The Vira Shaivities also behave horribly by conservative Hindu standards. One of their greatest saints, a twelfth-century brahmin from Karnataka named Basava, was one of the great religious reformers in Hindu history. He led the Vira Shaivities in rejecting caste distinctions ( a major no-no in Hinduism), honoring women as full equals of men and respecting all forms of honest labor including the lowest and dirtiest.
Vira means hero. A Vira Shaivite is as dauntless and alert in his or her spiritual life as a soldier in the thick of battle.
Vira Shaivite wear a linga, the symbol of Shiva, on their bodies. They consider it his living presence. By keeping it close, they make their bodies Shiva's living temple. A second form of linga exists in the heart. When the kundalini rises from the bottom of the spine illuminating the energy of the heart center, this linga is directly experienced. The third linga is in the brain. When the kundalini activates the center at the top of the head, union with Shiva is experienced. You merge into the linga of pure consciousness.
Vira Shaivities compare the jiva, the individual soul, and Shiva, the cosmic being, to a river and the ocean. There is definitely a difference between the two, as anyone can see. But at the time of enlightenment, the soul merges into Shiva like the river pouring into the sea. At that point, it becomes impossible to distinguish between the two.
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