Shiv Linga

what is Shivalinga? and
since how long /old it is in centre stages of majority of HINDU TEMPLES ?

Shivlinga symbolizes the generative principle of existence and is fused with Parvatiyoni, symbolizing the reproductive principle of existence - together, they symbolize the dual cohabitation within existence that manifests the multiplicity of life’s expressions.

thanks , is it represent reproductive organ of Shiva ? ,


I think it would be misleading if we restrict the symbol of Shivling to the reproductive organ of Shiva as in the reproductive organ of man. Everything that comes to us through the medium of language is but an attempt by the best of humans to have fellow-humans grasp principles that are beyond comprehension so long as we are in the dual mode. It would at best give us the direction towards which we may tread till finally we reach the realm of non-duality where symbols become redundant and we are one with existence. Therefore words have to be used as stepping stones to the truth and are not truths in themselves.

Islam, fastest growing?

Wrin
Muslims 1/4 of World Population: US Survey
We Are Muslims http://weare-muslims.blogspot.com
Our Ask http://ourask.blogspot.com
Join in ‘We Are Muslims’ http://www.orkut.com/Main#Community?rl=cpn&cmm=94298332
Muslims make up around one fourth of the world’s population and are mostly concentrated in Asia, according to a new study by an American fact tank that provides information on issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world through public opinion polling. “There are 1.57 billion Muslims of all ages living in the world today,” the Pew Research Center concluded in its study, “Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population.”
It found that Muslims make up 23 percent of the world’s 6.8 billion people, the sweeping majority of them Sunnis.
“Of the total Muslim population, 10-13% are Shiite Muslims and 87-90% are Sunni Muslims.”
According to the study, based on data from 232 countries and territories, Asia is home to nearly 20 percent of the global Muslim population.
Size, Distribution of World's Muslims (Document). More>> http://islami-news.blogspot.com

Venu
This is no doubt a cause for Muslims to be proud and happy. But it must also be acknowledged that Christianity still continues to have the largest number of followers. Recently, the same folks who conducted the pew survey said that 76% of Church-goers in USA have acknowledged Hindu influences in their belief system. It appears that the most influential religious personalities in the world are Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha and Krishna. It is unlikely any single person’s influence will be supplanted by any other person. All will continue influencing mankind, sometimes in contradiction but mostly as complementary forces for the spiritualization of mankind.

The world an illusion?

Venu
The declaration that the world is an illusion is only a pointing out by realized souls the human potential. The world we live in is very much a reality but if we go deep into the matter we would realize that the world is as it is only because we are as we are. Do we have any option to change the world? The masters say that we can change the world (at least with regard to our own experience) if we change ourselves. And by “changing ourselves” is meant increasing the depth of our consciousness. The masters go to the extent of saying that all existence is consciousness and the consciousness that we humans have has the potential to evolve into the total consciousness of all existence. So the illusion thing is simply a labeling of our experiences at the less conscious level as we go deeper into the world of consciousness. To call our experiences at whatever level as illusion is not to invalidate such experiences, but to goad us to see what we have seen, more comprehensively. The dream world, if we go deep into it, may be more real than our awakened world approached shallowly. The whole call is to see and see deeply till we elevate ourselves to the level of a Seer or Rishi.