The Concept of Bindu
The term bindu , dot, point, spot, drop, semen, can be derived from the verbal root bid, meaning ‘to cleave, to split’. According to the Nirukta it is derived from the verbal root bhid, meaning ‘to pierce’, hence ‘hole’…
According to modern geometry, the point is the minutest unit with which a line is drawn. The point is indivisible and without length and breadth. When we think of bindu as the minutest unity we are reminded of the concept of paramānu ( Vaiśesika defines paramānu as : mūrtatve sati niravayavah : being limited, it is without any body part ).
In Yogabhāsya of Vyāsa we find that a substance when reduced to its minutest unit is called paramānu , and in the same way the minutest time unit is called ksana. But bindu is neither a time unit like ksana nor a space unit like anu ( ANauu ). It is a unit of consciousness , and at the same time becomes body of the material world.
Thus bindu is variously explained in terms of Hindu philosophy. In māyā (Appendix 8), we learnt that the observable universe is a reflection of the mind which is the seat of our individual consciousness.
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- Here we are learning that this very act of observation has a fundamental unit viz.
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bindu
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