Theos-Talk Archives (February 2001 Message tt00147)

Dear Ananda,

 

You ask about Purusha and Prakriti.  Generally speaking, one takes it to mean Spirit (purusha) and Matter (prakriti).

 

The meaning varies depending on the spiritual tradition in which you may find the words being used,  In the Sankya Philosophy, which one normally considers as olderthan Patanjali's Yoga System, the term Purusha stands for a plurality of spirits.  In other words, Kapila, the founder of that system, believed Purusha to be a collective aggregrate of endless numbers of individual spirits, spirit atoms.  Kapila did not believe in a personal God, or creator, as such.   Incidently, this is very similar to the view presented in Theosophy of the countless individual Monads that permeate allof space.

 

Purusha is said to be utterly pure and beyond the pleasures and pains of life.  It is transcendental Bliss and Knowledge.  However it becomes entangled withthe vicissitudes of life through its contact with PRAKRITI, matter.  The long term goal being to free itself of this entanglement and return again to its pristine state.  (This is the practice of Raj Yoga in Patanjali)

 

Prakriti is much more than the matter we know.  It is the one substance out of which the universe evolves.  At one end of the scale, Prakriti is a kind of spiritualised energy-substance; at the lower end of the scale it is materialised 'matter-energy'. 

 

The evolution and development of Prakriti and all its forms issaid to happen under the influence of Purusha.  In the same way the various types of consciousness are said to be derived from the different types and levels of interaction of Purusha and Prakriti.

 

According to Sanhkya philosophy, 24 principles of matter (Tattvas) are derived from Prakriti once it comes under the influence of Purusha.  These Tattvas include:

 

Buddhi - Discrimitive Concsiousness

Ahamkara -  self-consciousness

Manas - reflective consciousness, or mind.

The Tanmatras - the subtle elements from which are derived the gross elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth

The  Jnanadriyas - the subtle senses (eg seeing, hearing, smelling etc).

The Karmendriyas - the organs of action,  namely speech organs, hands etc.

 

Themain difference between Sankhya Philosophy and Patanjali, is that Patanjali calls Purusha the Supreme Spirit (Eshwara), and appears to treat it as if it werea single entity or Divine Being.  Hence many people, including Taimni, put forward the view that Purusha is a Personal God.  (This notion is rejected by Theosophy, Sankya Philosophy and Buddhism)

 

I believe the literal translation of Purusha means "man".  To many this represents the "Ideal man", hence in the Kabbalah this would be the Divine Adam Kadmon, the spiritual prototype of all humanity.  In the eastern system this "ideal man or self" is regarded as the Higher SELF, ATMAN.

 

In Theosophy, particularly in The Secret Doctrine,  Eshwara has yet another meaning,but I suspect the above is probably enough for now.

 

By the way,  I wonder, rather than think in terms of "not being there yet", maybe we can just think in terms of being on The Way.

 

Hope the above is useful,

 

...Peter

 

 

 -----Original Message-----
From: AnandaYoga@aol.com [mailto:AnandaYoga@aol.com]
Sent: 21 February 2001 20:55
To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Theos-World Purusha and prakriti

> Dear Sirs, 
>       I was wondering if any of you could 
> shed some light on the terms, 
> purusha and prakriti.  I am reading 
> Taimni's Science of Yoga and when I read 
> these terms I become confused. 
>  I look them up, meditate on them and still 
> become confused.  I 
> was hoping you might shed some illumination on these 
> terms.  Also, 
> just from an outsiders point of view, I have the same 
> experience whenI 
> read as Dallas described.  I already have had the 
> experience andthe 
> book verifys where I am or what I am doing and secondly if 
> I do not 
> understand it I am not "there" yet.   
> Ananda 
> Youruse 
> of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.