The Dance of Shiv – Shakti

I was born in Christianity, where believing in Jesus and loving him is a part of my culture. I regarded Jesus as my teacher and a guiding force. My faith and love have always helped me to discriminate better.

Growing up in California, I was often puzzled by many questions. Why would any God declare one religion superior to another? Why would God approve of killing innocent creatures for food? Why would God like to hear a loud display? Why could only men become popes and priests? 

I decided to find the truth. After death, no one carries the body, it is the spirit and consciousness that continue. I got interested in spirituality.

Every Google search pointed me to one place – India, the hub of spirituality. I traveled to Banaras, Rishikesh, and South India. Everything around me felt like it was happening in slow motion, a prominent experience of steadiness inside me.

Reading many holy books, I found manipulation at some level – Gods were depicted as superior to Goddesses, with Goddess bowing to and serving Gods. How could a true God not believe in equality?

I decided to dig further and studied the Upanishads and Vedas for five years. These texts were incredibly interesting and led me on the right path. All the studies directed me to go inside, to find the truth. I took up mediation practice very sincerely, I was eager. After 15 years of dedicated practice, I understood the principles of Prakriti and Purusha.

In every living being, there is something constant that observes us all the time, what we think and do, even in sleep and at different levels of consciousness. This is called Purusha; in simple words – consciousness.

Prakriti is our ever-changing nature – our physical body and mind. We grow from babies into adults, and our minds develop. Without Prakriti – change, development would not be possible, physically and mentally. These two elements, Purusha and Prakriti, do not replace each other. Both are equally important for our existence.

Purusha and Prakriti are the names given to help us understand our inner nature. In religion, they might have been misinterpreted as men and women. To understand correctly, let us call it motion and constant for a while.

Motion accelerates evolution, while resistance – which is also motion – slows us down, allowing us to feel the presence of the constant, also reinforcing transformation.

The purpose of Prakriti is to facilitate our growth, making sure no part of us is left behind. When we understand this, we live in harmony. Then the mind (Prakriti) takes us to the higher knowledge.

Harmony does not mean the absence of conflict. Often people want to dominate others – at home, at work, in religion,  and in countries. They think they are better than others, yet they try to “act” humble. 

First, we feel conflict. Then, we refuse to accept it or we are not aware of it, which creates another conflict. Pretending or behaving differently adds a third layer of conflict. Imagine the stress this creates inside us. 

The mind tricks us, but Purusha knows the truth about us. And the confusion continues in our lives, there is no peace.

Through meditation, we connect with Purusha – the observer, the silent witness within.  The mind (Prakriti) accept the inner reality that there is a conflict. Now, both are in harmony – experiencing and observing the same thing.

Observation brings peace of mind and more peace leads to deeper observation.