Prakriti and I
Questioner: What is Prakriti ?
Acharya Prashant: Prakriti is the freedom of Brahm . Brahm , being absolutely free, is free even to express itself in a dualistic way. Brahm , being absolutely free, enjoys the freedom to even express himself in an unfree way. It's part of the freedom of Brahm .
Brahm is obviously non-dual. Prakriti is another name for duality. Prakriti carries two ends. At one end is the perceiver, and at the other end is the perceived environment or objects or the world or the universe, whatever you may call it. That's Prakriti . So, the knower of Prakriti is actually inside Prakriti . Brahm is not even a knower. Knowledge, in Prakritik terms, is dualistic because it requires an object to be known. Brahm , being non-dual, obviously can have no object to look at, perceive or know.
Within Prakriti , there continues an unending game of the seer and the seen; the experiencer and the experienced; the attracted one and the object of attraction; and the knower and the known. All this game is within Prakriti .
At one end of this game sits the ‘I’, and at the other end of this game sits all that which makes it possible for the ‘I’ to survive and exist and have a meaning. Without the other end, ‘I’ will have no identity, or at most, it will have a fractured and untenable identity.
The ‘I’ that exists at one end of Prakriti says, "I am," and no more. The other end provides a name and meaning to the "I am," the ego self. Why does the other end exist, then? And mind you, when we usually use the term Prakriti , we talk of the second end only. When you say Prakriti , you talk of the entire universe but not the perceiver of the entire universe.
You are looking at the mountain, the trees, the animals, the river. What do you call as Prakriti ? The animals are Prakriti ; the stream is Prakriti ; the clouds are Prakriti ; the hills are Prakriti . But generally, you will not say that “Along with all these, I too am Prakriti ,” but you are Prakriti .
The seer, the perceiver, is very much within Prakriti . So, why do all these perceived objects appear at all to the perceiver? What is happening within Prakriti ? There is ‘I,’ and there are things, the world, the universe.
Why does the Prakritik world exist in this ‘I’? The Prakriti world exists in this ‘I’ for the sake of its enjoyment and liberation. And these are not two different things, really. If you can understand this, you will know the purpose of life, and you will know how to live. You will know how to relate to everything around you, including your body, your mind, your thoughts, and your own self.
All this exists, not so that you get entangled with it. All this exists for the sake of your enjoyment and liberation. Remember, this is not the enjoyment of the pleasure kind. I am using the word "enjoyment" in a very precise sense.
When I say "enjoyment," I mean the capacity to bring you joy. How else will this little fractured ego-self come to joy? Because it is not in joy at all. It is shivering; it is suffering. Do you see it squirming as you do every day? What else will bring you joy? This universe should bring you joy that liberates you from the universe. So, I said enjoyment and liberation. This universe should bring you joy that liberates you from the universe.
But that can happen only if this ego-self applies that which the verse talks of — "intellect." The purpose of intellect is not the enhancement of the ego-self. The purpose of intellect is to wisely find out what is it that will bring to you the kind of joy that leads to liberation. That's why the ego-self is intellectual. Given that you have a consciousness that suffers, you also have an intellect that can be used as a tool to be redeemed from suffering. Prakriti carries both. You cannot complain.
You have been given both — an adverse condition in which you are locked up in some kind of confounding prison, and equally, you have been gifted a key to unlock the doors, or a map to find your way out of the prison. And that is called intellect, that is called discretion, the key, the map. Still, you must have the intention to break free from the prison. If that intention is not there, then the key and the map will remain either unused or misused. Is that not the condition of the bulk of mankind? The intellect is either unused, people don't apply their brains, or it is misused. Very, very sharp minds dedicated towards just the wrong values, the wrong spaces, the wrong objectives.
So, that's the model that the Upanishad is presenting to us. There is this variegated universe consisting of all kinds of things, mind-numbing diversity, and a formidable challenge. Here you are seeking redemption. You are not feeling alright. You want some treatment. You want to go out. But you have been put in a very difficult place. That's half the story. The other half is, that you have been gifted "intellect." That's the Prakriti story for you — ‘objects’ and ‘intellect.’ Things and things and things, people and people and people, options and options and choices and choices.
You could do this, you could do that; you could go that way, you could go that way, you could drop this, you could pick that. That's Prakriti for you. And how do you make these choices? You have intellect. That's Prakriti .
So, it's almost as if Brahm is playing a game with himself. Brahm is saying, “Let me create obstacles for myself. You see, I have nobody else to play with; I am alone; I alone am. So, I create obstacles for myself. And then, I give myself a few tools to overcome those obstacles. Now, let me see whether I can overcome the obstacles I raised.”
Like chess players playing against themselves, they often do. Like tennis players practicing against a wall and keeping the score as well. You can do that, can't you?
You can have, as a cricketer, a bowling machine throw the balls at you. You are the one who sets the program, you tell the machine the pace to bowl at, you are the one who determines the pitch and you are the one who is setting everything. And yet, you might be the one who gets a nasty one on the chin. How did this happen to you? Did somebody else do it to you? No. That's our situation. You are the one who is carrying the bat as well. You are the one who must apply his attention as well.
