18. The importance of dravya and bhava linga in Indus culture
There are few seals which specifically highlight the linga in relation to its dravya and bhava aspects. The dravya linga is the male organ , but it is not degraded for physical pleasure and progeny. It is determined for spiritual elevation through self restraint. For this in the seal texts the symbol is fantastically designed adding a spiritual linga to the male organ showing the superiority of the male gender for penance and spiritual elevation if self-determined. In all these three seals one can see this distinctly, as a linga attached to the male organ sign.
The bhava or thoughts rise from mind hence, for that separate seals are designed by the Indus artists showing the spiritual male linga attached to the head of the ascetics. This indicates that he is not only a male by gender but that celibacy and spirituality in thoughts also are conditions for progress on the path of salvation. A female ascetic is also seen, but not with linga. She is a mother in nature, hence she is shown for her affection as her weakness
concerning spirituality in her breast in some of the Indus seals, as shown here. As also explained under # 11. a female ascetic in this life, through penance and sallekhana gains a male life in her next birth and can counter the total eight karmas for salvation then. This is shown by a sign of a breast attached to the spirituality ladder of the male ascetic + = exactly in the same way as is seen in the original belief of the Digamber Jains.
Next issue: 19. The Indus householders