Shivling
The Holy Shrine of Amarnath
The Holy Shrine of Amarnath, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is located in a cave on the most challenging of mountainous in Kashmir, India, at an altitude of 12,756 ft, about 141 km from Srinagar. It is situated at the farther end of the Lidder Valley. It can be reached either through Pahalgam, Chandanwari, Sheshnag Panchatarani Route or the Baltal Route, via Sonmarg (the latter being more arduous and difficult but shorter).
The Amarnath Yatra, normally begins on Ashadha Purnima (day of the Full moon in the Month of Ashadha of the Indian Calendar) and ends on Shravana Purnima (day of the full moon in the month of Shravan of the Indian Calendar).
The Shrine of Amarnath Ji is considered to be one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism. The ice stalagmite formed inside the cave, is the image of Lord Shiva and is surrounded by and covered with snow most of the year except for a short period of about 45 days in summer when it is open for pilgrims. Thousands of devotees (of all religions) who make an annual pilgrimage to the Cave braving icy winds, rain and climbing forbidding terrain to see the ice stalagmite formed inside the cave. The experience is both breath taking and humbling.
The temple is reported to be about 5,000 years old and was mentioned in ancient Hindu texts. The exact manner of discovery of the cave in modern times is not known. Folklore has it that discovery of this Holy Cave was by a Gujjar (shepherd) Buta Malik, in the 15th Century after it was out of public gaze since the middle ages, may be to avoid the wrath of intolerant rulers/Kings/Emperors of the period.
Contributed By: Dr. Amitava Mukharjee
(He is the most renowned world economist on poverty alleviation and empowerment today. He has long association with United Nations for launching their initiatives on fight against hunger and providing micro assistance to most marginalised societies. He is a great scholar and has been teaching in University of London and Stanford University. He has travelled over 130 Countries and written numerous books. Deeply religious he has visited various holy shrines. We bring you glimpses of his travelogue.)
The sacred month of Shravan
The fifth month of the Hindu calendar is called ‘Shravan’ which means ‘to hear’. This is one of the sacred months dedicated to Lord Shiva. As per Astrology, the Shravan constellation is visible in the sky; hence the name is appropriate for the month. The divine and pious month is the best occasion to appease Lord Shiva and her consort Goddess Parvati, which can bring numerous blessings and success among the lives of devotees. In 2016, Shravan month is from 20th July to 18th August.
Story behind Shravan month:
As per renowned stories, the auspicious ‘Samudra Manthan’- war between Gods and demons, took place in this sacred moth. Lord Shiva drank the poison ‘Halahal’ to save the entire humanity from evil destruction; and stored it in his throat. It is also said that to reduce the effect of the poison, all the Gods (Devs) offered the holy water of Ganges to Lord Shiva.
Since then the Shivling, which radiate immense energy gathered during samudra manthan, is offered Ganges water by the devotees throughout the month. It is believed that offering water to Lord Shiva’s symbol leads to the relaxation of the high negative effect of the consumed poison and it pleases Him. As you shower water on the Shivling, the malefic effects of the high radiated heat is prevented on the worshipper.
Significance of each day in Shravan month:
- Monday is the day of Lord Shiva worship.
- Tuesday Goddess Parvati is worshipped by females for the good health of their family.
- Wednesday are dedicated to Vithala, avatar of Lord Vishnu.
- Thursday is the day to worship Lord Buddh.
- Friday Devotees worship Goddess Lakshmi and Tulsi.
- Saturday is for Saturn (Shani). It is also known as Shravan Saturdays, with the object of object of obtaining wealth. These days are known as Sampat Sanivara (wealth Saturdays).
- Sundays are for worshipping the Sun god.
Fasting and adoring Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati is considered highly propitious during Shravan month. Performing Rudrabhishek Puja and chanting Maha Mrityuanjay mantras dispels ignorance by spreading the light of knowledge, and blesses the beings with wisdom and happiness.
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Shivling Abhishek or Rudrabhishiek Puja
‘Shiv’ means the destroyer of bad karmas and ‘linga’ means to mark or sign which symbolize the Supreme God. So literally ‘Shivling’ is referred as the sacred symbol of Lord Shiva. In real terms, Shiv-Linga is a symbol or sign of duality (dual character) of the pious Shiva and his cosmic universal energy. It is a process defining the creation of mortals within the omnipresent and omnipotent Universe.
