Idol - growing in Temples ! - What it means ?

Shiva-ling, the idol of the lord, Shiva – is often said to be growing in the temples by the elders. But, the recent reports claim that [ex; in Sri-sailam temple] the Shiva-ling is indeed gradually decreasing in size! These two are in fact perfect contradictions!

But, both are correct in reality. The recent reports are true – because due to the ‘abhishek’ [water, ghee, etc., pouring on the ‘idol’] the ‘idol’ is gradually ‘decreasing’ in size, due to ‘friction’. So, nothing is wrong with the statements of the ‘media’.

On the other hand – the claim that ‘Shiva-ling is increasing in size’ – does not imply the ‘increase in size’ of the ‘idol’ in the temple. But, the age old saying has some hidden meanings, cosmological meanings indeed.

The ‘Shiva-ling’, the idol in the temple is nothing but, the representation of the ‘universe’ and consequently ‘Shiva-ling’ growing implies that the universe is growing in size or the ‘universe is expanding in size’. But, as in the case of many scientific facts – this too is said in a ‘poetic form’ for the easy grasp of the ancient common masses. In the ancient times – if anyone had told the common man that the universe is expanding, none would have grasped the concept, but, it is relatively easy to comprehend the concept of the ‘growth of the Shiva-ling’.

This concept of the growth of the ‘Shiva-ling’ is nothing but, the modern cosmological concept of the ‘expansion of the universe’ according to the ‘Big Bang’ theory and symbolically it was described that the ‘Shiva-ling’ is expanding.

So, the modern cosmological concepts were all known to the ancient Hindus, relatively to an advanced level and the growth of the ‘Shiva-ling’ is nothing but, the growth of the ‘universe’ and not the actual growth of the ‘idol’ of the lord ‘Shiva’, the Shiva-ling in the temples.