[jonesboy]

Moving on,

Pg 125.

The notion of visarga, translated as Emissional Power, constitutes a central and essential component of the meaning of the Heart.17

Let us begin our examination of the notion of visarga by quoting Abhinavagupta's initial exposition of the term in the PTlv;

The knowing subject has as its essence the supremely subtle vibration of the Self. It is characterized by knowedge and action, and its nature is one of contraction and expansion, that is, opening and closing. It is not like a pot, and so on, which is inert, limited and stationary. The more this combination of expansion and contraction becomes evident in the vibration of the Heart, of the triangle, etc., the more does the subjectivity become elevated, until it reaches the consciousness of Bhairava. Conversely, the more the expansion and contraction diminish, the more does the subjectivity fall until it becomes inert like a stone etc. This expansion and contraction is the characteristic of the visarga, whose essence is freedom, that is, the very power of the Lord, of the Ultimate. Therefore, the phoneme If, the visarga, is termed the Rudra- yamala, the Rudra-dyad, because it consists of both the supreme Siva and sakti, of the rest and activity which constitute the union of Bhairava with his Beloved."

In Abhinavagupta's teachings about the Kaula method, the term visarga has a wide signification. Here,it comes to name that power( known alternatively as the kauliki sakti, the Devi, the nada) that is responsible for emitting the universe in all its glorious variety. Equally important, it names the power that must be harnessed by the tantric yogin to continue the arc of manifestation as it doubles back on the journey of return to Siva. This power may be thought of as an impelling force (iccha-sakti)

that at one and the same time continuously pushes everything out into being, and continuously absorbs it all back into Siva. This power in the Heart, which is the Goddess, and which is named the visarga, is at once centrifugal (pravrtti), that is, Emissional and expansive, as well as cen- tripetal (nivrtti), that is, absorptive and unitive.20

This expansion and contraction forms a kind of "alternating current" of spiritual power which may be tapped by the yogin in various ways. The "expansive" mode may be employed for the further manifestation of desires in the external or subtle worlds (bhoga, phala), or, during the farther reaches of the sadhana, for the establishment of the experience of non-duality even in outward perceptions. The "contractive" mode connects the yogin to the inwardly ascending force that effortlessly propels the yogin to rest in absorption (samavesa-visranti) in his own unbounded, original consciousness. Here, the infinitely fast vibration of consciousness allows the re-emergence of the state of Bhairava, the state of liberation in this very life.