Bindu

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For diacritical mark, see anusvaara.

For the Bollywood actress, see Bindu (actress).

Bindu is a Sanskrit term meaning "point" or "dot". The feminine case ending is Bindi which denotes a small ornamental, devotional and/or mystical dot that is cosmetically applied or affixed to the forehead in Hinduism.^[1]

1 Bindu Chakra
2 Philosophy
3 Cross-cultural correlates
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 External websites

[edit] Bindu Chakra

Bindu refers to an aspect of the anatomy of the 'subtle body' composed of drops (Tibetan: tikle; tigle) and winds (Tibetan: rLung): "the drops and winds are features of the human energy system and have varying degrees of subtlety."^[2]

In the Shakta tantra school of philosophy, there is said to exist a Bindu chakra, at the back of the head, in the part where Brahmins grow their small tuft of hair, although it is often not mentioned in traditional chakrologies. This centre is said to be where the Bindu fluid is produced, a fluid that can become either the nectar of immortality, or the poison of death. This Bindu fluid is often conflated with both gamete(s) and amrita in Tantrism. It is intimately connected to the Vishuddha chakra, and awakening the Vishuddha chakra is held in the Tantric traditions to awaken the Bindu chakra.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Philosophy

In metaphysical terms Bindu is held to be the point at which begins creation and the point at which the unity becomes the many. In his exegesis of Yantra, Khanna (1979: p.171) states that Bindu "...is the sacred symbol of the cosmos in its unmanifested state".