Shiv

Published on 1st April, 2018, in Mumbai Mirror. Politics is often a play when it comes to criticising Hinduism. In Vedantic traditions, Shiva-linga means the attribute (linga) of the one without attributes (alinga), hence a simple pillar or a rock. In Tantrik traditions, the pillar along with the trough below sometimes refers to the cosmic male (spiritual reality) and the cosmic female (material reality). Yet many Western scholars have popularised Shiva-linga as a phallic symbol, choosing the titillating literal over the symbolic, and ignoring the gaze of the faithful. The very same academicians, however, will never ever refer to the image of Jesus on the ..