Purusha and Prakriti

Understanding ourselves and life can be quite complex, and this journey has the potential to bind us with attachments or liberate us.

Stuff everywhere. My closets are filled with clothes, shoes, books, and yoga leggings!  I’m making it sound like hoarding, far from it, more of a minimalist by nature, but still  I have plenty of furniture, a car, home… you get the idea.  If we are blessed enough to be somewhat affluent, we might consider this “stuff” ours, rather than useful tools to use and share.  I  vacillate between knowing I’m a steward, and wanting it for myself. This relationship with stuff starts early. By the time we are two years old, we start to grasp the idea that we can own something. I hear my grand-babies  saying “mine” quite often.  We aren’t just attached to physical stuff, we can also be attached to our titles, our degrees, relationships, ways of thinking and feeling, food, substances and outcomes. We begin to associate who we are with these “things”, making them part of our identity. Very often we use things in our environment as external containers for our memories, relationships, and travels. We may feel the need to purchase specific brands signaling to others our membership in certain social groups, proving to ourselves and others that we belong. These possessions act as a crutch for the self.  Just how much we view these external things as an extension of ourselves depends to some degree on how confident we feel about who we are. It’s hard not to get caught up in it all.

What if you could really see through this illusion, Discover why you are here. Not a collector of stuff or a master of self improvement, but a student of self realization. This is Yoga, the path to self realization. Yoga is not a process of adding more to make yourself whole, but a subtracting process. A taking away of the things that keep you from knowing your true Self.   I think the Apostle Paul understood this concept and shared it with the saints in Corinth.  “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” Coming to know yourself as you are known by God requires “seeing”.   This “seeing” could be visual,  perceived mentally, or discerned spiritually.  This “seeing” is critical to your self realization.  Understanding that you are pure intelligence that can neither be created nor destroyed, only organized, gives us a tiny glimpse into who we really are.
This journey here on earth with its dualistic nature can be hard to understand and navigate. The Eastern Philosophy is so different from My Western culture, but it resonates with me. This ancient Indian philosophy sums up our reality into two parts.

Purusha: Knower(consciousness/spirit)

Prakriti: The Known (matter/nature)

Purusha is a complex concept whose meaning evolved as early as 1550 B.C.-300 B.C. Depending on the source and the timeline it could have different meanings. During the Vedic era 1550-1200 B.C. Purusha referred to a cosmic man who was sacrificed by the gods to create all life. Later the concept of Purusha referred to the Cosmic Self or Cosmic Consciousness. Purusha is defined as a masculine force, it also refers to spirit, as well as universal Spirit that is in and through all things.  Yoga philosophy teaches that the realization of Purusha is a part of the path to spiritual liberation(moksha).
Prakriti on the other hand is defined as feminine primal creative energy.  Classical yoga philosophy describes the universe as a combination of these two forces.  Prakriti is what we can perceive, the world around us with all its beauty in shape and form.  Our physical bodies with all their parts and passions.  Our physical nature, ever changing.  The opposite force Purusha, is unchanging and governed by natural law.  Purusha is also referred to as the true Self.  Our bodies are our outer instruments which allow us to have experiences while on our journey here. Our mind is our inner instrument that allows us to have memory and expression, but it is more of a computer or processor.  It is Purusha/Spirit that animates us, it is eternal and indestructible.  Your “Real Self” has the power to guide and operate these divinely given instruments as a means towards self realization.  These two aspects of every person are in contrast as the the clock and the clock maker.

Anodea Judith explains it this way, “The most basic polarity is between prakriti and purusha, or matter and consciousness. The integration of these polarities is a path to wholeness and one of the goals of yoga.“

As I started to practice yoga, I began to notice this integration taking place.  It was different than just exercising.  It was unique, in that movement of my body was connected to the fluctuations of my mind and the rhythm of my breath.  This connection of mind, body and breath turned my attention inward. This inward attention gave me an awareness I had never experienced before.  I began  to accept and love my body as a tool, to experience my innermost self.  Not the Self that is “I”, which is limited to sensing, feeling, thinking and doing, but the Self that is abiding and expanding.  The one I get glimpses of when I have true compassion, provide selfless service, show unconditional love, and am able to find peace and calm in spite of my circumstances and surroundings. This expansive Self understands  I am connected to God and that I have a  divine spark that dwells within me.

This Self is ever present and unchanging. The one I cannot run away from.

There were so many times in my life that I tried to run,  but it only led me to this profound reality.  Hence my self mantra, “Where ever I go, there I am!”