What kind of face has 3 eyes? What kind of body has more than 2 arms?

Liṅga is no ordinary human body part. While Śiva in Śaivam does not have any body or form, he assumes forms for our sake & Liṅga has a phallic significance & scriptures have explained its deep meaning too. https://twitter.com/soul60373430/status/1309083623593836545

I really struggle to get what is so shameful about the phallus. Feet of a deva represents his being the refuge of all. His face is his eternal beauty. His arms represents his various powers. Like that, the phallus represents his eternal fatherhood in respect of all beings.

Grow up already. It’s getting beyond annoying.

The लिङ्ग & योनि have another deep symbolism from the perspective of सिद्धान्त-शैव-दर्शन. In सिद्धान्त, you, a sentient entity, are चित् (an unit of consciousness) & inseparable from you, like the sun & its rays, is your own शक्ति. Let’s call this स्वशक्ति

This शक्ति manifests in a soul in two ways: दृक् (cognition) & क्रिया (action). A sentient being alone cognizes; a sentient being alone can be an actor, an agent. It is because of स्वशक्ति we come to be known as ज्ञातृ (knower) & कर्तृ (actor).

This शक्ति however has been beginninglessly obscured for us, like the sun by eclipse or an eye by a cataract, by something we call “मल” (mala). मल is an inert (जड) substance. It has a relationship with our स्वशक्ति that is without a beginning.

But स्वशक्ति is not completely obscured. If that were the case, we would not be able to cognize anything or do any act. But that is not the case. How this मल has not completely obscured our शक्ति is a complex topic for another day.

So, yes, we are still knowers & actors. We still perceive things & set out to do various actions. Our inseparable स्वशक्ति has not fully been covered up. But is that स्वशक्ति anywhere near enough to help us remove the मल? No it isn’t. So, what do we do?

Fortunately, there is one sentient entity whose शक्ति has never had any relationship with मल at any point of time. So, we call him निर्मल. He is also a pure चित् like us. But his ज्ञातृत्वम् (knowership) & कर्तृत्वम् (doership) are unlimited. Who is he? He is शिव, परशिव.

His शक्ति, our mother; when she concentrates on our मल, like a laser on a cataract, then our मल begins to ripen & we begin our journey towards perfection; towards becoming *a* शिव, just like *the* शिव.

We whose स्वशक्ति-s have been obscured; we need the grace of one whose शक्ति has never been & can never be obscured. The लिङ्ग & योनि represent this truth—The शिव who is ever together with his शक्ति.

Seeing the लिङ्ग should remind us of this ideal; where we are inseparably united with our स्वशक्ति-s for good & become शिव-s; for one has to become शिव to truly worship शिव—

nāśivaśśivam arcayet
śivībhūya śivam̐ yajet

And this indeed matches the vision of the state of a liberated soul as per the बृहदारण्यक-उपनिषत् 4.3.21, where it is said:

This state where one is fully accomplished; with दृक् & क्रिया unlimited, the state where one becomes *a* शिव & thus a सर्वव्यापी (all-pervasive) like *the* शिव, our original state. Thus, you are in everything. But everything is also in you.

Which is why the श्रुति says: “न बाह्यं किंचन वेद नान्तरम्”

na bāhyaṃ kiṃcana veda nāntaram

[In the embrace of that beloved woman, the प्रज्ञात्म], he does not know what is without or within.

This does not mean that the liberated soul is ignorant but that he pervades everything so thoroughly that he cannot know something as apart from himself. He sees this universe within himself; but he cannot see it as a distinct entity within himself. Why?

It is because he is inside the universe too occupying every atom of it. He sees himself in the heart of a creature. He can’t see that creature as something “apart” from him. Why? That’s because he encompasses that creature & in fact all creatures who are all abiding in him.

वेदसारमिदं तन्त्रं तस्माद् वैदिक आचरेत् ।
वेदान्तार्थमिदं ज्ञानं सिद्धान्तं परमं शुभम् ॥
-श्रीमन्मकुटागम

Veda’s essence is this tantra (the siddhānta); therefore Vaidikas follow this [path].

Vedānta’s meaning is this [siddhānta] wisdom; the siddhānta is supremely auspicious.

All glories to Mahāmuni-Sadyojyoti, Bhaṭṭa-Nārāyaṇakaṇṭha, Bhaṭṭa-Rāmakaṇṭha, Trilocana-Śivācārya, Sarvātmaśambhū & Aghoraśiva Deśika.

//End

There are several types of लिङ्ग-s with variations in shape. The root imagery is phallic. उपमन्यु-ऋषि explicitly recognizes it. पुराण​-s have stories on phallic aspect. कामिकागम​ explicitly hails शङ्कर​ as being in the form of a लिङ्ग & उमा being in the form of a भगा.

With so many obvious pointers, your being disturbed by the all-too-obvious significance of the लिङ्ग is not my burden to bear. Also, I never said that the phallus is the only meaning of the word, "लिङ्ग".

I am saying that the phallic imagery is obvious & is deeply related to the inner meanings explained above. Learn to read before responding. //End

Ok, a final clarification since some people are persistently dense.

1. I am not saying that shiva has an actual body and that the li~Nga is an actual organ of a god.
2. I am not saying that the word, "li~Nga" means only the phallus.++

3. I am not saying that the li~Nga-yoni has only one meaning.
4. What I am saying is that the "imagery" of the li~Nga-yoni does have a phallic significance.
5. And further, that the li~Nga-yoni also has deeper levels of significance.+

6. And that the phallic & philosophical meanings are not unrelated but organically related to one another.

7. And finally that the li~Nga-yoni having a phallic imagery as its basic significance (upon which the deeper meanings are built) is found directly in scripture.

Finally, we have श्लोक-s from the blessed mouth of उपमन्यु-ऋषि, the best among the भक्त-s of शिव.

When उपमन्यु-ऋषि sees शिव in the guise of इन्द्र, he explains the greatness of शिव & from that long & wonderful speech, the following are some श्लोक-s relevant to this thread:

न पद्माङ्गा न चक्राङ्का न वज्राङ्का यतः प्रजाः। लिङ्गाङ्का च भगाङ्का च तस्मान्माहेश्वरी प्रजा॥ 13-45-217

देव्याःकरणरूपभावजनिताःसर्वाभगाङ्काः स्त्रियो लिङ्गेनापि हरस्य सर्वपुरुषाः प्रत्यक्षचिह्नीकृताः। 13-45-218a

Briefly put:

Neither lotus-marked (ब्रह्मा’s sign) nor cakra-marked (विष्णु’s sign) nor वज्र-marked (इन्द्र’s sign) there are from these devas. But the mark of a लिङ्ग & mark of भगा are there; thus all creatures are the offspring of शिव & देवी.

So, who here thinks that they are higher than उपमन्यु-ऋषि in authority?

This is from the महाभारत for those who didn’t infer it from the verse numbering. अनुशासन-पर्व has a wonderful portion where उपमन्यु goes deep into the profound mystery of शिव.