Purusha and Pakriti

Patanjali Yoga Sutras Chapter 2 Verse 18

प्रकाशणिमाणस्थणतशीर बतणिमात्मक बोगाऩवगाथ दृश्मभ ॥ १८॥

prakashakriyasthitishilan bhootendriyatmakan bhogapavargarthan drishyam

The experienced is composed of elements and organs, is of the nature of illumination, action and intertia, and is for the purpose of experience and release (of the experiencer).

The experienced, that is nature, is composed of elements and organs—the elements gross and fine which compose the whole of nature, and the organs of the senses, mind, etc., and is of the nature of illumination, action, and intertia. These are what in Sanskrit are called Sattva (illumination), Rajas (action), and Tamas (darkness); each is for the purpose of experience and relase. What is the purpose of the whole of nature? That the Purusa may gain experience. The Purusa has, as it were, forgotten its mighty, godly, nature.

There is a story that the king of the gods, Indra, once became a pig, wallowing in mire; he had a she pig, and a lot of baby pigs, and was very happy. Then some other angels saw his plight, and came to him, and told him, “You are the king of the gods, you have all the gods command. Why are you here?” But Indra said, “Let me be; I am all right here; I do not care for the heavens, while I have this sow and these little pigs.” The poor gods were at their wits’ end what to do. After a time they decided to slowly come and slay one of the little pigs, and then another, until they had slain all the pigs, and the sow too. When all were dead Indra began to weep and mourn. Then the gods ripped his pig body open and he came out of it, and began to laugh when he realised what a hideous dream he had had; he, the king of the gods, to have become a pig, and to think that the pig-life was the only life! Not only so, but to have wanted the whole universe to come into the pig life!

The Purusa, when it identifies itself with nature, forgets that it is pure and infinite. The Purusa does not live; it is life itself. It does not exist; it is existence itself. The Soul does not know; it is knowledge itself. It is an entire mistake to say that the Soul lives, or knows, or loves. Love and existence are not the qualities of the Purusa, but its essence. When they get reflected upon something you may call them the qualities of that something. But they are not the qualities of the Purusa, but the essence of this great Atman, this Infinite Being, without birth or death, Who is established in His own glory, but appears as if become degenerate until if you approach to tell Him, “You are not a pig,” he begins to squeal and bite. Thus with us all in this Maya, this dream world, where it is all misery, weeping, and crying, where a few golden balls are rolled, and the world scrambles after them. You were never bound by laws, Nature never had a bond for you. That is what the Yogi tells you; have patience to learn it. And the Yogi shows how, by junction with this nature, and identifying itself with the mind and the world, the Purusa thinks itself miserable. Then the Yogi goes on to show that the way out is through experience. You have to get all this experience, but finish it quickly. We have placed ourselves in this net, and will have to get out. We have got ourselves caught in the trap, and we will have to work out our freedom. So get this experience of husbands and wives, and friends, and little loves, and you will get through them safely if you never forget what you really are. Never forget this is only a momentary state, and that we have to pass through it. Experience is the one great teacher—experiences of pleasure and pain—but know they are only experiences, and will all lead, step by step, to that state when all these things will become small, and the Purusa will be so great that this whole universe will be as a drop in the ocean, and will fall off by its own nothingness. We have to go through these experiences, but let us never forget the Ideal.

Taken from Swami Vivikenanda Patanjali Yoga Sutras

Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Guruji explains how the seer is clothed in five sheaths (koshas), by elements of nature; earth, water, fire air and ether. Earth represents the anatomical, water the physiological, fire the mental, air the intellectual and ether the spiritual sheaths. The organs of action and sense of perception aid the sadhaka in purifying the anatomical and physiological sheaths through yamas and niyamas. Asanas, pranayama and pratyahara divest the seer of the mental sheath, dharana and dhyana cleanse the intellectual shealth. Samadhi brings the seer out through the prison-gates of all the sheaths to experience freedom and beautitude.

Taken from Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

As the moon reflected on water appears to the seer to tremble due to being associated with the quality of the water, so the self associated with matter appears to be qualified as matter