10. The three Ps that are eternal

 

Teachings to treasure, teachings that transform. 

Thirumoolar Thavamozhi

Motivation

 

10. The three Ps that are eternal

 

Our sages have nicely analyzed the beings in this world, their properties, quality of the divine in detail and they classified these into three things. They have declared that all these three don't have either a beginning or an end. We could them the three Ps.

These are three Ps are the master (Pathi), the beings (Pasu), and the attachment (Pasam) or connection between the master and the individual. We may also call the attachment as devotion. When talking about these three things our sages and the sacred vedic texts call them as the three sacred truths, and they explain about them in detail. Our saint Thirumoolar also talks about these three very nicely in his poems.

The Lord is the master. The beings are human beings and the animals each having a life force within. The attachment between the beings and the lord is like a bind.  These three are all permanent. That is, like the Lord, the beings and the attachment are also eternal without a beginning or an end.

Though the lord and the individual soul are permanent, the reason why the individual soul is not able to see the lord,  is because of the third principle, that is attachment.  Attachment deludes the individual soul. Our saint nicely explains in this song how the individual gets rid of the ignorance and experiences the divine.

 

பதிபசு பாசம் எனப்பகர் மூன்றில்

பதியினைப் போற்பசு பாசம் அனாதி

பதியினைச் சென்றணு காப்பசு பாசம்

பதியணு கிற்பசு பாசம் நில் லாவே.  3

 

எனப்பகர் – what we classify, அனாதி – has no beginning. We cannot say when it started or ended.

 

In the three பதி, பசு, பாசம் –(the lord, the being, attachment) – all are eternal. Our ancient texts say that the individual soul is also eternal like the lord. The பாசம்  is attachment is a combination of three types of dirt – ego, karma and illusion. The individual being is bound by attachment as a result of these three dirts.

 

Ego is the feeling that “I am”. This “I” feeling creates the ignorance and a feeling that the individual is separate from the rest and disallows the individual to realize that all are one.

Karma confuses the individual by making one think that there are good and bad actions with good and bad results.

Illusion is what tempts and deludes one to enjoy worldly things instead of divine thoughts.

பதியினைச் சென்றணு

காப் பசு பாசம்

 

அணுகுதல் – is reach. அணுகா – is not reachable.

Our Saint says that the individual and the attachment both cannot reach the divine.

The individual is caught in the cycle of  birth and death, due to attachment, and is unable to come near the divine.

For the attachment to go away, the Ignorance to go away, and the  individual become better, the lord has to take over.

பதியணு கிற்பசு பாசம் நில் லாவே

Our Saint says if the compassionate lord graciously blesses, the binding attachment will go away and the individual soul will go towards the divine.

The lord who is embodiment of the blissful awareness is full of compassion.  He graciously comes to the individuals who are bound by attachment due to the three types of dirt, grants them awareness and consoles them. Without such a grace, there is no escape for the individual from the bind of attachment. The knowledge cannot be achieved.

As per the maturity of the individual, until the divine lord mercifully grants knowledge, there is no other way for the individual to progress.

 

When the lord graciously comes to the individual, the bind of attachment breaks away on its own. The individual also is no more enchanted by the world and experiences the divine.

 

To read other translated pages in these posts, see: Thirumoolar