Patanjali states that nature is there to serve the seer and that the same nature can also entangle the incarnated seer. The word ‘Prakrti’ literally means Nature. Prakrti covers five gross elements, five organs of action, five senses of perception, five subtle elements and cosmic intelligence, which transforms into consciousness in individuals. Chitta has three facets(ego, intelligence and mind-ahamkara, buddhi and manas).
Visesa are the five elements, the five organs of action, the five senses of perception and mind. Avisesa are the five ahamkarika gunas of nature, or the atomic qualities(tanmatras) of the five elements of nature. Each one express its own egoistic character like the ahamkara in an individual, which impersonates and acts as a reflective mirror of the soul. These are not knowable by the visesa indriyas. Linga is mahat or cosmic intelligence. In an indiviual it is consciousness encasing the I-maker(ahamkara), intelligence as well as the mind. Alinga is the unmanifested state of nature, or avyakta. It is the mula prakrti, the source from which nature sprouts. When all these are silenced, gunas(nature’s qualities) evaporate and merge in mula prakrti, and mula prakrti in purusa.
The word guna literally means quality. Prakrti is endowed with three qualities(trigunas)-illumination(sattva), vibrancy(rajas) and inertia(tamas). Though the qualities of the gunas are different, their function is to promote the evolution of the sadhakas. The gunas are the base principles of the whole of nature. They are called ‘principles’ as they cover the evolutionary spectrum in the quality, character and function of things. The trigunas as their root source are in a state of perfect, non-specific, non-distinguishable, signless and traceless nothingness. This is mula prakrti, or the root of nature. This mula prakrti is in a state of perfect equilibrium. All things in the beginning are in a noumenal, undifferentiated state, without an sign or mark(alinga). They become differentiated by conjunction and intermingling activities and by specific transformation(guna parvani) into phenomenal entities.
The three gunas either play with their own vibrational movements, creating harmony, balance and concord, or they play in discordant ways with our words, thoughts and deeds. This equilibrium or disequilibrium of the gunas continues until the individual consciousness evolves to merge in the first principle, the cosmic consciousness, or mahat.