What does this term mean?

Question

This question is directed to all the learned people on this forum over here. I had come across the term "ling" and when I seeked for its meaning, I came to understand that it means "sex", "gender". But simultaneously I was surprised to see this word linked with one of the mighty Hindu God, i.e., Shivling. Does the term "ling" in this give another meaning? If not...what is the correct meaning. Please enlighten me. Thank you.

Does Shivling mean the "ling" of Shiva? The answers that are coming up are not so clear. As Sanat said... do we really need an indentification for God's idol? Cant we recognise a God by its idol??

Answer 1

This is the fall out of Idol-worship! The least said, the better.
The Veda says; ' Na tasya pratima asti_ He does not have a human form'
Let us awake !

Answer 2

Ecstasy,rapture.

I can only interpret my understanding on this.Not to hurt any religious sentiments.

The ling of Shiva and the female counterpart also can be seen underneath.Now what can we reason out from this.Is it Sexual ecstasy?

so let us say in God we get all the ecstasy, rapture or permanent happiness.

It has been the practise of man world over when any Great people preached their findings on Truth, Nature or God Almighty whatever we may call.The person who told became more important than what he said.So when time passes by things are interpreted, misinterpreted and reaches to the level we see today.

Answer 3

A lingam is a phallus. It is the emblem of life to a Hindu. Shivling may mean that through Shiva (destruction) is Linga (life).

Answer 4

The word "Ling" differentiates between Man and a Woman.
"Purushalinga" means Man.
"Strilinga" means a woman.

Answer 5

I am not having much luck either in looking up the formal meaning of this suffix, but I do know that in some instances is used to indicate the young of a species, such as gosling, or fledgling.

Answer 6

in both case meaning is same that is Identification. we identify a boy or a girl by ling (sex).in sivling that is the identification of lord Siva's idol

Answer 7

To me "ling" is a type of sea-fish that I catch in the winter months in N.J. Delicious.

Answer 8

generally we think shivlingam that' shiv's pennis (and there is a story for it also)

but it's real meaning is energy centre(ancient). it produces lots of energy and heat that is the reason why we give water and milk on shivlinga. (u can see todays nuclear reactors they are in the shape of linga and they are energy center so we have to keep them cool). i heard this from a saint
hope u got ur answer
bye

Answer 9

"Lingam" means penis--Sanskrit, I think? It's used in the Kama Sutra. Anyway, that may not be exactly where it comes from, but at least there's a new fact for the day.

Answer 10

The word "Linga " means any stub like structure , any peg -like structure . The Hindus vewry firmly beliege in the ominipresence of God . the stub -like representation , people call shiva linga , does not mean the sexual organ of Shiva . The hindu theology sees god in everything as god is the soul dof all animate ans inanimate things . Nohing exists without the god and God is the soul of everything . So God is shapeless energy that activates everything in this universeand present in everything froimdust to diamond and from gras to gold . The saying that God is in the pillar and the tiny splinter too is very popular .and there is a legendary story of Prahalatha and hiranya to prove the pesence of god in the pillar. One king by name hiranya was ateistic and he was denying the existence of the God , Mahavishnu , worshipped by his some Prahalatha .The king wantedevrybody to worship him only as he was so very powerful that no humans and no gods would be able to destroy him accoding to a boon he got through penence .But his son refused to accept the command of his father as he foirmly believed tha mahavishnu was Omnipresent . So his father one day asked him if his god is present in the pillar of his court . Prahalatha sadi yes , and added that God was present in the pillar and in the splinter too. so King Hiranya broke the pillar of his court with his powerful mace to see the God was present there. When the king shattered the pillar with his mace , there appeard Mahavishnu in the farm of Narashimha , a form with the head of a lion and with with four arms with the nails of a lion . That was the avatar of narashimha , the lion in the body of a Human . the God took hold of the Kig and tore hi belly like a lion and killed him . Threater prahalatha calmed the god and got his blessings . so goes the story to confirm that the God is prsent everywhere . The worship if shive in the form of a peg planted on a pedstal was called a "phallas" a male sxual organ as a symbol of fertility. The fact is that this type of worship is the oldest , a very ancient one when the humans did not even have implements to chisel and statue . Even to day if you to the villages in south Inid a . Tamil nadu , you will see pillar like structures in open temples and under trees being worshipped in the name of "MADA SWAMY' the structures would be of theheight of about four to five feet arising from the ground in a square shape of about two feet and raising up gradually tappering to a top of one squar feet . you will see many structures being worshipped in most of the villages . Shiva is a God of Annihilation . he is not a god of creation . Though the hidu teheolgy says that all the gods they worship are the different manisfestation of the same God , they have threee specific forms each ome reating to one of the three aspects of the Universe , Creation , sustenance and Annihilation. Brahmma is the god of creation , Vishnu is the god of sustenance and Shiva is the God of annihilation. so it is only Brahmma who should have been de[picted as the God of creation and not shiva . The fact that the phallus is the shape of a male sexual organ , it is absurd to say that it is shiva's sexual organ. people who deride the hindus used to call is as shiva's penis . wher as it is a formless representation of the God Shiva. The epic Ramayana which relates to the Dretha Yuga, that it more than six thousand years agao, Lord Rama before invading Sri Langa gathered a heap of sand in the beach of Rameswaram and made it into a stub - a linga shape and worshiped as Lord shiva to invoke his blessings before as he was on a mission of annihilation , war against Ravana a powerful king who was the worshipper of lord shiv himself . That linga is known as Rama Linga tha tis instlled in the temple at Rameshwaram , the soutrn most tip of India facing Sri langa . Does it mean that it was Rama's sexual organ because it is called Rama Linga . If shiva Linga is shiva's sexual organ , then Rama Linga must be Rama's sexual organ. Spoo also there are other ligas in the hindu pantheon, the Atma linga , the Vayu Linga and a vareity of lingas. Atma Linga is one that was taken out of the Atma , the soul of somebody. One such atma linga is known to have been created by Ravana for his worship worship , So Atma linga does not mean the sexual organ of Atma. you can see another practice that is obtaining in the south of India even today. On all auspisious occassions people in all hind homes can be seen to keep a small egg like struction with a handful of cow's dung and keep it in front of the oil lamb and worship it as Gods .

