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INTRODUCTION
 
21
 
scheme the first two tattvas viz., Siva-tattva and Sakti-
tattva are really one. As we have already said, the
former is the static and the latter the dynamic aspect
of the ultimate Reality. Then we came to Näda and
Bindu. Näda here does not mean sound, and Bindu
does not mean a drop. In the philosophy of the
Tantra they have become technical words denoting
successive momenta in creation. Näda denotes the
thrill of the first impulse towards creation, and Bindu,
which means a point, symbolizes the infinite potentia-
lities of the universe about to be unfolded. The
writers of the Tantra often compare it to a grain of
gram (chanaka) which within its husk contains a double
seed in undivided union, from which the sprout will
rise and grow into a plant. The seeds are, of course,
Siva and Sakti. The former is Prakāśa and the latter
Vimarsa, as explained above. Prakāśa passes into
Vimarsa and is reflected back into itself and becomes
self-conscious. Thought can know itself only when it
is reflected in action. And when it is so reflected it
becomes individualized. Thus the original Bindu, called
Parabindu or Mahäbindu, becomes differentiated into
three the svetabindu, the point of pure thought; the
raktabiidu or the point of activity which acts as a
reflector and the miśrabindu, the point of the return of
thought through action, resulting in the union of both
under the principle of individuality. The three
differentiated bindus are sometimes represented by a
triangle. They are together called Kämakalā. Here
Kāma, according to one interpretation, means both
Kameśvara and Kämesvari, and Kalá is their manifesta-