Bindu In Saivagama A Philosophical Concept
By Dr. Anima Sen Gupta
The Agamas are a class of scriptures which are primarily sadhana-sastras, that
is manuals of spiritual technique, and only secondarily treatises on philosophy.
These sastras attach great importance to the Divine power or Shakti of a Saguna
Ishwara or Personal God. Just as physical science speaks of energy as the stuff
of the world, in the same manner the Agamas speak of Shakti or Divine Power as
the ultimate material cause of the world. It is the object of the agamic sadhana
to unite the individual self with the universal self by awakening in the individual's
psycho-physical organism the various latent forces of Divine Power. The Divine
or Mother element resides in the mind-body system of the jiva or individual in
the form of kundalini-shakti (power in a sleeping or coiled state) and in and
through agamic sadhana, this kundalini power is awakened by piercing the six
chakras.
The Agamas are divided into three main groups :
1. Shakta Agama or Shakta Tantra
2. Saiva Agama -
3. Vaishnava Agama or Pancharatra.
In this article I would like to give a general idea about Bindu in Saiva-agama and also to show how this concept can be treated as a philosophical concept having a close relation with the path of knowledge.
There are certain fundamental categories which are admitted in the Saiva-agama. These are: Siva, Shakti, Pasu, Pasa, Bindu, etc.
Siva is pure Consciousness which is immutable, eternal and absolute. He is the Highest Reality and the final goal of the jiva. He is also the sole support of Shakti and Bindu. Siva and Shakti, being of the form of Chit (Consciousness), inhere in one another. Siva is inclusive of Shakti. The connection between them is inseparable. Siva, devoid of Shakti, is as good as a nonentity.
This Siva-Shakti or Divine Power manifests itself sometimes in the form of will, sometimes in the form of knowledge and sometimes in the form of action. Bindu seems to be that aspect of Chit-Shakti in which the Divine Power actually particularises (krya) and also manifests itself as knowledge (jnana) of particular objects: because it is from bindu that words which are the basis of vikalpa-jnana (particularised knowledge) arise in a graduated order.
In the sphere of activity there is no direct contact between Siva and Bindu. There is an indirect relation between the two through the mediation of Shakti. When Shakti assumes the form of the creative will, its conative aspect is roused and causes a disturbance in Bindu which results in creation. Siva has been described as vispasta chinmatra (unmanifest Consciousness) because He never actively participates in creation. He vitalises Bindu through His Shakti, and so Siva remains immutable and unchanging in nature.
When Shakti seeks to manifest the aisvarya (glories) of her Lord through the diversities of different worlds, she assumes .the form of Divine Resolution and causes disturbance in Bindu. Since Siva remains in avinabhava (inseparable) relation with Shakti, He too has been regarded as the cause of disturbance in Bindu. Just as the sun makes flowers bloom by means of its rays and does not undergo any change in its nature on that account, so Siva also causes disturbance in Bindu through His Will alone without performing any actual creative act.
When Paramesvara (the Almighty) Himself causes disturbance in Bindu through His samkalpa-shakti (power of will), panchatattvas (the five categories) of Siva, Shakti, Sadasiva, Ishwara and Suddhavidya come into being. Maya is not directly disturbed by the Almighty. According to the agamic view Maya is not illusory. It is substantive in nature and is the upadana karana (material cause) of the world. Bindu is also known as kundalini. Kundalini manifests the soul's natural power of all-embracing knowledge and action. In the bound condition when the soul remains associated with mala (impurity) its natural capacity of infinite knowledge and action remains in a dormant or sleeping state. If this power can be awakened in the muladhara, the lowest of the chakras and can be made to rise up to sahasrara or the lotus in the crown of the head by piercing the other four chakras, then the soul becomes pure and is in a position to enter into the highest luminous world. Yogic discipline or knowledge may destroy karma and maya. Mala, which is the most powerful enveloping force, can be destroyed only by the awakening of this power of jnana and krya. Kundalini sadhana is, therefore, the most important sadhana for the tantric worshipper and, for this reason, initiation into it is absolutely necessary.
It is true that the concept of kundalini is specially associated with guhya vidya (secret doctrines) like tantra, hatha yoga etc.: yet on the basis of rational consideration, we can accord a suitable philosophical status to it. In fact, Agamika sadhana is intimately related with the processes of yoga-sadhana: both believe that mind, like body, requires continuous exercise and training so as to develop all its powers and potencies. Man is a vast storehouse of potential and expressed power. The object of sadhana is to develop all powers of the human body and mind. The hatha yogi aims at making his body strong, healthy and free from suffering: for this purpose he makes a sincere attempt to arouse the kundalini in him. According to hatha yoga, kundalini is amrtavarshini (nectar-showering) and the nectar that drips from kundalini makes the body strong as steel and immortal. Here we may say that, according to this school of yoga, kundalini seems to be an organ of the mind-body system. Since psychic powers, being pure in nature, are more illuminating and pleasure-giving than physical powers, kundalini, which increases knowledge and showers blissful nectar, may be a special state of antahkarana or the psychical apparatus. It may be a state in which sattva becomes wholly purified and rajas and tamas become fully subdued.
Ramanuja has stated that the lotus of the heart is the seat of the atomic soul. If this be so, then the purpose of sadhana is to make the lotus bloom, as otherwise the true nature of the soul will not be realised. The lotus of the heart is here regarded as kundalini and thus kundalini sadhana is harmonised with the philosophical position of the Ramanuja school. Hence the concept of kundalini is not to be found only in the mystic religion of Tantra or esoteric doctrine of yoga, but is also accepted in other philosophical systems. Dhyana Yoga in the Vaishnavite system and kundalini yoga in tantra, hatha yoga etc. are not therefore two entirely different lines of sadhana, since both combine intellective processes with the process of rousing kundalini shakti. This is not to deny, of course, that there are variations in the interpretations of kundalini according to whether the systems concerned are advaitic or dualistic.