Prakṛti: Difference between revisions

'''Prakriti''' ({{lang-langx|sa|प्रकृति}} {{IAST3|Prakṛti}}) is "the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Monier-Williams|first=Monier|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/704040338|title=A Sanskrit-English dictionary: with special reference to cognate Indo-European languages|date=1899|publisher=Oxford|location=Ocford, England|language=English|oclc=704040338}}</ref> It is a key concept in [[Hinduism]], formulated by its ''[[Samkhya|Sāṅkhya]]'' school, where it does not refer to matter or nature, but "includes all the cognitive, moral, psychological, emotional, sensorial and physical aspects of reality", stressing "''Prakṛti''<nowiki/>'s cognitive, mental, psychological and sensorial activities".<ref name=Lusthaus/> ''Prakriti'' has three different innate qualities (''guṇas''), whose equilibrium is the basis of all observed empirical reality as the five [[Pancha Bhuta|panchamahabhootas]] namely [[Akasha]], [[Vayu]], [[Agni]], [[Water (element)|Jala]], [[Earth element|Pruthvi]].<ref name=lochtefeldprakriti/><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/prakriti Prakriti: Indian philosophy], Encyclopædia Britannica</ref> ''Prakriti'', in this school, contrasts with ''[[Purusha|Puruṣa]]'', which is pure awareness and [[Metaphysics|metaphysical]] consciousness.<ref name=lochtefeldprakriti>James G. Lochtefeld (2001), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, Rosen Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0823931798}}, Pages 224, 265, 520</ref> The term is also found in the texts of other Indian religions such as [[Jainism]]<ref>{{cite book|author=J Jaini|title=Outlines Of Jainism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54A9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA32 |year=1940|publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=32–33|id=GGKEY:B0FNE81JRLY}}</ref> and [[Buddhism]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Williams|title=Buddhism: Yogācāra, the epistemological tradition and Tathāgatagarbha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eEpzDpRJBQ0C&pg=PA20 |year=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-33231-6|pages=20 }}</ref>

In Hinduism, the concept of ''Prakriti'' is thoroughly mentioned. According to Sanskrit scriptures, [[Brahma Vaivarta Purana]], [[Devi Mahatmya]] and [[Devi-Bhagavata Purana|Devi Bhagavata Purana]], five Hindu goddesses are considered as the complete feminine personification of ''Prakriti'' – [[Saraswati]], [[Lakshmi]], [[Parvati]]/Ganesh Janani Durga, [[Gayatri]] and [[Radha]]. Together these five goddesses are worshiped as ''Pancha Prakriti''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=John D. |date=1988 |title=Ludo Rocher: The Purā as. (A History of Indian Literature. Vol. ii, fasc. 3.) [vii], 282 pp. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1986. DM 120. |url=https://www.academia.edu/26399308 |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=355 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00114958 |s2cid=161845090 |issn=0041-977X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chaturvedi |first=B. K. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7SeDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT9 |title=Brahmavaivarta Purana |date=1900 |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-93-5296-763-6 |language=en |chapter=Prakriti Khanda}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalal |first=Roshen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&q=Radha |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-341421-6 |pages=312 |language=en}}</ref>

In [[Vishishtadvaita|Vishishtadvaita Vedanta]], ''Prakṛti'' is one of the six substances ''([[dravya]])''. The ''[[Guṇa|guṇasguṇa]]s'' (qualities) are the attributes of primordial Nature (''Prakṛti''), and not its constituents, unlike ''[[Samkhya|Sāṅkhya]]''.{{sfn|Grimes|1996|p=236}} These qualities are inseparable from ''Prakṛti'', but not identical with it and inextricably related to [[Ishvara]]. ''Prakṛti'' in Vishishtadvaita Vedanta is limited above by the eternal manifestation (''nityavibhuti'') whereas it's infinite in ''Sāṅkhya''.{{sfn|Grimes|1996|p=236-237}}

Prakriti is closely associated with the concept of ''[[Maya (religion)|Maya]]'' within Hindu texts.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rAorcEA7j4QC&dq=Prakriti++maia&pg=PA40|page=40|title=Preceptos de Perfección|date=1987 |publisher=Editorial Kier |isbn=9789501701463}}</ref>

In Samkhya, ''prakriti'', comprising the three ''gunas'', exists in equilibrium before the cosmos manifests, neutralizing each other's properties. Samkhya argues that the complex and purposeful nature of the world suggests that it exists for the sake of something else, particularly the conscious souls. This view suggests that ''prakriti'', though unconscious, serves to aid the liberation of the soul, similar to how milk nourishes a calf.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bartley |first=C. J. |title=An introduction to Indian philosophy |date=2011 |publisher=Continuum |isbn=978-1-84706-448-6 |location=London ; New York |pages=83–84}}</ref>

This is the inferior ''prakriti'', but you should also know about my higher ''prakriti'', which is distinct from it. This is the element of life, O mighty one, the ''jiva bhuta'', by means of which this world is held in place.|title=Bhagavad Gita|source=Chapter 7, verse 4-5{{sfn|Sutton|2016|p=114}}}}In Chapter 13 verses 19-2319–23, Krishna discusses the eternal nature of both ''prakriti'' and ''purusha,'' as well as their distinction.