Can you point me to a ‘cohesive civilization known as India’?

For the most part the French speak French, the Germans speak German etc. The English have integrated a few languages into Britain and there are a few other exceptions about, which is to be expected. Yet something on the scale of India for the whole subcontinent and the whole set of horribly mapped countries all over Africa are simply European constructs.

Please do note that I am not questioning our genetic similarity. Multiple states in the place of India would probably be much better at eradicating widespread poverty on the subcontinent.

Just because the British unified it under one state doesn’t mean there was never a cohesive civilization known as India. By your logic Germany, Italy, France, and Britain itself aren’t real countries because they were originally a bunch of various principalities and kingdoms before they were finally unified too. Why do you think most people, to this day, see a South Asian and assume “Indian?” Is it a coincidence that we all look similar enough to be confused for each other?

” ‘India’ is a British creation… it is merely a single administrative unit governed by a bureaucracy under the sanction of the sword. That is all. It is a paper creation, it has no basis in flesh and blood.” – Jinnah (Dec 18th 1943) (pg 193 of Verdict on India)

So this IS something that belongs to ALL Indians.

And please don’t say a lingam is a phallus, because I don’t start talking nonsense about Aryan fire worshippers burning down my cities.

The flower gatherer for the temple need not be a lifelong celibate. it is not required of anyone in Hinduism especially those in the service of good.

Anyway who has a smattering of Sanskrit or Hindi would know “lingam” refers to gender – you can tell if a person is male or female by their lingam or lack thereof.

The lingam therefore is a representation of the union of Shiva and Shakti. The meaning behind this representation runs very deep and spans into various depths of hindu philosophy and the understanding of the universe, creation etc… If you want to learn more about this, there are various books on it. The best books I have read are by Sir John Woodroffe or Arthur Avalon (same guy, changed his name), titles “Serpent Power” “Shakti and Shakta” “Principles of Tantra“

Tantra is grossly misrepresented now-a-days, especially in the west… and even in india people are losing the understanding. Tantra is a path of energy awareness and about building a relation with that energy. This cosmic energy is believed to be seated at the base of our spine (or at the muladhara chakra)… this energy is Shakti. Kundalini is the rise of this energy along the spine is a serpent-like motion… (similarity to the DNA double helix). Several spiritual/ mystic traditions talk about a similar energy and have tantra-like practices (e.g. Buddhism, Jainism, Sufism, ancient Mayan traditions that are still alive in the form of Toltec teachings in Mexico). Sexual union is a tool that can be used to raise the energy up the spine, and get a glimpse of the experience of union with the ‘divine source’. It is only a tool and one of many. It is not the main practice by any means nor do any texts preach that sex is the way to awareness and enlightenment. The ultimate goal of tantra is to become aware of and maintain the energy flow, strong and steady at every moment, in order to live in connection with the divine source. The key tools used to work towards this are mantras and yantras.

The ‘taboo’ aspect of the representation of the lingam is thought to have originated from the influences of Christianity and Islam in India. This is only one proposed explanation. It is suspected (and some believe) that prior to such influences, there were no sexual or taboo-like connotations associated with the lingam or the architectural depictions seen on the temple walls. They are simply sculptures depicting what the tantric texts have outlined. Religion in India was threatened especially during the Moghul empire and the Tipu Sultan rule. External influences tried hard to alter relgious practices and beliefs because they were not in sync with their own. The Islamic and Christian perspectives of Hinduism eventually gave rise to a cultural understanding vs the original religious/ spiritual understanding, which is different in different parts of India. The culturally influenced understanding has become confused with religion… also the religious dogmas generated by the brahmins when the caste system was ‘created’ further complicated the true symbolisms. At that time a lot of the explanations were made ‘secret’ because only the brahmins were considered worthy of the knowledge… which was mainly passed down by word of mouth down sepcific Guru lineages. In the process much information got lost in translation and was never properly documented.

Anyhow… this is my perspective on the whole issue… and I need to stop typing to get back to work!

My point exactly! These days people get hives from the suggestion that the Lingam is a phallic symbol. The argument isn’t whether it represents sexual parts but what is the meaning behind it. If people get over the aversion, we can understand our religion better.