Like the universe originated from the story of hiranyagarbha, similarly lingam have its origin from the story of Lingodbhava…
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Some peoples claimed that shiva lingam represents the genital organ of shiva on 19th century and they are Monier Williams and Wendy Doniger but the concept had been refuted at same era on 19th century by famous scholars like Christhoper isherwood, swami sivanand and the greatest indian scholar swami VIVEKANANDA and they proved that lingam is the symbolic representation of the universal god Shiva..
Now here we check the thought of the greatest indian scholar SWAMI VIVEKANANDA on SHIVLINGAM-
At the Paris Congress on the History of Religions, Swami Vivekananda said that the worship of Shiv-Linga originated from the famous hymn in the Atharva Veda Samhita sung in the praise of 'Yupa Stambha' the Sacrificial Post. In that hymn a description is found of the beginningless and endless" Stambha or 'Skambha' and it is shown that the said Skambha is put, in place of the Eternal Brahman.Afterwards, the Yajna(the sacred fire)and its flames gave place to the conception of the brightness of Shiva's body. The Yajna's smoke was symbolised as Shiva's dark matted hair, the soma PLANT used in the Yajna was symbolised as Shiva's Blue Throat(Neelakantan)the ashes of the Yajna became the ashes applied to Shiva's body and the ox that used to carry on its back, the wood for the Yajna, was conceptualised as the carrier(Nandi)the Vahana of Shiva. Just so, the Yupa Skambha in time was symbolised as the Shiva-Linga and was deified to the high Deva -hood of Shri Shankara. In the Atharva Veda Samhita, even the sacrificial cakes, are also extolled along with the attributes of the Brahman.In the Linga Purana, the SAME hymn from the Atharva Veda Samhita, is expanded in the shape of stories meant to establish the glory of "beginningless and endless" nature of the Skambha, and the superiority of Mahadeva. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda - Mayawati Memorial Edition, Advaita Ashram Publication, Calcutta. 5th reprint vol 4, 1992 pp 422-425.Literally, in Samskrit, Shiva means Auspiciousness and Linga means a symbol. Shiva also means one in whom the whole creation sleeps, after dissolution and Linga also means exactly the same thing. Thus Shiva(and Linga) is, what is there after the destruction of all the creation,(Pralayam) and before the beginning of the next cycle of creation. Hence it is a symbol of Auspiciousness and of 'that' which is beginningless and endless, the GOD Himself.Symbolism in Hinduism.
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now lets see whats the Lingodbhava concludes on shivapurana, lingam purana and Skandam purana-
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Once the god of creation brahma and the god of protection mahA vishNu entered in an argument on deciding who is greater. When those two great gods were fighting between themselves, the Greatest of all Lord shiva who is formless and transcends everything appeared as a pillar of flame. God told brahma and vishNu that whoever finds the head or the foot of His flame form would be considered greater. brahmA took the form of swan ( ha.msam ) and set out to reach the top of the Fire. vishNu became a wild boar to see the foot of the Fire. Where are the limits for the infinite God ? They could not succeed in spite of their heavy effort. They realized their mistake and the peerless greatness of Lord shiva. The God who can never be reached by ego appears as the form of love to those who surrender to Him. Lord shiva appeared in the form of shiva li.ngam (which is the shape of flame) for their benefit. They worshiped that oldest form of Him and got blessed. The God who came to bless them from the Flame, from the li.ngam is known as li.ngodbhava . This incident is depicted in shiva mahA purANam and many other scriptures. The chapter first of shiva mahapurana videshwar samhita said shiva is only the god present in formless manner and hence, the ormless notation of the god can be represented by LINGAM….
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As the God stood as pillar of flame, the natural adornment for the Lord is Holy Ash. (As ash would be found on the surface of the fire). As the God stood as the Luminat Flame that stood up the shiva sahasranAma hails God as Urdva retas and the shiva aShtottara as hiraNya retas. The hymn that starts nidhana pataye namaH, refers to many similarities of Flame and shivalinga. There is a hymn in the Atharvaveda which praises a pillar (Sanskrit: stambha). This stambha or pillar also mentin as yuka skambha(stambha) on atharvaveda as a symbol of formless god(brahman) and the reason for the origin of shiva lingam..
God is formless, attributeless and omnipresent. This state is called arUpa (formless). For the benefit of the pashus, He took the form of shiva li.ngam which is neither form nor formless but is a symbol. This symbol of Him is called arUparUpam (formless form). He took many forms out of His mercy to bless all, which are called rUpams. (2). shaivam worships the God in all these three states. The oldest form that the formless God took namely the shiva li.ngam is called sadAshiva mUrtam and is worshipped in the altar of His abodes (temples). The forms that He later took which are calledmAhEshwara mUrtam are worshipped in the outer circles in a temple.