If you are the one who set the machine to bowl at 140 kmph, you must be the one to be very, very attentive against that little red missile coming at you. Otherwise, you get it right on the cheek or the chin, and you have no God to blame, please.
Brahm is playing a game against himself. That's our situation. Who wins and who loses? Nobody can lose. There is only one. If he loses, he wins. He is playing against himself. Sometimes, it's a part of his freedom to let one part win. Sometimes, it's a part of his freedom to let the other part win.
Parā-Prakriti can win a few times. Aparā-Prakriti can win a few times. What is Parā-Prakriti ? — The ego self. What is Aparā-Prakriti ? — All these objects: the bowling machine, the ball, the bat. The batsman is Parā-Prakriti . The bowling machine is Aparā-Prakriti . Both are expressions of Brahm’s innate freedom.
If you hit the ball for a six, who wins? Brahm wins. If you get bowled out middle stump uprooted, who wins? Brahm wins. Brahm balls, Brahm bats. There is nobody else. Who are you? It depends on your freedom, what you decide. You are nobody. You are absolutely everybody. Your call. You can decide to be the worst loser. No problem. And you can decide to be instantaneously liberated. That will happen. There is no compulsion. There is no bondage. There is only you and you.
It's all happening as per your will. You are playing against yourself, and you are the one keeping the score. How can you lose? How can you even win? Therefore, spirituality keeps on telling you both these things.
When you get a little too boasted, inflated, and stiff, then to your boastful self, spirituality says, “Come on. Bow down, be humble, prostrate, and surrender your ego.” Have you not heard that? The fact is that you cannot win. Why do you pretend to be a winner? But you are strutting around like that conceited chicken. Have you seen those chicks? In such vanity, they walk. Especially if they have grown a little adult, the crown and all, you know.
That's how the normal human being walks about. Especially after an event of some worldly success. Then spirituality teaches humility and surrender. Please surrender. Equally, spirituality says, "You are that." You are nothing less than the absolute Truth. How can you be smaller than anything or anybody when you are immeasurable? Now how do you put these two things together?
Sometimes they are telling you there is nobody smaller than you. Lie down. Just lie down and keep lying. Disappear, dissolve. You are such a fool. That is being said to you when you are all puffed up because you cannot win this game. Remember, you are playing against yourself. How come you are pretending that you are a winner? If you pretend that you are a winner, then you have not understood the game. Equally, you cannot lose the game because you are playing against yourself.
So, when you pretend to be a loser, then again, spirituality chastens you. What are you doing? How come you are looking so sullen? How come you are so disappointed and depressed? How come defeat is marked on your face? This can't happen to you. Don't be mistaken. When spirituality tells you, you can't be defeated, don't take it to mean that you are a winner. And when spirituality tells you that you cannot be a winner, don't take it to mean that you must act as a loser.
What is being told to you is that your true reality is beyond victory and defeat. You can neither win nor lose. There is only you. There is nobody else to be beaten or to be beaten by.
Do you see what Prakriti is? Do you see where you stand in Prakriti ? You stand at the center of all this. See that. See that right now. All this exists, actually, so that you can play with it in a wise way and ultimately call it a day and be liberated from the play. Do you see this? None of it exists to harass or exploit you. Equally, none of this exists to inflate you or build you up. It's a game. It exists for the sake of your enjoyment. It's another matter that most of us suffer unspeakably in this game. Why? Because we do not apply our intellect.
Mind you, intellect is lame without intention. You may have a great intellect, but if the intention to use the key and map is not there, then you will never be liberated. So, who deserves to be really called an intellectual? — The one who uses his intellect for the sole purpose of liberation. He is the only one deserving to be named an intellectual. Otherwise, everybody has intellect. If you are using your intellect for a purpose, any purpose other than liberation, then you are not intellectual.
So, most of these people who walk about carrying the tag of intellectuals are actually not intellectual at all. Because they use their intellect mostly just to enhance their ego, not to be liberated of their current state. And that is not an intellectual motive at all. It does not behoove an intellectual to use his intellect to enhance his ego, dominate others, prove a point, further an ideology, brandish his credentials, or attain worldly accomplishments. None of this is intellectual.
Do you realize where you have come from? Who is a real intellectual, then? The authors of these verses are the real intellectuals. The saints are intellectuals, not most of the professors in these universities; no, they are not.
If the rider knows where he must go, then the intellect is like a galloping horse obeying the commands of the rider. Double pleasure. First of all, the horse is great, tall, muscular, speedy, and swift as the wind. And to top it off, it obeys you to perfection. You don't even have to whip it. Just indicate, and it will move accordingly. If you know where you want to go, then intellect is like this horse. Else, intellect is like a stubborn ass. First of all, it's an ass. Secondly, it's stubborn. It won't move easily. And even if it moves, it will move like an ass.
Think of the speed. Think of the great rhythmic movement. And you can't blame the animal. You determine the animal. If the intention is right, the intellect is a horse. If the intention is not right, the intellect is an ass.
So, what are you here for? We are not here to suffer. Equally, we are not here to have pleasure. We are here neither to suffer nor to have pleasure. Neither suffering nor happiness is the objective. None of these is the reason why we are here. We are here to play the game wisely, which is enjoyment. And if we play the game wisely, the reward is liberation. That's the purpose of human life.
