Lingam Puja: Multiply Consciousness

*Lord Kutramporunthaeaswarar Vashishta Linga,

The worship of Lord Siva, represented in the form of a Lingam is the Siva Linga Puja.

The Siva Lingam puja is the most personal and intimate time for a yogi as moments of absorption into the Divine, fully aware and intensely in union with Source through breath and as breathless joys. The yogic discipline of doing the Siva Lingam puja is considered the most potent of all yogic practices in being able to push a yogi through states of consciousness and as grace, evolve to be the object of worship, to be Lord Siva- as in the journey into One to be Oneness.

In the yogi traditions of mystical India, each precious moment as human is for the purpose of enhancing more of consciousness and closer to Source. This journey beyond consciousness is enhanced each day with deeper and even more empowerment in the awakened inner wisdom. After having woken up to be the Spirit, the yogi then starts enhancing this experience through intensifying the bliss state for the mind to be at all times. In this journey through consciousness guided by bliss, the yogi understands effort and progress as a yogi through the push factor of own effort and divine grace as the pull factor- through the Siva Lingam puja.

 

What is a Puja?

 A puja is not meditation in the sense, a puja requires a highly alert and involving state of mind. A puja is when Source/object of worship is celebrated in the physical form with offerings of flowers; milk; water etc along with mantra. A puja is a concentrated enhanced form of worship and can be called the mother of all meditations- a puja leads to a mind that is meditative, the natural state of the mind  that is be defined as meditation. By doing a Siva Linga Puja, the yogi aligns in the receiving end of grace by invoking the power of the infinite Source in human realities for themselves and for the entire world.

Utilizing the Lingam as representation of the infinite with the mind in super aware state of connecting as a bridge between the Divine invoked and the object of focus with through offerings of the heart, a Siva Linga Puja is done.

So, what is the meaning of the Lingam?

To yogis, the Lingam is the most apt form representing the Infinite. The Lingam is the infinite as in Form referred in Sanskrit as stambha- beginning-less and endless pillar. The traditional description of the Lingam representing the phallus is not the entire meaning behind the Lingam. Yes, the Lingam is the representation of the ‘Wand of Light” as the experience of our own inner Light rushing above through the spine.

When a yogi does the Lingam Puja, the yogi is invoking the infinite Spirit from within and the Infinite God Almighty of formlessness to be the dweller in the Lingam, the form. The Lingam serves to house, represent and radiant the energies of Infinity.

Later through history by way of Western historians and through ways of convenience in hypothesis, a Lingam began pegged with the meaning of phallus as in being shape.

How is a Siva Linga Puja done?
- Attain or purchase a small Siva Lingam. You will need a few utensils that will help contain the water, milk and other offerings you may pour over the Lingam.
- Attain, receive or learn simple mantras, preferable for Ganesh, Lord Siva and Goddess Sakti. Your Siva Linga Puja is an inner journey through mantras, journey of uniting your external realities and infinite inner realities through the puja using the mind in focus and surrender of all thoughts through the fire of bhakti, devotional love.
- Once a day or once a week or whenever convenient- commit to doing a Siva Linga Puja.

The Inner Journey of the Siva Lingam Puja:

- Prepare Yourself: Prepare yourself for the Siva Linga Puja as a very personal journey between you and Source. Having a shower or washing your face helps to refresh your mind and body. Set aside atleast 45 minutes of uninterrupted time. Create a sacred space for yourself, preferably an altar space that can hold and carry forward positive energies of a Siva Linga Puja. Pick up offerings of flowers, water, milk or anything else you may feel like offering to the Lingam.


- Abishekam:  There is no right or wrong way in a pure heart’s ritual. Begin at first reciting the mantra invoking Lord Siva. Connect your breath to the mantra resonance and feel the invoked Presence through your chanting. Now begin pouring water over the Lingam slowly invoking the Divine Infinite in the Lingam. You may pour milk over the Lingam collecting the milk for later use as Prasad, Divine sanctified offerings. After the final slow pouring the water finally to bathe and cleanse the Lingam, the Lingam is ready for the Puja.

- Siva Lingam Puja: Have many flowers, if not, many petals of flowers as that you will offer the Lingam with every mantra recited invoking Lord Siva. Ideally, when Lord Siva is invoked, it is perfect wisdom to invoke the Divine Goddess to complete the wholeness within the Divine. We end this puja invoking the awake mind state, the God of sustenance and abundance, Lord Vishnu.

- Invoke Blessings of Source:- A Siva Lingam Puja is powerful as we have invoked the power of Infinity in our realities. As we bring the Siva Lingam Puja to closure, from the depth of depth, invoke peace through reciting “Shanthi” by expanding to the infinite vastness we are and bringing forth this energy blessings of peace into our own human form and realities. Create an intent in “Peace” ie, may this Peace for all the living or; may this Peace be for my own health and the health of all of humanity. Blessed are the messengers and custodians of Peace.

-  Sacred Shrine/Altar at your Heart Shrine:- After a Siva Lingam Puja, store the Lingam at an altar space as to keep the divine energies and blessings vibrant in our physical and spiritual realities.

Benefits of a Siva Linga Puja:

1.    Grace to be a Yogi: When we surrender our total focus of the mind to Source, through the puja, the mind develops the ability to rejoice in the dance of stillness. This dance of stillness is the Mother of all meditative practices.

2.    Evolve and Be God: As we invoke the presence of Source through our mantras holding the focus, we are drawing more and more proximity to the object of worship and gradually, we attain all the attributes we are invoking, ie, we slowly evolve to be angelic, invoking the presence of God/Source.

3.     Awaken our innate genius: We awaken to the deeper dimensions of consciousness within ourselves that triggers the innate special powers within ourselves, the “Siddhis”. The Siddhis are the unique special abilities awakened in each of us such as musical genius, the ability to see the future, the awakening of various extra sensory perceptions, ESP etc. Yogis tend to disregard this awakening of various facets of the mind as it distracts us from the power of worship that grows in potency through humility.

4.    Soul Empowerment: We wake up to the joys and bliss of experiencing Source/God- “Ananda”. This joy ebbing from the bottom of the heart through our Lingam Puja is a higher conscious vibratory state. To be in this bliss form state is to be God- with Lord Siva described as Satchidananda, the bliss form. Slowly but surely, our realities too begin to vibrate the higher frequencies of this divine bliss.

5.    Deepen our yoga practice: When we do our daily yoga practice through the various sequences, we understand the deeper journey within after having done the Siva Lingam puja. In fact, it is advisable to do the Siva Lingam Puja after doing our hatha yoga practice so to seat the enormous vast immense energies of Source within us through the awake ‘nerve centers’, the nadis. Hatha yoga and the Siva Lingam Puja is naturally compatible and enhancing to each other.

6.    Live the Magic of Now: To experience being God/Source; worship the Infinite Almighty through the mind and breath; attain grace of inner wisdom as a journey through consciousness- makes us Angelic and God like. Slowly but surely, we not only awaken to the vastness we each truly are but are also guided, protected and gifted with the most valuable gift of this human birth- to be able to celebrate the Now moment completely.

7.    Multiply Potency of Consciousness: Worshipping the Lingam is multiplying consciousness. As we invoke ourselves to be Spirit, the Holy Ghost, we celebrate Lord Almighty Source of Infinite as in Form, empowering this Form to be Formlessness ever more.

8.    Be Blessed: Lord Siva, the nameless Infinite Being invoked represents blessings of wellbeing, wisdom and highest purpose as the Yogi.

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