🪔 The Sacred Flame: Seeing Shiva Linga as the Earthen Lamp of Oneness
The Shiva Linga has long been revered as a profound symbol of Lord Shiva : the infinite, formless source of all existence. Traditionally, it embodies the union of Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti (energy), the masculine and feminine principles that give rise to the cosmos.
Yet, spiritual insights often blossom uniquely in each seeker’s heart. For me, the Shiva Linga beautifully mirrors an Earthen Lamp (Diya) : a humble vessel of clay and oil that, once lit, becomes a radiant expression of oneness, only to merge again into the vastness. This is a story of duality dissolving into unity, and unity dissolving into the source, endlessly.
🏺 The Linga and the Lamp: Earth, Oil, and Flame
When I look upon the Shiva Linga and its base (Yoni), I am reminded of the earthen pot of a diya. This simple lamp carries profound symbolism:
The earthen pot represents the material form : our bodies, this universe, prakriti (nature).
The oil or ghee inside signifies the subtle essence : consciousness, the unseen Purusha (spirit).
The cotton wick, delicately joining oil to flame, symbolizes the link between matter and spirit.
When the lamp is lit, the oil and the wick cease to be two separate entities : they unite to create the flame, a living dance of light.
“It is only when earth embraces oil through the humble wick, that the flame finds its voice. So too, duality dissolves into unity to illuminate existence.” ~ Adarsh Singh
🔥 The Dance of Duality and Oneness
This imagery tenderly echoes the dance of duality and non-duality.
In our lives, we see ourselves as separate : bound by bodies, names, thoughts. This is duality. Yet when the wick (our seeking) draws the oil (consciousness) through the earthen lamp (body), a flame arises, the realization of oneness.
And like the flame, even this oneness ultimately merges into the invisible air, returning to the boundless source, from which it can again emerge in a new lamp, a new moment, a new life.
“Oneness is not the final destination; it is merely the tender threshold beyond which everything dissolves into the infinite.”
~ Adarsh Singh
🌌 Dissolution into the Vast
This cyclical journey of birth, union, illumination, and dissolution beautifully mirrors the cosmic rhythm. Just as the flame merges back into space, all creation eventually dissolves into the supreme Brahman, the unmanifest, eternal reality described in the Upanishads.
Thus, the Shiva Linga, like the diya, becomes not just a symbol of union, but a reminder that:
All forms arise from the same clay,
All life is sustained by the same oil of consciousness,
All illumination returns to the same vast sky of existence.
🕉️ A Living Meditation
Next time you light a diya, pause. See in it the story of your own being:
The pot : your body, your material journey.
The oil : the subtle consciousness within.
The wick : your mind, your aspirations, drawing consciousness into experience.
The flame : your realization of oneness, which eventually surrenders itself to the vast unknown.
“To live fully is to burn like the diya, to allow our separate selves to merge, light up the world, and finally dissolve without fear into the sacred mystery.” ~ Adarsh Singh
For Me..…..........…........
The Shiva Linga as the diya is a tender metaphor, of how dualities merge into non-duality, and how even non-duality dissolves into the source to be reborn. It is a gentle invitation to honour the cycle, to see the divine in every stage, and to trust the journey of endless becoming.
“May we learn from the diya: to embrace our duality, to burn in the joy of oneness, and to vanish gracefully into the infinite, ready to rise again.” ~ Adarsh Singh
Mon Jun 30, 2025
Launch your Graphy