Excerpted from Yoga Therapy, Chapter 2.

The source of the world is motiveless and has the unique appearance of consciousness and bliss. It has an eternal Nature [prakriti], like the shadow cast by the sun. Although herself inert, she used the consciousness of the supreme Self [purusha] to create all and everything which is transient, like a piece of theatre.

In the beginning, Nature, the mother of all, gave birth to intellect [mahat], composed of desire [rajas] and vast in appearance [sattva]. Out of that came personal identity [ahamkara]. It was born in three divisions [gunas], according to the qualities of purity [sattva], passion [rajas], and darkness [tamas]. From the unity of purity and passion arose the ten organs [indriyas] and also the mind [manas]. The organs are: the ear, the skin, the eye, the tongue, the nose, the voice, the hands, the feet, the sex organs, and the rectum. Those with detailed understanding say that the first five are the organs of intellect, while the r...