In 7.4, Bhagavān introduced His aparā prakṛti [lower material nature].

That lower nature was eightfold: earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect, and ego. It included not only the external world and body, but also the subtle inner instruments such as mind, intellect, and ego.

Now, in 7.5, Bhagavān introduces His parā prakṛti [higher nature].

He says, aparā iyam — “This is lower.” The eightfold prakṛti described in the previous shloka is lower because it is acētana [inert], saguṇa [with attributes], and savikāra [subject to change]. It is matter-principle, whether gross matter like the body and world, or subtle matter like mind and thought.

Then Bhagavān says, itaḥ tu anyāṃ prakṛtiṃ viddhi me parām — “But know My other prakṛti, different from this, as higher.”

So Bhagavān has two prakṛtis: aparā prakṛti [lower nature] and parā prakṛti [higher nature]. Both belong to Bhagavān. Together, they constitute Īśvara-svarūpam [the nature of Bhagavān].

The lower nature is matter. The higher nature is consciousness.

This is the first major difference between the two. Aparā prakṛti is acētana-tattvam [inert principle]. Parā prakṛti is cētana-tattvam [conscious principle]. Matter is known. Consciousness is the knower. Matter is experienced. Consciousness is the experiencer.

The second difference is that aparā prakṛti has attributes, while parā prakṛti is free from attributes. Matter has qualities: color, form, size, weight, movement, texture, chemical properties, and many other features. Even subtle matter like mind has qualities such as calmness, agitation, clarity, dullness, fear, memory, and emotion. But consciousness itself does not have color, shape, size, weight, or chemical property. Therefore parā prakṛti is nirguṇa [free from attributes].

The third difference is that aparā prakṛti changes, while parā prakṛti does not change. The body changes. The world changes. The mind changes. Thoughts change. Emotions change. The intellect changes its conclusions. The ego changes its roles. But the consciousness because of which all these changes are known does not itself become a changing object.

This is why Bhagavān says jīvabhūtām — “in the form of the jīva.” This must be understood carefully.

The parā prakṛti is the consciousness principle. Before creation manifests, the same consciousness is called paramātma. After creation manifests, when that same consciousness is available in the body-mind complex, it is called jīvātma. Consciousness itself has not become different. The name changes because of the condition in which it is recognized.

The same space may be called “hall space,” “room space,” or “pot space” because of the enclosure. But space itself has not become many. Similarly, consciousness appears as the jīva when associated with the body-mind complex, but consciousness itself remains the same.

Bhagavān also says, yayā idaṃ dhāryate jagat — “by which this universe is sustained.”

Aparā prakṛti can form the body, sense organs, mind, and world, but without consciousness, none of them is a living, experienced universe. A body without consciousness is not a person. Sense organs without consciousness do not experience. A mind without consciousness does not know thoughts. The entire experienced world depends on consciousness for its manifestation as a known world.

This does not mean consciousness is doing physical labor to hold the universe like a pillar. It means consciousness is the sustaining principle because of which the world, body, and mind are known, experienced, and meaningful.

Now a very important point arises: where should we search for parā prakṛti?

Bhagavān’s answer is subtle. Do not search outside as though parā prakṛti is some hidden object in the world. Whatever is searched as an object belongs to aparā prakṛti. The world is aparā prakṛti. The body is aparā prakṛti. The mind is aparā prakṛti. Even the thought “Where is parā prakṛti?” is in the mind and therefore belongs to aparā prakṛti.

Then what is parā prakṛti?

It is the very searcher. It is the “I” that experiences the world, the body, and the mind. It is the observer-consciousness because of which every search is possible.

This is why the teaching is powerful. We usually run behind objects, experiences, body conditions, emotional states, and mental achievements. But all of these are aparā prakṛti. They are useful, but they are changing. Security cannot be found by leaning on what changes.

Parā prakṛti alone is the permanent principle. It is the conscious presence because of which the changing world, changing body, and changing mind are known. That conscious principle is Bhagavān’s higher nature, available as the very “I” in every living being.

This shloka therefore completes the twofold vision of Bhagavān’s nature. Bhagavān is not merely the external material universe. Bhagavān is not merely a distant creator. Bhagavān includes aparā prakṛti, the lower material nature, and parā prakṛti, the higher conscious nature. The seeker must learn to stop depending on the changing aparā prakṛti for permanent fulfilment and recognize the changeless parā prakṛti, the very consciousness by which the whole experienced universe is sustained.