Pranam Prakriti. (Naturally the nature)
Hinduism recognizes two eternal principles, which are mentioned in the Vedas, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Sutras and several other Hindu scriptures. They are Purusha and Prakriti. They are also known as Brahman and Brahmi, Isvara and Isvari, Father God and Mother Goddess, Siva and Parvathi, Narayana and Narayani. The Gita declares that seated in Prakriti, Purusha manifests the worlds and beings. Hence the nature is part of the Purusha and therefore “part of us”. We are the nature and creates and destroys the nature as the Purusha does in Pralaya and Srishti. Hence destruction is not a cause to worry; every day naturally hair falls without our knowledge; what goes out comes back; in short, the mature grows by itself; nature knows to shed and be shed by the humans and knows to protect by itself. We only tend to protect an acting, but the nature is a gift to the species to progress for life and food. In Hinduism you will find different interpretations to their relationship. Some schools of Hinduism consider Prakriti a dependent and eternal aspect of Purusha, which manifests during creation and which is withdrawn at the time of dissolution. Other schools hold that Prakriti is an independent eternal reality, which exists alongside Brahman and participates in creation according to Her own will. There are also many subtle variations in between these two divergent opinions. Prakriti is translated loosely in English as Nature or the natural world, but it does not adequately represent the true meaning of Prakriti. From the study of Hindu scriptures we cab deduce the following eight conclusions regarding Prakriti. 1. Prakriti is the set of eternal, indestructible, and indivisible realities that produce modifications. 2. Maya is the modification of Prakriti. It represents the natural world we experience. 3. Tattvas are the set of eternal and original realities which constitute Prakriti. 4. Asambhuti is the original unmanifested Prakriti in which all are latent. 5. Sambhuti is the manifested Prakriti. It is another name for Maya. It is both a modification and an illusion. It is the Isvari or the Shakti in action. 6. Gunas are the three processes that impart motion and action to Prakriti's modifications. 7. Nature in the English sense of the word represents the modifications of Prakriti, but not Prakriti itself. It is the same as Sambhuti or Maya. 8. Asambhuti or Mula Prakriti is the second eternal principle of existence, next to Unmanifested Brahman in which everything remains in a state of latency. Prakriti literally means the natural condition or state of anything, or the most original or primordial state of anything that is found in the entire creation. Pra means in the beginning, at the commencement, and kriti means creation, work, composition. *Thus Prakriti literally means original and natural*. It denotes the state of conditions at the beginning of creation, or the natural state of existence as it was at the beginning of creation. The opposite of Prakriti is vikriti, meaning anything that has been modified, altered from its Natural Prakritic state. Prakriti signifies the original and the eternal, while Vikriti represents its reflection or modification.(Lalitha sahasranamam). Thus, in Hinduism only those that existed at the beginning of creation are natural or Prakritic. The rest are the modifications of whatever that existed naturally at that time. From this perspective, the natural world is not Prakriti but only a manifestation of it. The world emerges from Prakriti as a modification, transformation, or projection. Hence, it is a natural world only in a derivative sense, not in the original sense. For example, a tree is not a natural or original object in the true sense of Prakriti, because it did not exist at the beginning of creation. {so keep going in relishing what is left out as what your father saw got modified and being worried to save whereas your grandson may not see what you had seen. Nature yields to survive} What existed originally was the idea or the design of the tree as latent in Prakriti. You never get to see it. The tree that you perceive through your senses manifests as the effect of a cause, the seed. The seed is also not original or natural, since it is arising as a modification of pollen and egg. The pollen and egg are also not original or natural. They are the modifications of the cells from which they originated. A bent and broken and a lone tree is as beautiful as a cluster in your garden. Thus neither the tree, nor the seeds, nor the pollen, nor the eggs represent the original natural state of Prakriti. They are its modifications, projections, or manifestations. The same applies to a human being, who is a modification of the egg and semen, which are in turn modifications of the energy present in the parent bodies. Everything in creation is a modification of something else. The world is full of these modifications, which together create