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The significance of Shivalingam

Satsang by Swami Satyananda Saraswati

In India they have a very popular concept called shivalingam. It is very much misunderstood because lingam is a Sanskrit word with two meanings. Lingam means ‘symbol’ and also ‘male organ’. So shivalingam is interpreted as Shiva’s organ. Actually it does not mean that. Shivalingam means ‘the supreme consciousness in its causal form’. Everything has three forms: gross, astral and causal. Lingam means the causal body, that is, the causal form of Shiva. What is that?

Photos by Sw. Atmamuktananda taken: 2011 Yoga Poornima Rikhia

In this physical body there are twelve centres which are considered to be important points of concentration for the improvement and awakening of your consciousness. Of these twelve points, three are most important. One is mooladhara chakra at the base of the spine; the second is ajna chakra at the top of the spine, behind the mid-eyebrow centre; the third is sahasrara chakra, the cosmic brain, at the crown of the head. These three points are considered to be the most important forms of Shiva.

The form of Shiva in mooladhara chakra is that of a smoky grey, oval shaped stone, which has no illumination. The second place of shivalingam is in ajna chakra and it is black in color. The third is in sahasrara chakra at the top of the brain, which is said to be the illumined shivalingam. This concept of Shiva has inspired Hindus for thousands and thousands of years to follow the path from gross to subtle, subtle to causal, causal to transcendental, because Shiva represents the yogic process in human life, not the process of matter.

Matter also has a process of evolution, but Shiva represents the spiritual evolution in man. Those of you who have come across this philosophy of Shiva will understand very well that it is at once a concept which relates, not only to your body or mind, but to the highest consciousness in you which is trying to manifest. Therefore, in every temple, the Hindus have an oval shaped stone which is black in color, never white. This stone is concentrated upon in order to awaken the twelve centres in your body. That is this is very important philosophy in short.

In India, Kashmir is considered to be the historical scene of Shiva worship. Then one third of South India is also considered to be the second important seat of Shiva worship. In Tibet there is a very big, snow capped mountain called Mount Kailash which is also in the shape of shivalingam. Before China took over Tibet, the Hindus used to go to Mount Kailash at least once in their lifetime.

At the bottom of Mount Kailash there is a great lake called Manasarovar and I have been there twice. It is such an inspiring spot! There is no temple there, no priest, no idol and no habitation. It is all wild. On the northern side of the lake, Mount Kaiash rises thousands of meters above the snow capped ranges and when you go there, you can feel that there is someone looking at you. You can’t see anything, but you have a clear feeling that there is an invisible presence there, and that is absolute.

It is from this particular place that the yoga of Shiva has emanated. The sixty four scriptures on tantra are dialogues between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva is considered to be a derelict, a sannyasin living in the wilderness, having no home, no place, always remaining in the lotus posture in samadhi.
 

Music and dance – the elixir of life

Satsang by Swami Satyananda Saraswati

In Indian culture, Shiva is the master of dance, the beautiful dancer loved by all – Nataraja Nataraja nartan sundar Nataraja. Shivaraja Shivaraja Shivakami priya Nataraja. Once Shiva and Parvati were having a dance competition. He would give a performance and she would follow. Shiva and Parvati danced and danced and danced. Shiva danced in different poses and ultimately he adopted a pose that Parvati could not do. You will find that pose in the Chidambaram temple, near Chennai in South India. But Parvati could not manage that posture, which became the immortal posture of Nataraja.

Photos taken by Sw. Atmamuktananda: 2012 Sat Chandi Rikhia

After Shiva came Sri Krishna. He brought dance to the level of the masses, to the cowherd boys and girls who graze and milk the cows. Krishna was illiterate. This man who is supposed to be the master of the Bhagavad Gita had no schooling at all, just like Swami Niranjan. Swami Niranjan never went to school; he never knew what a schoolmaster was, or a desk and pen and paper. Krishna had a similar destiny. He never went to school. He lived incognito during his childhood and adolescence with the cowherd boys and girls. There he used to dance and dance and the girls used to dance and dance. That dance has become immortal in Indian history and is called the rasalila, the cosmic dance, the celestial dance, the divine dance. We call it the dance of purusha and prakriti, the dance between ida and pingala. We have given it so many names. Sri Krishna danced and the rasalila has become immortal.

Krishna and Shiva were masters of dancing, they were perfect dancers. Shiva’s Nataraja and Krishna’s rasalila were missing from Indian life for two or three hundred years, when men and women were not allowed to interact with each other. We are born free. We want to be free. Dancing is our right and singing is our soul. That is the only time when we can be happy. Otherwise we are dancing after money, we are dancing after the bottle, we are dancing after this and that. And that dance is full of tensions.

We do not subscribe to cultures that prohibit singing and dancing. Music and dance are the elixir of life. Everyone must allow their children to learn music and dance at home. We must all learn to sing and dance. See how good these people from the West are at singing and dancing. Their timing and rhythm are perfect. Their knowledge is one hundred percent although it is our culture which has come down to us from the Sama Veda, one of the four Vedas. During the dark times two to three hundred years ago this gap between boys and girls widened and they were prohibited from practicing this beautiful art. As a result today girls and boys are afraid of each other.

We want our children to learn mathematics and science, but life in society and the family should be full of music. There is no harm in learning English or chemistry but children must sing and dance. Dancing and singing develops the body and mind – their spirits will soar. If parents sing kirtans and bhajans, children will also follow suit. If you sit and chant kirtan or Ramayana, your children will definitely sit there with you and participate in that chanting too. This would be the beginning of a very good culture in the family, one in tune with our ancient culture and civilization. Singing and dancing is not a new culture for Indians.