It is a Brilliant Beam of Light

The Shivalingam is oval in shape, indicating no beginning and no end. Similarly, creation also has no beginning and no end. There are many levels to it: some apparent to the human senses and some that are beyond its spectrum and, hence, incomprehensible by the five senses. This is one of the main reasons why the philosophy behind the lingam is not understood to the full extent, by many people. In order to reveal the reality of entire creation, Shiva took on the role of Adi Guru and the first shishya became Mata Parvati. To her were revealed the deepest secrets of all the three worlds, basically a quick upgrade that awakened her to her real form of Shakti. It is symbolic of the guru-shishya relationship that a guru upgrades a shishya’s consciousness through the process called Shaktipath. Shivaratri being the merger of Shiva and Shakti, is indicative of the right concentration of energies to pair oneself to delve into the deeper secrets of creation. Mantras given by the guru fructify on this day and the right practices reveal to a shishya the hidden dimensions and give jnana that was incomprehensible otherwise. Basically, one’s faculties get upgraded from very basic processes to more sophisticated ones, taking one to higher dimensions. Learning from a genuine guru, as to how to evolve to be able to understand more complex processes will help the seeker progress on the spiritual path. In this manner, darkness of ignorance is removed to reveal the brilliance of light, symbolised by Shivalingam as an infinite beam of light.

Source: Economic Times, 21/02/2020