लिङ्ग Linga means many things in Sanskrit. It can mean phallus, penis, gender, a sign, an image of god, order of the religious student, eternal procreative germ, invariable mark which proves the existence of anything in an object, etc.
The sign of Shiva as a phallus greatly intrigues those who are not intimately familiar with the imagery and allegory as well as the literalism that is inherent in this symbol that is at once exactly what it is and that also stands for the deepest principle that is known only in deep meditation. Just as creation of a human being requires the union of the male phallus with the female योनि yoni (womb), so too the Cosmic Creation in its subtlest form requires the distinction and subsequent interaction of Consciousness as Shiva with Shakti, or in Samkhya terms Purusha with PrakRti, or in Vedantic terms Brahman with Maya. But while the embodied human who ignorantly identifies the sense of I with the body thinks he is a male who is distinct from female, the Cosmic Consciousness is depicted as अर्धनारीश्वर ardhanArIshvara (half man half woman Lord) to denotes its transcendence of gender distinctions.
When through the repeated and uninterrupted practice of meditation over a a long time, subtle objects are traced back to the origin in undifferentiated nature as noted in the Yoga SUtra I.45
सूक्ष्मविषयत्वं चालिङ्गपर्यवासनम्
then Creation is reduced to the three guNas which are nothing but the Power of Consciousness or Shakti. When the guNas themselves are transcended, that is the abode of Shiva or the static aspect of Consciousness. This is the path of involution.
Reversing this process is the evolution or Creation, which requires Shiva to enter Shakti. This is symbolically represented as Linga entering Yoni. It has of course a direct literal interpretation that creation in the gross physical world is also possible only when Linga enters Yoni. Both interpretations are valid, depending on the nature of the mind perceiving the symbol.
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