The principle is that god is present in everything and everywherE and you can see god in anything. To call a small heap of any stuff in the shape of a phallus as the male sexual organ of a deity in whose name the heap of stuff is worshipped is as absurd as calling the shape of heart used as a symbol of love as the Vegina of a woman and the arrow put across the shape of heart as the penis piercing the vegina. Is it not absurd though the meaning could occur easily in anybody's mind when the symbols are used in connectioin with love between a man and woman?
lINGA "MEANS THE MARK OF sHIVA " WHIILE ALMOST ALL HINDU DEITIES ARE SHAPED IN TO SOME FORM , SUCH AS A MALE OR FEMALE EEITY, the linga alone emains unsculptured This is because it stands for God beyond form, pure cosciousness itself
The principle of the hindus is that God is in everything in this universe and nothing animate and inanimate exists without God .This is a scientificall proved fact of the twenteeth century whre as the concept has been practiced in the hindu philosophy even some six thousand years ago. The true scientific fact is that all subastances and all beings in this wrld are made of the compound of the elments , by a permutation and combination of the diferent elements , say about 106 or so so far known to man. the atoms of these elements which make all inanimate and animate beings are made up of the same components without exception. That is Electron and proton ( proton i the fixure of the particles of the same charge together lest they repel each other )
the inanimate stone , theianimate dus particle itself is made of the lelements only and the elements exist in atoms and molecules and the the atoms fo all inanimate thngs have live electrons working incessantliy form the time immemorial ,EVEN BEFORE THE TIME OF THE BIG BANG . no scientist however great ot the greatest he migh be among those who have already been born and among those that might be born in the distant inconceivable future could ever even imagine . the entire universe and all the beings animate and inanimate , the gases , the air , the fire etc are made of these things and there is no place where they do not exist. the whole universe is created by them , but for them nothing would have been in existence . if god is creator , it is these things that .Since they are aominipresent manis never out of thier sight and they are never out of the siht of man. it is how the hidus see god's presence everywhere and in everything . It is how thay are able to worship even a piece of stone erected on the road side even.
Further , sex is not just a pastime and exercise in mere enjoyment and the sole pupose of life . Sexuality is considered to be a sacred act of procreation of humanity and sex is therefore a scared ritual. The very culture of arranged mariage has its valid social and scientific reasons ( not elaborated here - as it will be too much of a deviation from the topic in discussion). the very selection of the spouses is made on the basis of the time , date etc of the birth of the proposed spouses to ascertain the influence of the planetary positons at the time of their birth and the suitability of their union to beget children of high moral standards virtuous qualities and intelligence - Sat putras )and the prospects of the spouse living happily together till theend of their life .Evn thier union is deiced to be done at an auspicious time fixed in consultaion with the Astrologers .In disciminate and untimely sexual union is prohibited .
Due to the impacrt of the western and islamic civilisations these values have been eroded and people hve given too much importnac eto sex as a mere act of pleasure and sole object of life and these two religons and particularly Islam upholds sex to the greatest object of life here ad in after -life as one encourged by the God himself .The hiondu culture consider sex as a minor pleasure only as pleasure itself is a condition of the mind that decides matters on the input of senses and the hindu culture requires all the Hindus to master over thei senses and and advises them not to yield to senses and become a slave to senses . when one gains control over senses , sexual pleasure which man feels on account of the input of senses perfectly come under under his control so as to use it for the procreative purpose alone , of sat putras , the best of the human apecies .
Since sex was not taught to anybody orally or texually by any body , the members of the society were required to learn aboiut them as a respectlful and sacred ritual by observing the statues with sexual poses and you see a number odf small statuettes in wood and stone around the temple architecture . the Shiva lingam was also considerd as a symbol of sacred procreation of a creative divinity in a subtle manner to be known by observance and this is never told or to any body in the society . So many people among the hindus themselves do not know it . Assuming that itis Gods linga that people worship . the practice is not anything to be considerd abhorrent compared to the practices in existence in ertain other religons wher the humans glorify and celbrate their own sexual organs even at a very ealy age in he name circumcision as such religons consider sex alone as the greatest and primary job of the humans on earth and in heaven in the presence of god himslef .Hre they people worship the penis of god not even knowing that it is symbolic of the act of creation.
the hindu society had the best of human species before the invasion of other cultures in to Inida when Inida was the destination for the various countries of the world . The creation of the best humans species was not on the basis of the techniques followed by Hitler , but by the religous rituals of an advisory nature. The impact of the foreign culture has made a lot of changs in thecultural habits of the people of Inida .and indiscriminate amnd untimely sex has led to the creation of all sorts of people with undesireable traints leading to problems to the society.and to humanity.