I would be very interested if you write an article on the left hand path, as this is seen as something to be avoided by most Hindus.

From my scholarly studies my understanding is that Tantra see itself as the path for the these times, for the Kali Yuga. It is a path that sees enjoyment of existence and embodiment as a good thing, that by turning taboos on their heads we realize how those taboos are just as much of an illusion as the harsher sects claim our physical enjoyments are. (Hm, awkward sentence.) Alcohol, sex, meat, etc are usually only consumed in ritual settings. There are also right-hand Tantrics, not all of Tantra is left-handed. Perhaps I ought to write a post on the left-hand path, since I seem to be on it.

Thank you for your definite answer!
In the meantime, I found a version (English translation) of the Shiva Puran, and I’d like to refer to one of its chapter that’s related to the topic of this post. That chapter also supports what Chris and You have written.

Here is the link:
http://www.godandguru.com/shiv-puran/chapter-2.html

Erzsebet

2.) Yes,Lord Shiva’s image or murti can be worshiped(if u want to worship that way)
One can perform Dhyana and imagine and concentrate on Lord in mind

3.)No connection. Tantrics in their ignorance worship Him thinking they will get boons.
But also remember that Lord sees the bhakthi of an individual to shower His blessings.
Karma should be Good to get blessings

4.)Yes Lord Vishu=Lord Shiva=ParaBrahmana=we ourselves!

Lord’s energy is within us too.It is equal in quality but not in quantity.
Like a drop of water is same as Ocean, but ocean is vast while drop is minuscule!
Meditation,Yoga,Bhakthi are ways to improve and channelize our energy towards Lord.

I have some questions, related to this topic, to which I would like to get clear answers if possible.

1) Is the Shivalingam in fact not a phallus, only not well-read people in the West associate / identify the Shivalingam with that?

2) Is there some other form of Shiva different from that of Shivalingam, in which He can be worshipped?

3) What is (if there is) the connection between the practice of Shiva-faith and that of Tantraism?

4) Is Shiva and Vishu the different facets of the One God?
(As the RigVeda says, ‘God is One, only the sages call him by different names’)

I would be happy to get right answers to these questions.

Thanks in advance.
Erzsebet

I appreciate your curiosity in Hinduism and your efforts in understanding it. It’s a shameful truth that even Hindus themselves won’t have in-depth knowledge about their religion and can’t say anything authoritatively on any of the practices. Hinduism is too mythical and a bottomless abyss, the result of it is a religion that is too obscure.
There isn’t a single authoritative source about the religion and there are multiple interpretations of the holy texts.
But the one who digs deep as yourself will sure emerge with valuables.

There are several texts in hinduism written by great sages that even experts find difficult to interpret to a language that layman can understand, “Thirumanthiram” by sage Thirumoolar is one such important text on shaivism. This work is considered as a basic text on shaiva aghama(rules
by which the statues and temples are built). It contains descriptions on yanthras(something like shatkona you described), but couldn’t be properly interpreted as the text is in poetry form.

Coming to Linga, it’s very easy to conclude that it’s a phallus image but it’s a grave mistake. Some say the linga represents the “chitta” or soul and others say linga represents the unification of soul with God.

As a hindu, the following is the source of hindu thoughts which I consider the most authentic – http://www.sssbpt.info/english/sss.htm . Due to the absence of such authoritative interpretations, even the most interested/well-read are susceptible to misinterpret the teachings of hinduism. I hope you’ll find them useful.

All the best.

Why I am talking of Kashmir Shaivism is because of some references to Tantra in that philosphy though not much. There are facebook groups on Kashmir Shaivism as well as you can get info from google if you want to know more.

“I do ask God wealth ,Health,Knowledge and Longlife.What is wrong in asking for them,as that is what Life needs to Live.”

what I meant was ,why shouldn’t we ask for these things,when we pray?

“Another Hindu once told me that the left-handed tantric sects try to use tantra to avoid the consequences of their karma and gain pleasures in this life. She compared them to someone who paid a monthly credit-card bill by getting more money from the card. They might delay the consequences but are turning a small problem now into a much bigger one later.”
She does have a point.The key words are” to avoid the consequences of their karma and gain pleasures in this life”. I,personally use prayers/slokas/ to help get by my everyday mundane tasks,too.Would one call me a ” lefthanded Tantra practitioner”?I do ask God wealth ,Health,Knowledge and Longlife.What is wrong is not asking for them,as that is what Life needs to Live.What matters is whether we are being Greedy or not;and Only God and The person involved knows about whether it is Greed or not.So it is subjective.Many of the SthalaPuranas about the Ancient Temples and the stories of their origins talk of Devas and Rishis comming to such a place to do Penance to wash their sins and to get relief from its consequences.The aim of such stories is “Shiva helped this devotee here with this kind of problems :He would help you ,too,if you are sincere in your prayers.”So does the Vedas on how we must use Artha[materials] and Kama[Desire/wish] both governed by Dharma, in seeking Moksha.We believe ,the troubles we face are the result of wrong actions/sins ,done in the past.When we are in the midst of difficulties ,we don’t realise,it is due to wrongs in the past.;later when in spite of all efforts,we could not change the situation,our hearts remember God and seek his Help;if we had “paid for our sins”[Christian terminology,I know,but could not find the right words to translate my thoughts into English],then things start going in the way our difficulties are reduced or removed.We feel that our Prayers are answered;We must not forget that it is God’s Grace that we survived through our troubles.{This is also the reason people get swayed to leave Hinduism for other religions;the Evangelists make use of this tendency of people to get converts}
* note God= Ishta Deivam.
So crux of the Question is how sincere are we in our prayers.Is our prayers Dharmic/righteous.?