Decoding Purusha and Prakriti
The Purusha is always regarded as male and Prakriti as female. And, both these form a divine union in most cases in nature. Now, before you come to any other conclusion it will be best to understand that all the inter-relationships have been derived from life’s original lessons. You must be wondering, who gave the identity of male to Purusha and who gave the identity of female to Prakriti. Before, you actually understand that, you need to explore Tantra a bit. In some Hindu practices, like Tantra, the union of both these powers is said to bring in a lot of knowledge.
To make matters easy, Prakriti is the natural condition or state. You can observe all the qualities of Prakriti, but the same cannot be said about Purusha. Prakriti comprises space, time, as well as karma. It is the core of all qualities, that you can observe around you, but does not have any quality in itself. Prakriti is nature whereas, Purusha is the all-encompassing spirit. Some theories also regard Prakriti as unconsciousness and Purusha as consciousness.
Purusha and Prakriti in Kundalini Yoga
You will come across both these in the realm of Kundalini Yoga, or the awakening that takes place in it. There are seven main chakras in the astral body. The dormant or sleeping Shakti in the form of a snake lies coiled in the Muladhara chakra. On initiation or Shakti path, the snake or the shakti, whatever you choose to call it rises upwards, while clearing the chakras. The Shakti is the one that rises and ultimately unites with the Purusha, or consciousness in the crown area. After both unite, you can become one with the universal consciousness. This shows that both are dependent on each other. The Shakti or the Prakriti and the Purusha are incomplete without one another.
You will find its mention in Chinese philosophy or Daoism as well. Both the forces are known as Yin and Yang forces, in the realm of the same. Yin is considered female and submissive, while Yang is considered male and dominant. Both these again represent the duality of nature.
Tattvas And Their Importance
If you delve into the Vedas, you will come across four major vakyas, or mahavakyas. They are Pranjanam Brahma, Tatvam Asi, Ayam Atman Brahma, and Aham Brahmashmi. These state that everything is happening in unison. There is not much difference between the tasks that different individuals are performing. Moreover, human beings and the universe seem to be doing tasks almost together. The Tattvas and law of nature must be responsible for the same. According to Shaivism, the universe was created in the first place, due to the dualistic nature of things. So, everything that you see or encounter around you, is a result of these two dual identities. There is only one thing that can bring about a balanced unification of these two forces, it is the Karma. If you follow your duty, then everything will be balanced and if not, the opposite is bound to happen.
You will also find the connotations of Purusha and Prakriti, in the Bhagavad Gita. In chapter 13, Lord Krishna, answers Arjuna’s question about the two forces. Lord Krishna says, that Prakriti is the initiator of all the actions. It can cause changes very well. However, it is the Purusha that endures all the after-effects. The Purusha also ensures the results of the interaction of the gunas.
Where Are Both Present and In What Form?
The Purusha and Prakriti are present in everything from the universal sunny skies and heaven to the doldrums of hell. In humans, Purusha represents the soul or the ego, while Prakriti represents the mind and body. Together they showcase themselves in the mortal world as the living being. The soul is very pure in this representation. The mortal body in its natural state is impure and is bound to birth and death. Thus arise the duality of light and darkness, good and bad, knowledge and ignorance, purity and impurity, and all other opposites that exist.
As explained above, Tattvas are important in this regard. They are listed below, so that you can unearth all the secrets connected to them.
- Five base elements or Mahabhutas e.g., fire, water, earth, air, and sky or spirit.
- Five physical organs of the body e.g., brain, heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys.
- Five sense organs of the body e.g., eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin.
- Five mind senses like seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.
- Manas which is the mind.
- The ego or the individuality.
- Buddhi or the thinking mind.
- The Self which is known by various names like the Brahman, God, Atman, Lord, or the Supreme Self.
The tattvas are said to be feelingless if left alone. Only when they bind to an earthly body, can they give rise to some form of quality. Thus, they once again re-unite with the consciousness and state of being, to take form.
