Life Divine Chapter I & II (Dec 1996) - Track 206

Now according to Sankhya Purushas are many, Prakriti is one; Purushas are conscious, Prakriti is unconscious. Purushas are inactive; Prakriti is active, so these three are contrasting characteristics. Purushas are many Prakriti is one. Purushas are conscious, Prakriti is unconscious. Purushas are inactive; Prakriti is active. Now this is the original state. Now if these two are entirely different from each other how can there be connection between the two at all? Purushas are original, self-existent. So according to Sankhya Purushas are entirely each one of them independent and self-existent, Prakriti is self-existent and both of them are totally opposite of each other in their characters as I said Purushas many Prakriti is one, Purushas are conscious Prakriti is unconscious, inactive and active, therefore the connection between the two becomes impossible. Now if they are inactive then how is it that we find in a human being both these elements connected together? In every human body you find Purushas and you find these mahabhutas, you have got matter, earth in you by means of which you can smell, you have got the liquid element in you, the water and the blood and all the liquid elements by which you can taste; you have in your body the element of fire by means of which you can see, you have the element of touch because of the air that is in you and you have the capacity of hearing which is because of ether. Now all these five elements are in you and you have consciousness also therefore there must be Purusha in you because of the consciousness. So how is it that although consciousness Purusha and Prakriti are totally different from each other, how do they happen to be connected together in your body?

So now this is the question and Sankhya replies as follows: according to Sankhya Purusha and Prakriti seem to be staying together. Actually Purusha and Prakriti are totally different but somehow they have happened to come together, how have they come together? Purusha glances at Prakriti. Purusha which is quite different, Prakriti which is quite different, Purusha in the beginning came to glance at Prakriti, only glancing at Prakriti and when it glances at Prakriti, Prakriti which was completely in the seed form, unmanifest is disturbed and with this first disturbance, Prakriti begins to unfold but the triggering is taking place because of the glance of Purusha. Once the Prakriti begins to vibrate Purusha forgets itself that it is Purusha. A very interesting phenomenon takes place that Purusha forgets itself that it is Purusha that it is different from Prakriti and gets entangled with Prakriti. First it only glances at Prakriti and when Prakriti begins to manifest Purusha forgets itself and gets entangled into Prakriti. This entanglement takes the form of identification, it is not identical with Prakriti because it is different but identification takes place. Purusha  gets identified with Prakriti and what belongs to Prakriti it attributes to itself, forgetting that it is inactive and seeing that Prakriti is active it begins to believe that it is itself active and it identifies itself with Buddhi – intellect; it identifies itself with ahambhava – ego-sense, it identifies itself with manas – the mind sense, identifies itself with five senses of organs, five senses of action and of all the five elements of Prakriti; the ether, the air, the fire, the water and the earth. It forgets itself and identifies itself with these five. When it identifies itself with these five elements the Purusha begins to experience suffering. It begins to feel that it has got caught up, it begins to feel bound, it experiences bondage and then there is a movement to shake off from this bondage. So a human being that we see all around, all human beings are in a state of bondage, Purushas have forgotten that they are entirely inactive they are completely different from Prakriti, exactly hypnotism has taken place and this is how Sankhya explains our present state that all human beings are actually in a state of hypnosis, they have forgotten that they are pure selves, completely independent of Prakriti, inactive and conscious. They have now identified with Prakriti and they feel that they are active and that they are doing this, and that they are active and they are moving about they are having all kinds of manifestations of energy. So we all human beings having identified with these movements of energy are in a state of suffering because basically we are not this and we have begun to believe that we are this therefore there is a state of suffering and all human beings are in a state of suffering, in one way or the other. Because of the state of suffering there is a desire to be liberated; we want to come out of it, to come back to the real memory of ourselves.

Now how to do that so Sankhya says that there is a method. Since you have become identified you now do the  opposite, disentangle yourself, you discriminate, you have got a Buddhi, Buddhi  is a sense of discriminating so utilise your Buddhi and then by Buddhi you perceive that this is Prakriti, I am Purusha, constantly whatever seems to be moving, you withdraw from it. If your body is moving make your body quiet, if your senses are constantly vibrating you close your eyes and withdraw yourself within yourself. If ahambhava, ego-sense is constantly bubbling out, you assert this way, assert that way, − stop it. All vibrations that are there, you allow them to completely fall down into a state of complete quietude. So develop quietude in that state of quietude the intellect will clearly see that this is Prakriti and this is Purusha. The hypnotism will disappear Purusha will become completely quiet and regain its original position that is the state of liberation according to Sankhya.