Prakriti (Sanskrit: prakṛti) is primordial material nature, the root energy of the manifest world; the primary cause of all forms, objects, and phenomena in the universe.
The word is formed from the prefix pra, meaning “forward” or “primordially,” and the root kṛ, meaning “to do” or “to create.” Literally, it means “that which creates primordially,” or primal matter. In Samkhya texts, prakriti is contrasted with purusha—pure consciousness, spirit. Purusha and prakriti constitute the two fundamental principles of existence: spirit and energy, the observer and the observed.
The Three Gunas and the Mechanism of Creation
In its unmanifest state, prakriti exists as mula-prakriti—dark, unmanifest energy in which the three gunas are in perfect equilibrium. Sattva (clarity, knowledge), rajas (movement, activity), and tamas (inertia, concealment) are the three qualities of which all material reality is woven.
When the equilibrium is disturbed—sattva is the first to emerge from stillness, and then rajas sets everything in motion—the unfolding of the universe begins. From prakriti sequentially emerge mahat (cosmic intelligence), ahamkara (the principle of “I”), manas (mind), the five organs of perception, the five organs of action, the five subtle elements (tanmatras), and the five gross elements—a total of twenty-four tattvas.
Prakriti and the Path to Liberation
Prakriti does not exist apart from the three gunas; they merely change their proportions. In the ordinary state, a living being identifies with the manifestations of prakriti—with the body, mind, and emotions—and does not recognize itself as purusha. This identification is the root of avidya.
Through desires, prakriti “programs” our оболочка with a standard set of programs—much as a robot receives built-in algorithms. Liberation (moksha) occurs when consciousness distinguishes itself from prakriti and returns to its original nature.
“There is purusha, and there is prakriti. The Absolute is beyond purusha and prakriti. When division, a subtle movement, first begins within the Absolute, a division into purusha and prakriti takes place. From prakriti arise the three gunas, the five elements, and the twenty-four tattvas.”
Swami Vishnudevananda Giri, “Taming the Mind Through Contentment,” 2009
