Whatever form and attitude you offer worship with, I will appear and respond to you in the same form and mood”. Bhagwat Geeta

Whatever form and attitude you offer worship with, I will appear and respond to you in the same form and mood”. Bhagwat Geeta . And In the Shiva Sutras, Lord Shiva says, “Look lovingly at some object, do not go to another object. Here in the middle of the object, let the blessing happen to you.” Yes, We don’t worship the idol, we worship through the idol. The deity does not represent God, the deity IS God. Worship through the idol happens only when one feels the deity IS God, not when one feels the deity represents God. One needs to have something perceivable which one can connect or relate to. When one really disappears into that, only then one experiences the higher conscious state. So the photos or idol worship of Shiva is Shiva as a whole. ‪Shiva is Parmatma, state of pure consciousnes. Shiva is nirakar eternal, no form, who controls whole universe. Shiva is Anaadi, Without Beginnning, Anant ~ Without End, Akhand ~ Total, Ached ~ that which cannot be pierced, Abhed ~ that which is without distinguishable parts. Even though Lord Shiva is primarily worshipped in Linga form, he is everywhere, in every photo, in every idol. It's up to you how you want to worship him. Only when you understand that the idol is Shiva, worship through the idol happens. See photos/idols as Shiva, not as a statue. Worship through the idol will start happening when one loses himself into the deity..And Linga is representative of the totality of Shiva, that is, the fullness of God and His completeness, all of which are aspects of the linga. Linga form of worship is symbolic of Lord Shiva. As per various Puranas, in the very beginning Shiva appeared to Brahma and Vishnu in the form of a bright splendor column of light whose beginning and end they both could not find out. So the linga form of Shiva also signifies the column of bright light. That linga was surrounded by thousands of flames and hot like fire of death. Without any beginning and end, that was free From decay and destruction!
Love, Light & Peace ~ Jai Shiva Shankar ~ Har Har Mahadev Shambhu!