the illusion of existence just as the light does. Since the world is full of modifications and all the objects in it are produced by modifications and in themselves are subjects to modifications, the world is called unreal (asat) or an illusion (Maya). Hinduism says that world in which we exist is neither eternal nor original nor natural. It is a projection, modification or manifestation of Purusha and Prakriti. Hence, in reality it is a formation distorted further by our perceptions (vikriti). What we consider in English as the natural world is not natural or original in the true sense of the word Prakriti, but only a modification of what originally existed in the beginning. Creation can be compared to the light that radiates from the sun. You may say it is the sun, and you can also say it is not the sun. *The light is an illusion because it is created by your perception and exists only in your mind as a perception*. It is not natural or original in the sense that it appears and disappears intermittently. The light of the sun therefore is an illusion, a transformation, or a modification that is projected by the sun. The same applies to inanimate objects also. The rivers and mountains did not exist originally. They came into existence from Prakriti as modifications. A mountain is a modification of the earth. A rock is a modification of minerals and clay. None of them fit into the definition of Prakriti because they are derivatives created through the three processes, namely modification, projection and manifestation. Therefore in Hinduism the world is natural only in a limited sense. It is a product of Prakriti, but not Prakriti, just as the light is not the same as the Sun. An illusion means something that appears as one but in reality is something else. It is what your mind misinterprets or misunderstands. According to Hinduism, the objects you find in the world are all illusions because they are not what they seem to be. They are modifications of some eternal realities that are hidden and never perceptible to the ordinary mind. B G नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः। उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः।।2.16।।Since the unreal has no being, etc., for this reason also it is proper to bear cold, heat, etc. without becoming sorrowful or deluded. Asatah, of the unreal, of cold, heat, etc. together with their causes; na vidyate, there is no; bhavah, being, existence, reality; because heat, cold, etc. together with their causes are not substantially real when tested by means of proof. For they are changeful, and whatever is changeful is inconstant. As configurations like pot etc. are unreal since they are not perceived to be different from earth when tested by the eyes, so also are all changeful things unreal because they are not perceived to be different from their (material) causes, and also because they are not perceived before (their) origination and after destruction. Objection: If it be that [Here Ast. has the additional words karyasya ghatadeh, the effect, viz pot etc. (and).-Tr.] such (material) causes as earth etc. as also their causes are unreal since they are not perceived differently from their causes, in that case, may it not be urged that owing to the nonexistence of those (causes) there will arise the contingency of everything becoming unreal [An entity cannot be said to be unreal merely because it is non-different from its cause. Were it to be asserted as being unreal, then the cause also should be unreal, because there is no entity which is not subject to the law of cuase and effect.]? Vedantin: No, for in all cases there is the experience of two awarenesses, viz the awareness of reality, and the awareness of unreality. [In all cases of perception two awarenesses are involved: one is invariable, and the other is variable. Since the variable is imagined on the invariable, therefore it is proved that there is something which is the substratum of all imagination, and which is neither a cause nor an effect.] That in relation to which the awareness does not change is real; that in relation to which it changes is unreal. Thus, since the distinction between the real and the unreal is dependent on awareness, therefore in all cases It is like you are watching a play and take the actors in it for real. People cannot see the real person behind the actor because the action is so good. In Hinduism reality (sat) is permanent and always hidden behind the diversity. It is not easily discernible. To see that you must remove the layer of ignorance with which your intelligence is covered. Since plants, animals, humans, and other objects all are not what they appear to be, but modifications of the eternal reality that is hidden, the diversity they represent is called an illusion. It is an illusion, not because it does not exist but because it is not what it appears to be. Therefore, the expression, the world is filled with Maya, means it is filled with objects that are not what they appear