Prakriti

[Bruce Michael]

Hello Friends,
You may have heard of the Eastern term "prakriti". This term from the Sankyha philosophy, is often misunderstood. Sometimes it is translated as "matter" or "nature" which only leads to confusion.

The learned Hindu, T. Subba Row says:

"Prakriti may be looked upon.... as Maya when considered as the Upadhi (vehicle) of Parabrahman..."

"in truth, Prakriti and Purusha (Spirit) are but two aspects of the One Reality."

Dr. Steiner explains that the Sankyha philosophy is one of pluralism BTW, and further: that prakiriti is substance (matter has a materialistic meaning.)

"and as a primal flood streaming through the world, spatially and in time...souls take the elements of their outer existence."

Purusha clothes itself with prakriti- from the very finest to the densest.

"In prakriti - that is, in all forms from the coarse physical body up to the primal flood- dwells purusha, the spirit-soul elelment..."

So I'm thinking that in modern Christian Esoteric terms, this prakriti is "special spatial stuff".


The commentary by Swami Sivananda (Bhagavad Gita) actually refers to the womb-

"My womb is the great prakriti. The cosmos is evolved out of his Prakriti. Prakriti is called the great Brahman for she is the resting place of the five subtle elements......She is called the great Brahman, because through Her the whole manifestation takes place.

"All changes arise out of this great Prakriti. So He has got the name Mula Prakriti of original principle."

So the primal flood is feminine, Purusha or Spirit is masculine.
"The One reality is Mulaprakriti (undifferentiated substance) -the Rootlesss Root."

"Bereaved of Prakriti, Purusha is unable to manifest itself, hence ceases to exist - becomes nihil."

-The Mahatma Letters

Another term, "samadhi", is sometimes called "a state of ecstatic trance". This word is related to our word "same", according to Tomberg i.e. you would be then experiencing everything as a sameness.

-Br.Bruce