QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2026
Q: There are Pancha Bhoota temples around India that are dedicated to Lord Shiva, what is the significance of these temples?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are five elements that form this creation: Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether, and these five things are also called lingam because they signify or tell you that there is something beyond. The un-manifest consciousness is represented by the Earth, so the Earth is a lingam – means the Earth is an identification and a sign of the infinity. Water is the sign of infinity. You look at the mountain, the mountain tells you that there is some power. So, all the five elements remind you that there is consciousness that creates orderliness.
If you see any stone, there are patterns in the stone also and there are colors in the stones. Stones are so fascinating. There is orderliness in that and this indicates that there is consciousness. Water has life and memory, have you heard about water having memory? Google this and you can know about the many experiments that reveal that water has memory; water is alive. Water indicates super consciousness.
Similarly, fire tells you there is consciousness. Air reminds you of the divinity, of the Shiva Tattva. Similarly, space tells you there is a supreme power. So all these five elements in the planet indicate you towards something which is un-manifest because the five elements are manifest, that is why they are called lingam.
Anything that points towards something big, something that is inexpressible, something that is intangible, truth that is beyond all expressions is expressed in five elements.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
