Why did Lord Chaitanya worship Shiva-linga if it is not the highest form of worship?
From Shivanga:
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Why did Lord Chaitanya visit Shiva temples and worship the Shiva linga if the Shiva linga is not the highest form of worship? Lord Chaitanya whenever he would worship Lord Shiva he would worship him as a devotee of the Supreme Lord and the representation is not the highest but still Shiva linga is an authentic scriptural based representation of the Lord. So, if we look at the Shiva Ashtakam in the Chaitanya Charita by Rari Gupta there is a description of the Shiva Ashtakam that was written by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu composed in praise of Lord Shiva and that is glorifying him as for what he is as the most important person in this world as the Lord of Brahma as the Lord of Parvati as the Nath of the Bhutas and as the great devotee of Lord Vishnu. So, it is not that we need to treat the Rajasic or Tamasic forms of worship like untouchables they are also given in scripture and even when Krishna recommends to Arjuna that these should not be done he actually doesn’t condemn them he just uses the word Alpamedhasaha which is those who worship the demigods Antavatthu phalam tesham tad bhavaty alpamedhasam devan devayi jo yanti madh bhakta yanti mam api 7.23 in the Bhagavad Gita he describes Antavatthu phalam tesham the emperor and therefore those who worship this are yanti alpamedhasam those who worship this are less intelligent.
So, he doesn’t say that they are in a sense they are crazy or they are to be condemned he just uses a mild form of reproach saying that they are less intelligent they still have intelligence because they are at least worshipping the supreme lord now not in the ultimate way but they are at least recognizing that there is some higher form that is to be worshipped if one wants to rise towards gradual progress and transcendence. So, that’s why that is accepted but it is not exalted. So, if he is the mode of worship done by lord Shiva Chaitanya Mahaprabhu he is primarily doing Sankirtan even when he goes to Shiva temples.
So, if Sankirtan can be done on the streets then can it not be done in temples and even the Shiva bhaktas they also join the Sankirtan they see the Sankirtan they get benefited. So, now the streets are certainly often more materialistic than the even the places of Tamasic or Rajasic worship. So, why should Chaitanya Mahaprabhu not deliver the people who are in the temples if he’s as a representation of supreme lord as a recommended form of worship for those who are aspiring for transcendence those who are aspiring for pure devotion but that doesn’t mean it is to be condemned and when the proper understanding is there then the worship becomes a part of devotional service it is no longer a mundane or misleading.