As virtually everyone who has heard the term "Tantra" is aware, the central dyad in Tantrik cosmology is that of Shiva and Shakti, the Divine in masculine and feminine aspects, coupled in eternal union. But this apparently sexualized and deity-focused imagery sometimes masks the deeper spiritual wisdom associated with this dyadic vision of reality. Prakasha-Vimarsha One of the central concepts of classical Tantrik philosophy is that of prakasha and vimarsha, the Light of Consciousness and the Power of Self-Awareness, respectively. Prakasha is associated with Shiva, which here is simply a name for the universal Consciousness that is the ground of all reality. Vimarsha, as a power (shakti), is associated with the Goddess (also shakti). Prakasha may also be translated "manifestation," for the Light of Consciousness manifests all things, which are never separate from that divine Light. However, the manifestation of the universal would be st