Prana and Consciousness

These forces are independent yet interdependent

entities - when they join, creation begins; when
they separate, dissolution occurs.

Samkhya philosophy postulates two realities out of which all things evolve:
purusha, spirit principle and consciousness, and prakriti, nature principle,
energy and matter. In Sanskrit pur means city and sha means sleep; purusha
means 'that which sleeps in the city'. In this sense purusha is the dormant
receptacle of consciousness, the totality of consciousness. This
consciousness is knowledge and contains nothing but knowledge.
Consciousness is the faculty of awareness in the human mind. The word
prakriti is composed of pra, a semantic prefix in Sanskrit, and kriti, action.
This refers to prana which is the active principle of the manifested energy.
Consciousness is dormant; prana is active. Neither can exist or function
without the other. Prana is an active force without knowledge to direct or
will. Consciousness is knowledge without motion to give realization.

The Prashnopanishad clearly states that there are two aspects of being :
prana and consciousness. These two aspects of cosmic energy represent
two totally different forces in the cosmos and the human body. The opening
paragraph of Ananda Lahiri by the sage Shankaracharya states:

"Is it possible for Purusha to create, to act, to manifest, to express, to

dissolve, to maintain the object and the creation without the help of
Prakriti? Shiva without Shakti? Matter without energy? Purusha without
Prakriti is incapable of expression, manifestation and absolute motion."

Cosmic prana, mahaprana, and supreme consciousness, paramatman,

represent the real universe, and when combined they are called Brahma,
God, Allah, etc.

Practically speaking, it is very difficult to differentiate between prana and

consciousness. Consciousness is being. Prana is not the cause, nor is
consciousness the result. Neither is consciousness the cause, nor prana the
result. They are the two aspects of existence which determine the nature of
everything. Purusha, as awareness or consciousness, has the potential to
move but in itself is inert. Prakriti, as prana, is manifest in everything. It has
the power of working, but not on its own. The union of purusha and prakriti,
or the investing of consciousness with prana, results in action.

Samkhya uses the analogy that purusha can see but cannot walk, whereas
prakriti can walk but cannot see. In the tantric texts, prana is symbolized as
the feminine principle and consciousness as masculine. This is the basis for
the concepts of Shiva and Shakti and the Vedantic and Puranic conception
of gods and goddesses. Shiva is always accompanied by his consort. The
female characteristics of the consort are conceptualised in many forms such
as Kali, Durga, Parvati, Uma etc. in human incarnations. Similarly, the other
gods are depicted with their shakti or consort; for example, Brahma and
Saraswati, and Vishnu and Lakshmi. These are all meant to draw attention to
the same philosophical concept of polarity, which is best illustrated by male
and female, consciousness and prana.

This polarity principle is responsible for the manifest universe. Prana and
consciousness are separate entities existing in duality, but ultimately are
opposite manifestations of the same force. Consciousness and prana are the
positive and negative elements of the one inconceivable force which is
responsible for everything that takes place in the individual and cosmic life.

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