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Underground > Temple >

Lingam Stones - How Do You Use Yours?

00:50 / 09.06.04

a friend of mine just told me of her encountering a "lingam stone". she described it as energetically expansive and grounding at the same time, probably perfect for manifestation spells. the lingam stone she touched was over a foot tall.

I am hoping some of you can give me some info on how you use lingam stones, or what traditional uses for them are.
Up until a few days ago I had never even heard of them.

I will meet this Indiana Jones character in a few weeks, who imports the stones directly from India, and supposedly is on the forefront of lingam research. I intend to buy something from him, based on my friends description of the powerful nature of the stone, and would like to know as much as possible beforehand. His taller stones get quite expensive.

There are plenty of New Age online stores selling lingam stones I realize, but I would very much appreciate some direct/personal info from the Temple crowd. thnx!

03:37 / 09.06.04

indiana jones type guy? forefront of lingam research?
no offence, but sounds dodgy to me. sounds like the perfect makings of a new age rip off scam. im gonna start selling 'sacred sperm sacrament' online soon.
i mean i dont profess to have any special lingam expertise, but surely you could use a stone of your own choosing and just perform some kind of ritual or sumthing to lingamise it? i mean isn't it just a symbol of the creative power of the universe?
mmmm...maybe i could rinse off that old butt-plug out the back and draw some stylish little esoteric cryptograms on it, get some school girl loaded and convince her to engage in ritualistic insertion to open up her muladhara chakra. 'feel the healing powers of the lingam, bathe in its glory'

trouser the trouserian

05:16 / 09.06.04

from Moonbeam Garden

The SHIVA LINGAM is one of the most sacred icons of the ancient as well as the modern world.
These lingams come only from the Narmada River, high in the mountains of Mandhata, one of the 7 sacred holy places of pilgrimage in India.
This is the sacred stone being searched for in the movie "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom".

Complete codswallop. Most of the websites devoted to them seem to be various new age crystal cuddlers, which says a lot. And citing "India Jones" - a film based on colonial imaginings of Indian religions says a great deal too.

08:24 / 09.06.04

Indeed, complete coswallop. The idea that there are only seven sacred sites in India is a complete load of crap for a start. "The most sacred site in India.... and we're happy to sell our most divine artifacts to a website called Moonbeam Garden!!"

You might find this page of interest - it gives an account of a traditional Shiva puja, making use of oblations to the linga.

The lingam is a symbol of Shiva, though the word has the broader meaning of "sign". There's been a complex array of symbolism couched around with, with it functioning as symbol for consciousness (Shiva) in union with it's surroundings/the universe (shakti), as well as the male gentalia in union with the yoni. There's been various degrees of kerfuffle in India for some time now, with various "traditonalists" claiming that this symbol was always an allegory and never had a sexual meaning - a campaign of desexualisation basically.

I would be dubious of anybody claiming to be at the forefront of "lingam research" myself (unless he's a bona fide academic). I would guess he's just someone making a buck from importing exotica from India. Nothing wrong with that, I just think things get a bit suspect when spritual provenance is mapped into objects without taking account of the fact that the export of this stuff is a pretty big industry in India.

trouser the trouserian

09:44 / 09.06.04

"Lingam Stones" do have a provenance in Indian religions. There are naturally-occurring "lingam stones" installed in some Saivite temples - just as there are rock and ice formations which are seen as spontaneous forms ("rupas") of Ganesa (The Siva temple at Kanchipuram for example is reputed to have 108 lingam stones and the Ranbireshwar temple has a 7' black stone lingam installed in it). There are also lingam stones take the form of river-shaped rocks, which are then hand-carved into their final form. Stone lingams - sometimes formed from granite or basalt are often used in puja. Some mountains in India are also considered to be sivalingams. Some monastic sects, such as the lingayats, wear stone lingams around their necks as a part of their sacred practice.

There's an article about the brisk "lingam stone" trade here and an article about buying lingam stones here

Sai Baba is also infamous for his apparent ability to manifest lingam stones.

If you are really interested in lingam stones, you could always find a suitably-shaped stone and install the presence of Siva in it through puja and devotion - which is what I did a few years back.

Of course, some radical practitioners of Tantra will tell you that the 'best' way to worship a lingam is to find a living one and adore it with suitable sadhana.