This shiva li.nga worship is superior because it makes the worship simple because of the form while maintaining the truth that God is not having any definite form. There are a lot more marvelous principles behind the shiva li.nga worship which could be found in detail in standard scriptures.
Now the lingam purana designed for shivling states:-
प्रधानं प्रकृतिर यदाहुर्लिगंउत्तम ।
गंध-वर्ण-रसहिंनं शब्द-स्पर्शादिवर्जितं ॥
meaning:
the foremost Lingam which is devoid of colour, taste, hearing, touch etc is spoken of as Prakriti or nature.
And the skanda purana states –
आकाशं लिंगमित्याहु: पृथ्वी तस्य पीठिका।
आलय: सर्व देवानां लयनार्लिंगमुच्यते ॥
(स्कन्द पुराण)
The endless sky (that great void which contains the entire universe) is the Linga, the Earth is its base. At the end of time the entire universe and all the Gods finally emerge in the Linga itself.
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Forms of Shiva Lingam
Shiva Lingam is worshiped in two common forms – Chala (Moveable) Lingam and Achala (Non-Moveable or Fixed) Lingam.
Chala Lingam (Moveable Lingam)
The Chala Lingams may be kept in the shrine of one’s own home for worship or prepared temporarily with materials like sand, clay, dough or rice for worship and dispensed with after the worship. Another form of the Chala Lingams can also be worn on the body as a pendent in the necklace etc. Chala Lingams are often made of quartz, mercury or metals.
Achala Lingam (Fixed Lingam)
Achala Lingams (or fixed Lingams) are installed in temples and are un-moveable once they are installed. There are rigid rules for achala Lingams which must be followed. Achala Lingams must be offered prayers at fixed times and without failed and greater sanctity is maintained. Usually Lingams are made of black stones.
The Appearance and significance of Shiva Lingam
A Shiva Lingam is generally made up of black or white stones, marbles or metals or Quartz. A Shiva Lingam has three distinct parts which are considered as portions of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The Lower part represents Brahma, the middle Vishnu and the upper and the most prominent represents Shiva. Thus Shiva Lingam represents all the three powers in one- as theParam Braham or Supreme Shiva.
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Hence shivling or the shiva(GOD) in lingam form can be worshipped in its form from the beginning of the universe when there was only brahma and Vishnu exists, before the existence of other dieties such as ganesha, parwati, kartikeya, indra, etc..
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Lord Shiva is known as Mahadev due to the instinct characteristics which he represents. The form in which Lord shiva is represented is called a Ling. Infact, Lord Shiva is the fundamental god. He is known as prajapati Shiva. There is no origin or form which can be associated with Shiva. Man needs a symbol to worship so the ling was created “Ling means symbol”. For example Vishnu’s Ling is a chakra or if someone was wearing a stethoscope you would say he was a doctor. A ling is only a symbol to identify something. This symbol that we call a Shivling has behind it a scientific explanation. This explanation of the Shivling can now be understood as our scientific progresses. as we look at recent scientific discoveries now, we are realising that these discoveries have been with us all along in the symbolic form of the Shivling.
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PRACTICAL EXAMPLS FOR SHIVALINGAM
You must have seen that the nuclear reactors resemble a Svivling in the shape like a mound, and all the radioactive particles are constantly kept under water. The hard water and soft water are formed there. This water becomes radioactive. Water is constantly sprinkled on the Shivling to control Shiva’s temper, reflecting a nuclear reactor. In terms of modern science, it is supposed to represent the nuclear reactor. This water from the Shivling is not used as prasad or even as holy water. This could be compared to the water used for cooling the nuclear reactors which is also not used for nay other purposes. This water from Shivling flows freely from the jalhari in a stream from a corner of the Ling. One cannot go around the Shivling as it is beyond a human being to really go around or comprehend this tremendous power. This also shows humans their limitations within which we need to live.
We can see the smallest form of this in a Shivling and also the colossal form in our galaxy. If you look at the pictures of nebulae or galaxies, you will see the mound, which is called the Shivling and the jalahari around it. This is in the reality pictures taken fron space show a clear picture of Shivling as described in our scriptures. shiva is referred to as “bhole” meaning simple and can be pleased by little worship. Once he is happy, he gives boons without thinking of the worshipper’s worthiness. Still one must follow the right path for if you are on a wrong path even by mistake and Shiva is not pleased with you, no one can save you. Shiva is pleased very easily and at the same time, is enormously powerful. One should worship him only after understanding his great power. One who has power can pass it on to others and anyone can receive it. It is critical that you understand the colossal power of Shiva.
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Also By simply translating the word SHIVALINGAM from Sanskrit to hindi then result comes out-
Shiva(the shiv) and लिङ्गं, which means A mark, sign, token, an emblem, a badge, symbol, distinguishing mark, characteristic.
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