Purusha and Prakriti

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

In the Absolute Reality, there is no "other", nor is there any doubt or any alternatives. Then, arises the original aspiration that is called the "Original Illusion", Moolamaya. From this, there appears the Bliss that is the form of the triple aspect of Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss (SatChitAnanda). Then that "One" sees oneself, eats oneself, drinks oneself, and starts wishing to get Self-Bliss, and then begins getting it, according to imagination. All of the four "streams" of beings, are created by imagination. The three gunas, the three worlds, and the five elements are all created by Him. He was many, but He thought himself to be One, and knew that only. In the original pristine "Pure Age", He was alone. Like in dreams, one sees the appearance of many, but one is always only alone.

That which is not moving is Sky or Space (Akash), and that which started moving is Wind (Air). Next, after the Wind comes Fire (Light), then Water, and then the Earth. Wind is that which moves. The "Formless Spirit" is called Purusha, and when it moves, it is called Wind. The five elements are called Prakriti (Manifestation). Purusha is alone, as He is. Prakriti however, is a mixed affair. That is called Harimaya, or the power of Hari, or "God as Illusion". Only He is Self-knowing. One who does not know Illusion, or Maya, is the "Essence of Consciousness", and "Life" is His attribute. All others are dead. The five elements, are primordial. All other is later manifestation. In every element is the self same "I". That same spirit is in the cosmos. It is called "Shiva". When that enters the body, He becomes "Jiva". What we see in sleep is called dream. The dream of God is called the world. Our waking consciousness is the dream of Shiva. In the same way that with knowledge, one knows that the dream is his own thought, when one gains Self-Knowledge, his life becomes an Illusion. That is Maya. While speaking, a man talks because of the power of the Self, but the mistake is made when he thinks himself to be only the body, and it is he who is talking.

When Brahman becomes articulate, the sound OM becomes manifest. A + U +M are its vowels. God here has become a prisoner, He has come down from his original state. The jiva is himself Shiva, but the allurement of Maya is there. Although you are Shiva, she makes you conceive yourself as a body. That is her power. She increases the forgetfulness of the Self and the longing after sensual pleasures. The thinking about sense objects is called mind.  The cleverness of ego is called intellect. The same sense of "I", when it thinks that it is the Self, becomes Brahman. The facets of the subtle body (mind, intellect, thinking and ego) all become one with the singular sound of OM.  The ten-fold qualities of the ten sense organs are really lifeless. It is only because of God, Narayana, is in all of thse that they are able to function. This means that Narayana is the "Only one who knows". The sense organs are gross. He conducts all of their activities.