In the Kularnava Tantra, kula is presented as a key term that gathers several dimensions of tantric vision into a single, resonant idea. At its most encompassing level, it signifies the totality of existence as a sacred “family” or integrative whole, in which all apparent opposites—Śiva and Śakti, subject and object, pure and impure—are recognized as expressions of one non-dual reality. This totality is not an abstract metaphysical construct but the living manifestation of divine Śakti, the creative power of consciousness. Kula thus names the cosmos itself as the field where the unity of Śiva and Śakti is continuously enacted.

At the same time, kula designates the inseparable union of Śiva and Śakti as such: Śiva as pure consciousness and Śakti as its dynamic power. In this sense, kula is the manifest, relational aspect of the Absolute, contrasted with the utterly transcendent aspect that stands beyond manifestation. To realize kula is to recognize that the divine pair is never truly divided, and that all experience unfolds within their indivisible embrace. The non-dual realization held out by the text is precisely this recognition of unity within the play of difference.

Kula also refers to the human microcosm, especially the body as a sacred vessel and temple of realization. The body, senses, vital energies, and inner states form a “family” of tattvas and powers in which the same Śiva–Śakti unity is present. Within this microcosmic kula, the awakening of Śakti and the recognition of consciousness are not separate processes but two sides of a single unfolding. The practitioner’s own embodiment thus becomes the privileged site where the non-dual nature of reality can be directly known.

Furthermore, kula names the spiritual family or lineage: the community of guru, disciples, deities, mantras, and rites bound together by initiation and shared understanding. This kula is not merely social; it is a living current of transmission in which the same Śiva–Śakti reality circulates through relationships, teachings, and ritual practice. To belong to such a kula is to participate in a sacred continuum that mirrors the cosmic and bodily dimensions of kula itself. In this way, kula comes to signify both the path and the goal: the integrative way of life and practice through which the practitioner recognizes that cosmos, body, and community are all expressions of one all-inclusive, non-dual divine family.