What is Prakriti?

What is Prakriti?

In This Article

Prakriti is the Principle of Creation

While Ayurveda is most commonly known as a system of bodily medicine, at its core, it is the science of prakriti, which means oneness with the unmanifest source, or original source of nature—the place between mortality and higher-consciousness.

According to the Caraka Samhita, Ayurveda’s original text, the Sanskrit word pra means “principle” and the word kriti means “creation.” To establish prakriti in one’s life, you must bridge the gap between the mortal body and the immortal soul.

The soul (or the unmanifest) is considered immortal and non-changing, while mortality (or the manifest) is constantly changing through cycles of life, degeneration, and death. Upon death, the physical body merges back with nature, and the soul, which is immortal, returns to its original source as impulses of creation, or consciousness.

To ensure a successful  journey through life, Ayurveda attempts to removes the obstacles that blind us from experiencing our true nature as conscious beings that live both as mortals and as souls. All Ayurvedic therapies are fundamentally directed at blocks that exist at the junction between the mortal and immortal, or manifest and unmanifest.

Any imbalance in the body, mind, or even in nature, comes from consciousness expressing itself as matter and then the matter forgetting its connection to consciousness. For example, this manifests in the body when cells, organs, and organ systems start to function in isolation without their natural connection to and coordination with the whole. In nature, this occurs when humans pollute the air, water, and land, affecting weather and climate patterns.

See also Ancient Ayurvedic Wisdom on Epidemics

How to Heal the Body and Soul, Ayurvedically

To heal the body and remove these obstacles, Ayurveda employs the power of attention targeted at the junction between consciousness and matter.

According to Ayurveda, enhanced self-awareness is directed not only at the body’s problem areas, it is more importantly directed at restoring prakriti at the most subtle roots of the imbalance. Applying self-awareness at the junction between manifest and unmanifest acts like a lamp in a doorway—the light shines into both rooms. Self-awareness at the gap between the field of consciousness and physiology enhances awareness of both fields.

Much of this happens on a subconscious level, as the nature of prakriti is to be whole and the body uses that innate wisdom to heal itself.

For example, when you cut your finger, your body involuntarily lays down a scab and the healing begins. During an immune event, T-cells become aware of invaders and trigger a boost in immunity.

In 2018, the Noble Prize was awarded to the researchers who discovered a protein that acts as an immune system brake. Once this brake is released, the immune system can recognize rogue cells that are functioning independently of the whole and restore balance. It is all about enhancing self-awareness at the most subtle level.

Once we put our attention on an obstacle to consciousness, the restoration of oneness is spontaneous. In the same way a light instantly fills a room, the memory, or smirti, of pure consciousness fills our physiology, restoring prakriti.

See also And the Nobel Prize Goes to… Ayurveda
heart graffiti on yellow wall
Photo by Nicola Fioravanti on Unsplash

Treatments for Bridging Body and Soul

In Ayurveda, there are several practical therapies for bringing awareness to the gap between mortality and the soul. Here are a few to get you started:

  1. Marma Points

Marma points are where nerves, arteries, veins, muscles, bones, veins, and consciousness all meet. Treating marma points with attention or touch can restore prakriti.

See also Do this Marma Point Scalp Massage with Newly Discovered Benefits

2. Cleansing

Ayurveda says that disease takes root during the change of seasons, which is called ritusandhi, or the junction between seasons. Seven days before and after each seasonal change is a critical time for the body, which is why Ayurveda suggests cleansing during these periods. This is why the equinox and solstices have been so sacred throughout history. They are special times of the year in which the bridge between the manifest and unmanifest is most easily crossed.

See also Supercharge Your Immunity During Ritusandhi—the Ayurvedic Junction Between Seasons

3. Aligning with Circadian Rhythms

Fundamental to Ayurveda is a lifestyle geared toward bringing the body back into rhythm with nature. Stress, toxicity, and unwholesome foods cause the body’s biological clocks to become disconnected from nature’s light and dark circadian and seasonal rhythms. Throughout history, the junctions between day and night were sacred and marked by rituals such as mealtimes, surya namaskara (Sun Salutations), breathing, meditation, agni hotra (fire ceremony).

4. Meditation

Meditation is a tool that trains the mind to transcend thought and bath itself in that place where field and physiology meet. Meditation induced self-awareness, at the gap between consciousness and matter, restores prakriti by erasing obstacles such as memories of stressors and traumas that linger in the mind as a protective survival response.

Yoga and pranayama techniques play similar roles. One of the more abstract benefits of meditation, yoga, and pranayama is related to quantum physics and the concept of biophotons.

Biophotons are atomic particles that can function in the manifest and unmanifest realms, as well as at the junction of consciousness and matter, where prakriti is restored.

Studies have found that during yoga, breathing, and meditation, the biophotons that your body releases are more organized and coherent and therefore more health-promoting. (DNA damage is associated with the incoherent release of biophotons).

Studies have also found that biophotons are altered by intention, which may explain the mechanism behind prayer. Praying while in a meditative state will increase the release of coherent biophotons, which may be able to carry the intention of healing great distances.

See also How Yoga, Meditation, and Antioxidants Make You Smarter

The Power of Self-Awareness

Practicing meditation, yoga, pranayama, change-of-season rituals, or honoring the sunrise and sunset all enhance self-awareness and the awareness of the junction where consciousness and matter meet. The addition of intention, as delivered by biophotons, may help explain why these rituals are effective at restoring prakriti and bridging the gap between the manifest (body) and unmanifest (soul).

The more healing we do at this level and the more we practice rituals that connect our biological clocks to the circadian rhythms of nature, the thinner the veil between our bodies and our souls becomes.

Prakriti is the goal of Ayurveda—to live with awareness and in harmony with your soul.

See also Ayurvedic Techniques to Unleash the Power of Quantum Healing

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Gratefully,
Dr. John

5 thoughts on “What is Prakriti?”

  1. Excellent explanation, thank you.
    I always knew the importance of sandhya vandan and agnihotra homam, but have forgotten so much. Glad to be reminded.

    Reply

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