Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 32
शिवस्य परापरब्रह्मस्वरूपनिर्णयः / Determination of Śiva as Higher and Lower Brahman
केचिच्चिन्तामयं प्राहुश्चिन्तया रहितं परे । ज्ञानात्मकं परे प्राहुर्विज्ञानमिति चापरे
keciccintāmayaṃ prāhuścintayā rahitaṃ pare | jñānātmakaṃ pare prāhurvijñānamiti cāpare
ある者は至上の実在は思惟の本性であると言い、またある者は思惟を離れていると言う。ある者はそれを清浄なる知（jñāna）と説き、またある者はヴィジュニャーナ（vijñāna）—分別して体得された智—と呼ぶ。
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Īśāna
Role: teaching
FAQs
It shows that seekers describe Shiva (Pati) according to their level of realization—sometimes as the object of contemplation, sometimes as the Reality beyond all mental constructions, and finally as direct, discriminative realization (vijñāna) that culminates in liberation.
Linga worship supports contemplation (cintā) by giving the mind a sacred focus; as devotion and insight mature, the worshipper recognizes Shiva as both manifest (saguna, approached through the Linga) and ultimately beyond thought (nirguna), known as pure awareness.
Begin with focused japa and dhyāna—especially the Panchākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and let contemplation refine into steady inner clarity, where knowledge becomes lived realization (vijñāna).