In this classical dualistic vision, reality is understood as resting on two eternally distinct principles: Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is pure consciousness, the witnessing spirit that neither acts nor changes. It is eternal, without attributes, beyond the three gunas, and does not create or undergo creation. As the seer and experiencer, it simply illuminates experience without itself being modified by what is seen. Moreover, Purusha is held to be plural, with each sentient being grounded in its own conscious principle. In contrast, Prakriti is the primordial, material substratum, the root cause from which the entire phenomenal universe unfolds. It is unconscious yet active and productive, the dynamic field in which all forms, bodies, senses, and mental functions arise.

Prakriti is described as a single, unitary principle that manifests as the whole objective world. It is constituted by the three gunas—sattva, rajas, and tamas—whose interplay generates constant change and evolution. From Prakriti emerge all the tattvas, including intellect, ego, mind, and the material elements, so that everything that can be experienced belongs to its domain. Unlike the immutable Purusha, Prakriti is fully subject to causality, undergoing transformation and serving as the stage on which experience and cosmic evolution unfold. The relationship between the two is often characterized as one of proximity rather than actual contact: Purusha’s mere presence allows Prakriti’s potential to become manifest.

From the standpoint of spiritual practice, bondage arises when the pure witness is mistakenly identified with the changing play of Prakriti. The joys and sorrows, the movements of mind and body, properly belong to Prakriti, yet are superimposed upon Purusha through ignorance. Liberation, or kaivalya, consists in a clear and unwavering discrimination between these two principles, recognizing that the conscious seer is forever distinct from the seen. When this discernment is stable, Purusha stands apart as the unaffected witness, and Prakriti, having fulfilled its role of providing experience and the possibility of release, no longer appears as binding.