That God cannot be known by the formal mind or the physical senses is the verdict of the mystics of all times and climes. What they mean is this that Deity per se is Unknown and Unknowable. But they assure us that the Highest Godhead, though unknown and unknowable to the formal mind, yet is accessible to and attainable by the deeper or intuitive mind. The formal mind knows God in his manifested aspect. The unmanifested aspect of Reality is termed Shiva, while its manifested aspect goes by the name of Linga in Shaivism. And the composite aspect of Reality is called Shiva-linga denoting thereby that it is at once finite and infinite. It is clear from this that infinite and finite are one and inseparable. Linga is the medium of finitude which the Infinite Being or Shiva sets before him for the purpose of self expression. It is the medium which represents his self-imposed limitation – the Law of space and time, of form and movement. Hence Linga is the concrete Reality of which Shiva is the abstract. The whole Sadhana consists of how the mystic reacts to these two order of Reality and realizes them in his being without sacrificing one for the sake of the other. The Sadhana or process of attaining at-one-ment with Shiva, the Supreme Reality, is termed Shiva-yoga in Virashaivism.
In the Shiva-yoga Pradeepika it is defined that Shiva-yoga consists of five aspects, namely Shiva-jnyana, Shiva-bhakti, Shiva-dhyana, Shiva-vrita and Shiva-puja. The last is the essential portion of the daily religious life of a Lingayat and forms the first and foremost characterisitc of Shiva-yoga, nay, it is the synonym for Shiva-yoga. Thus Shiva-yoga practically comes to means Shiva-puja or Ishta-lingarchana, which is to be daily performed once, twice or thrice.
The whole process of Shivayoga is directed to the awakening of the dormant pineal gland. It is a rudimentary organ in most people, but it is evolving, though slowly, not retrograding. It is possible to quicken its evolution into a condition in which it can perform its proper function of apprehending events comprehensively and not piece-meal. It is the organ for cosmic consciousness as much as the eye is an organ of vision, or ear of hearing. For the full development of this organ helps the Yogi to transcend mathematical time, which is only an illusion produced by the succession of states of consciousness as one travels through eternal duration. In Yoga Shastra this pineal gland is sometimes spoken as third eye, and the function of this third eye takes place externally through the middle of the forehead which is marked by the Hindus with a Tilak or spot therein. Hence in the symbolic representation of Shiva, we see in the middle of the forehead, an opening with red flames issuing therefrom. This third eye or the pineal gland is atrophied simply because, the tendency of man has become downward and it has got immersed in sexual pleasures. This eye and the kamic organ are said to be like the two pans of a balance, one of which has to kick the beam when the other grows heavy. Only when we outgrow Kama, lust and libido and make it as light as possible that this third eye will reopen, that this pineal gland will flower out into brilliance.
To recapitulate, the mode of worship is to meditate on Linga, placed in the left palm of the hand, so raised as to come in a line with the centre of the eye-brows. With half closed eyes one should fix his attention upon Linga, the coating of which is shining black serving to widen and deepen concentration. The concentrated gaze generates psychic heat or Tapas which stirs into activity the pineal gland that produces psychic light or Tejas. This Tejas in turn leads to the release of Ojas, or the Thought Force, which is at once a power of vision and execution. Shiva-yoga therefore lands one into a region of effective Will and intuitive knowledge, where to Will is to create and to think is to see.
This is the secret and significance of Shiva-yoga
The above information on ' Shiva-yoga ' is taken from H.H.Mahatapasvi Shri Kumarswamiji's book, 'Mirror of Virashaivism'.
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