to be. This is the true meaning of Maya, not that the world is unreal like a hallucination. It is compared to a dream because dreams are modifications of the mind. Dreams are thoughts and desires in disguise. The world is Maya in this sense only. *The Real and Original Nature: *The question that arises is if the world is an illusion and not what it appears to be, then what is that which appears as an illusion? Who is that person inside that actor who is acting so well that you are deluded into believing that he is real? Our ancient seers contemplated upon this riddle for a long time and finally produced answers. They did it by thinking backwards and reducing the objects, the modifications and the entire creation into their original state. They reduced trees, mountains, rivers, humans, animals, insects, birds and all other objects into their primordial states or causes and found out that existence was made up of only two eternal realities, Purusha and Prakriti. Both are indivisible, eternal and indestructible. However, while Brahman is immutable and remains unchanged eternally, Prakriti is mutable and undergoes modification to produce diversity. Another major difference is that while Purusha is one indivisible reality, Prakriti represents a set of eternal realities called the Tattvas. The third difference, cited by a few schools, is that while Brahman is an independent reality, Prakriti is a dependent reality. Hindu scriptures further identify two aspects of Prakriti, Sambhuti, the manifested, and Asambhuti, the unmanifested. Asambhuti is the original Prakriti made up of the realities or tattvas. You do not find it in our world in its original form. It is also called Primordial Prakriti or Mula Prakriti. In the Mula Prakriti everything is asleep. When it awakes at the beginning of creation, all the Tattvas become active in it, in addition to the gunas, and it becomes Sambhuti Prakriti. Maya is a projection of Sambhuti Prakriti. It also remains invisible and hidden in our world behind appearances like the bones inside a body, providing structure and form to the beings and objects. You will see only its effects or modifications through your senses as sense-objects. (Some scholars do consider the subtle part of Prakriti (mind, ego and intelligence) as Asambhuti and the gross part (the sense organs and bodily organs) as the Sambhuti.) The Tattvas are the multiple realities that represent Prakriti collectively in contrast to the Supreme Reality of Purusha, which is one and alone. They are indivisible and indestructible in themselves, but subject to modifications and act as the building blocks of creation. What arises from them as modifications is the entire creation, or Maya, the unreal, the modified, or the so called illusion. Scholars and philosophers in ancient India debated about the number of the realities that constituted Prakriti. The Jains believed that there were only nine tattvas. The Samkhyas held that they were 24 and the Saivas believed them to be 36. The following are the most well known tattvas. 1. Intelligence (Buddhi) 2. Mind (Manas) 3. Ego (Aham) 4. Five subtle senses (Tanmatras) 5. Five organs of perception (Jnanendriyas) 6. Five organs of action (Karmendriyas) 7. Five great elements (Mahabutas), namely earth, water, fire, air, and space. These 23 constitute the Sambhuti Prakriti. Of them 1,2, 3, and 4 constitute the subtle body (linga sarira) of a being, and the rest, the gross body. Some scholars add the individual Soul (Isvara tattva) and make it 24. These alone, along with the Self (Atman) and the Supreme Self (Brahman) are considered eternal or original realities. The rest are modifications arising from them. Delusion (moha) arises when these modifications are taken for real and mistaken as the eternal reality. The sources of this delusion are ignorance (avidya, egoism, attachments and desires, which result in bondage to Samsara ( the cycle of births and deaths). Apart from the Tattvas, Prakriti has three other eternal realities. They are not included with the tattvas because they act upon the Tattvas and cause the modifications. They are 1. Sattva: Represents light, pleasure, preservation, selflessness, divinity. 2. Rajas: Represents light and darkness, pride, creation, self-centeredness, humanity. 