Purush and Prakriti

Description

Many a time, I have wondered about the real
meaning of the words Purusha and Prakriti. Are they
two separate entities or are they the same? My
inquisitiveness started bothering me and I embarked
on research to go deeper into the meaning of these
two words. What I discovered was so amazing that I
decided to share it with my readers. According to
Sankhya Philosophy, the universe was born from the
union of Prakriti and Purusha, Prakriti here refers to
the basic cosmic material that is the root of all
beings, and Purusha to the spirit or conscious
energy that governs life and reality. These two are as
separate as the clockmaker and the clock. The
cosmic entity Purusha exists beyond the realms of
time and space and combines with Prakriti to form this world of creation. Both these eternally
destructible realities join to form the matter we
perceive.
Prakriti evolves in response to Purusha and its
eternal elements change further leading to the
formation of Pancha Maha Bhutas or the five great
elements. The physical universe we are familiar with
comprises primarily of the Panch Maha Bhutas
namely, Akasha, Vayu, Agni, Jala, and Prithvi.