nothing will remain superficial. Nothing remains undivine. It is a lack of understanding of this subject that can lead to avoidance or repulsion. When you truly understand, you suddenly see the truth.

Listen to this discourse to find out more.

BREATHE / SMILE / LET GO
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