Word Of The Week

BINDU:

(above-symbols of Bindu from different cultures) BINDU Bindu means Point or Dot, is sometimes likened to a Pearl, and is often related to the principle of a Seed. This is not just a poetic choice of words or philosophy. There literally is a stage of Yoga Meditation in which all experiences collapse, so to speak, into a point from which all experiences arose in the first place. The Bindu is near the end of the subtlest aspect of mind itself, after which one travels beyond or transcends the mind and its contents. It is near the end of time, space, and causation, and is the doorway to the Absolute. To understand this principle is extremely useful, if not essential to Advanced Meditation. http://www.swamij.com/bindu.htm   Bindu (Skt., ‘drop’ or ‘particle’). A complex term of varied though related meanings in Hinduism and especially in Tantrism. 1. In a general sense it is the expression of the highest consciousness (samvid) as Śakti which is subtle, eternal, and pervades the whole universe, yet is also the centre of creation. 2. More specifically in Śāivism and Śaktism, bindu is a technical term for the material cause of pure creation (see KASHMIR ŚAIVISM). It is contrasted with māyā, the material cause of impure creation, though both must be regarded as two aspects of one reality which interpenetrate each other. 3. Bindu is equated with the anusvāra, the nasalized vowel in Sanskrit (ṃ) represented in devanāgarī as a dot with the letter. It has great symbolic significance in mantra as the absolute contracted to a point, the pure potential out of which the universe emanates and to which it returns. 4. Cosmic evolution (the macrocosm) is located within the body (the microcosm) in Tantrism. Thus bindu is located between the eyebrows as a drop which is the object of meditation. It is sometimes identified with Kuṇḍalinī, within which laya yoga is called bindu sādhana. 5. In its grossest sense, bindu is a synonym for semen, cosmic potential reduced to an individual level. 6. Bindu is depicted as the point in the centre of the Śrī yantra. JOHN BOWKER. "Bindu." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 7 May. 2009 http://www.encyclopedia.com               ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ Many excellent books on the topics found on the "Word of the Week" page can be borrowed from the Mandir's Library. The Library is free and open to all.

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