Shivling is known for its purity, thus it consists of immense energy and radiates it when adored. The worshipping of shivling by washing it with water and chanting the mantras is commonly called as Rudrabhishiek or Shivling Abhishek Puja. This is especially done from pure milk, curd, ghee, sugar, mustard oil etc; significantly during the Hindu month of Shravan.
Why to perform Rudrabhishiek Puja?
The Shivling releases frequencies of Knowledge (dhyan), devotion (bhakti) and detachment (vairagya) which is experienced during puja. It is said that this energy has been gathered through ‘sagar manthan’ in which Lord Shiva consumed the dangerous poison Halahal to save the humanity from destruction.
Performing Rudrabhishek Puja and chanting Maha Mrityuanjay mantras dispels ignorance by spreading the light of knowledge, and blesses the beings with wisdom and happiness.
How to perform Rudrabhishiek Puja?
Devotees worship Lord Shiva and his ‘Shivling with devotion and faith to seek the grace and happiness. Let’s make the Shivling Abhishek easy for you by just following few steps.
- The size of lingam for home puja should not exceed the breadth of your three right hand fingers joined together, accompanied with snake and Nandi.
- The place from where the water is poured on the shivling and is drained must be facing North or East.
- The devotee should start the puja by chanting ‘Om Namah Shivaye’.
- Use bel leaves and not tulsi while offering to the lingam.
- The panchamrit is offered made from any five ingredients out of- Gangajal, honey, sugarcane juice, milk, yogurt, ghee, sea water, coconut water, milk, fragrant oils, rose water or other precious liquids.
- After doing Panchamrit Abhishek, the lingam is cleaned by pouring Gangajal over it.
- Then trident is made on the shivling using normal sandal wood paste or asta gandha.
- After that sweets, coconut, flowers and fruits are offered to the Lord and camphor and incense sticks are also are lit and ‘arati’ is conducted.
- If you keep a Shivling at home it should be accompanied by a constant flow of water or jaldhara, to maintain the serene and cool environment around it.
- Finally, ringing of bells indicates the end of Puja and fruits, sweets and coconut are distributed as ‘prasadam.’
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Union of Duality with Non- Duality: Why do we offer water to Shivling?
Ever noticed, that you are following certain task occasionally and later almost regularly; that means it transforms into your habit without even informing you and now you are used to it. Similarly few rituals have been taught to us or we just saw them performed by our ancestors, which are now a part of our lives. Such rites and rituals are righteously performed by us without being aware about the logic behind it. I don’t say that what is right or wrong but just give a thought on ‘why are you doing this?’
We devote our time faithfully in worshipping Lord Shiva and his ‘Shivling’; and often received fruits for the worship. Still we never tried to figure out the true meaning of shivling and why do we actually offer water to it.
Meaning of Shivling:
‘Shiv’ means the destroyer of bad karmas or mainly associated with the life cycle process and ‘linga’ refers to mark or sign symbolising the Supreme God. So literally ‘Shivling’ refers to the symbol of Lord Shiva. In reality, Shiv-Linga is a symbol of dual character of the pious Shiva and his cosmic universal energy. It is a process defining the creation of mortals within the omnipresent and omnipotent Universe. So shivling being a symbol of truth consists of immense energy and radiates it when worshipped through different ways. It emits frequencies of Knowledge (dhyan), devotion (bhakti) and detachment (vairagya). This energy has been gathered mainly because of the ‘sagar manthan’ in which Lord Shiva consumed the dangerous poison emerged from the depth of the sea.
Scientific reason:
Now water being a sign of purity and also due to its other scientific relevance, it is believed that offering water to Lord Shiva’s symbol leads to the relaxation of the high negative effect of the consumed poison and it pleases him. As you shower water on the Shivling, the malefic effects of the high radiated heat is prevented on the w
orshipper. Water is also a symbol of harmony and flow which inspires us to realize our mortal existence within the permanent truth. Thus the continuous flow of water is maintained on the shivlinga in temples, to maintain the serene and cool environment around it.
Contributed By: Meenakshi Ahuja
Shubhpuja.com 