3. Tamas: Represents darkness, cruelty, destruction, selfishness, and sexuality. By their presence they induce the Tattvas to act in diverse ways and contribute to movement and actions. Thus, the gunas contribute to the movement or behavior in creation, while the tattvas contribute to the diversity. * Creativity and Artificial intelligence and evolution *In western thought there is a clear distinction between natural world and artificial world. For example, human intelligence is natural, while the intelligence we create through computing systems is artificial. In Hinduism the distinction is not so clear. In Hinduism everything that is produced by Prakriti and its derivatives are natural and constitute the illusory world. The human intelligence is a modification of the Tattva called Buddhi. It is purer in the humans to the extent the being is filled with sattva. Whatever that intelligence in a human being produces is also part of the same manifestation of Prakriti. Through their actions and inaction and propelled by desires human beings can modify different aspects of creation and thereby incur karma. Therefore, technically in Hinduism there is no difference between human intelligence and the intelligent forms we create with our ingenuity or creativity. The same applies to everything that we create either physically or mentally. They are the modifications we create with our knowledge and intelligence. You may even say, they are secondary modifications, or modifications of the modifications created by Prakriti. Both are derivatives in the ultimate sense from the realities of Prakriti, and as mere appearances contribute to the illusions we experience. It appears that Prakriti uses human intelligence also as her instrument to facilitate and promote the aims of creation and evolution. We cannot say that the so called artificial intelligence we create is not a modification of Prakriti or different from our intelligence, because she is its ultimate source and the material to create it also comes from her. Mostly likely the next level of intelligence will emerge out of our intelligence either biologically or mechanically or both and continue the work of Prakriti as the source for further diversity, illusion and activity. *Conclusion *Let us summarize below the concepts we have discussed thus far. *1. Purusha*: The Eternal Supreme Reality *2. Prakriti*: The original or latent state of creation. *3. Asambhuti*: The Unmanifested Primordial Prakriti. *4. Sambhuti Prakriti*: The manifested, original, eternal, indestructible, indivisible but mutable set of realities known as tattvas. *5. Maya*: A modification of the Sambhuti Prakriti that appears to the senses as real. *6. Tattvas*: The set of Realities that constitute the Sambhuti Prakriti. *7. Gunas*: The triple Realities that provide motion and dynamism to the Tattvas. *8. Vikriti*: The modified Prakriti. It is the perceptual world, we experience through our senses, which is distorted by our perceptions, desires and expectations. KR IRS 18122 On Tue, 18 Jan 2022 at 06:06, Markendeya Yeddanapudi < markandeya101...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > -- > *Mar*Love Yourself-the Ultimate Fundamental > > > > Demoralization is the situation, where one does not find any path or any > moral of life to carry on living. One then wants to run away from one’s own > body. In fact one wants to escape from self. One refuses to be aware. The > mind wills paralysis. For such people fault finding and derision is > communication, as it gives some relief from the tension which does not > leave. And they lose completely their sense of humor. Humor is the basic > attitude of happiness with and in life. > > Such people are shunned not only by the other humans, but ultimately by > the Biosphere itself. They become the bio-logic failures. Every immoralled > person, who becomes immoral, is a refugee from biology, the permanent > psycho-somatic diseased patient. For such people, life or space-time > generates depression, which begins searching for and then clutching anger, > to again get some motivation. And they begin destroying and destroying. > > On the other hand suppose one loves oneself. The self approval propels > towards positive interactions and positive relationships. > > Thick, free and lush nature, where every organism breathes and smells the > symbiotic happy messages, creates love for one’s own macro and also the > visible 3D body and one’s perception, which is felt as self, as one is > dominated by the visible spectrum. > > One must realize that free, thick and lush nature is the only remedy for > depression. Gradually one escapes from self contempt towards self respect, > because the rapture waves created by the trillions of self messages from > the trillions of organisms, engulfs one and one drowns in rapture, where > one swallows rapture only.Nature,free nature is the ocean of hope and > happiness. > > Every corrupt country, carrying on only in corruption, is a demoralized > country. In such a country one finds total destruction of nature—land, > water and air…, all bluffed as economic development. > > Development must mean the prosperity of nature. > > YM > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Thatha_Patty" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to thatha_patty+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHCJSte7H79oEhA6PoM%3D8rhDixV931SKXRavtcrkAZUujYQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHCJSte7H79oEhA6PoM%3D8rhDixV931SKXRavtcrkAZUujYQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thatha_patty+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZoq5cA5aP8SOm9rNi5PA_0N9ah%2BCYB1Zun8K%2B18ASVn92A%40mail.gmail.com.