The-Hindus-An-Alternative-History---Wendy-Doniger

The Gudimallam Linga.But other texts treat the linga as an aniconic pillar of light or an abstract symbol of god(the word means simply a “sign,” as smoke is the sign of fire), with no sexual reference. Tosome, the stone lingas “convey an ascetic purity despite their obvious sexual symbolism.” 5 Thereis nothing surprising about this range; some Christians see in the cross a vivid reminder of theagony on Calvary, while others see it as a symbol of their God in the abstract or of Christianityas a religion. But some Hindus who see the linga as an abstract symbol therefore object to theinterpretations of those who view it anthropomorphically; their Christian counterparts would bepeople who refuse to acknowledge that the cross ever referred to the passion of Christ. Visitorsto the Gudimallam linga in the early twenty-first century noted that while the large linga as awhole remains entirely naked, with all its anatomical detail, the small image of a naked man on