Three to Infinite

Number three seems to be very special in creation. Starting from three Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva (for creation, sustenance and resolution) to three states of materials as solid, liquid and vapor, most things can be classified into three. Let us see three important threes to understand the universe, individual and God (Brahman) the cause of all that exists.

 Three Gunas (qualities)

The entire universe is made of three gunas (qualities) called satva (pure, wise), rajas (active) and thamas (dull). Paramaatma, the Supreme God is nirguna (beyond qualities). Maaya (Sakti or energy) is the original material cause of three gunas blessed by Pramaatma, the Supreme God.

Bagavad Gita describes these three gunas in human beings: Satva guna is pure, illuminating and connected to subtle form of pleasure and knowledge. Rajo guna is of colored mind, causes longing and attachment. It is connected to action. Tamas is born of ignorance and causes delusion. It binds the person completely by indifference, slothfulness and sleep. Every person has all the three gunas. When you contemplate, Satva is the dominant guna, when you are in action, you are dominantly Rajas, when you sleep you are dominantly Tamas. Satvic people are mostly contemplative, composed, free from egotism, perform duty with no expectation of results for themselves.  Rajasic people are mostly active, emotional, greedy, unsteady and do things for getting respect and honor. Tamasic people are mostly inactive and sleepy, have deluded understanding, are immature and harm others. So it is clear that by attaining the good qualities of Satva, a man becomes subtler and gets purity of mind. Such a wise person, guided by Guru and scriptures gets to know his real Self.

When a wise man understands that all he sees is just these three gunas and realizes that he is really beyond these three gunas, he gains the nature of Supreme God. The wise man crosses the three gunas that are the cause of the body, released from birth, death, old age and sorrow, gains immortality. Such a person’s mind is cheerful; he does not grieve for anything and feels all beings are the same as himself.

Three Sarirams (bodies)

Human beings have threefold body called sthoola sariram (gross body), soochma sariram (subtle body) and karana sariram (subtle body) as stated in the scriptures. The gross body consists of the five elements - space, air, fire, water and earth. The head, hands, and legs are the parts of the gross body. This gross body is considered as temporary residence of jeeva (individual) by the scriptures. The gross body is like the residential address of an individual. He/she occupies this for a certain period, say, 100 years and vacates this to take another body. The gross body of the individual grows, weakens and finally dies, whereas the jeeva (individual) takes another body after the death of the current body.

The subtle body also consists of the five elements but in subtle form. The subtle body has nineteen parts. They are the five sense organs (eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin) ; five organs of action (mouth, hands, legs, excretory organ and reproductive organ); five Pranas or functional organs (respiratory, evacuating, circulatory, digestive and reversing); and Anthakarana or internal organ consisting of mind, intellect, memory and ego. Like the gross body, the subtle body is also subject to change. However the subtle body has longer life until resolution of the world and available to oneself only.

The causal body is the potential form before the creation of subtle and gross bodies. This is made of subtlest form of matter known as maaya or prakriti.  Causal body is neither evident to oneself nor others. Causal body has the longest life and not destroyed even during resolution (pralayam). Causal body goes only at the time of moksha or liberation. A wise person getting Self knowledge attains moksha and becomes one with Paramaatma the Supreme God.

Three Avasthas (states)

All beings exist in three avasthas (states): Jagarad avasta (waking state), Swapna avasta (dream state) and Sushupti avasta (sleep state). In waking state the mind is fully functional and the external world is available through sense organs. The experience is available to oneself and others as well. Waking state is dominated by the gross body (sthoola sariram). In dream state only the memory faculty of the mind is functioning (ego, intellect and thinking do not function). This state is internal to the individual; others cannot experience this with the dreamer. The experience is abstract and not concrete. In dreaming state the dominant medium is subtle body (soochma sriram). In sleep state there is neither the external world nor the internal world. It is total blankness, experiencing just ignorance. In this state the dominant medium is the causal body.

The waker is called Vishwa, meaning fully functional, the dreamer is called Thaijasa, meaning internally illumined; the sleeper is called Prajna meaning blissfully ignorant. A human being constantly moves from one state to the other. The dreamer becomes waker and understands that he was the same person who was dreaming. In the same way the sleeper after waking knows that he was the same person who was sleeping. From this it is clear that the real person is different from the sleeper, waker and dreamer. In fact he is the witness of the sleeper, waker and dreamer. The experiences in different states are like the pictures on the screen when we watch a movie. The screen remains the same even as different scenes occupy screen. Maandukya Upanishad teaches the way to transcend the three states by worshipping Omkara. As we have seen above that a wise person knows that he is beyond the three gunas, a wise person also knows that he is different from the waker, dreamer and sleeper, but the witness of all the three and unaffected by any of them.

Infinite

Brahmavallee chapter of Taittireeyopanishad starts with the statement, “The knower of Brahman attains infinite.” Then a Rig mantra is quoted by the Upanishad where in Brahman is defined as Satyam, Jnanam, Anantham meaning Existence, Awareness, Infinite. Though three words are used for our understanding, they all refer to the same Brahman which is indivisible. This is to be recognized in one’s own heart as the very ‘I’. By this one attains total fulfillment as being one with Brahman. The Upanishad then elaborately explains the creation from Brahman. The aim of the Upanishad is to introduce creation from the grossest level and shift our attention from creation to Brahman. The world consisting of the above three gunas, is the effect and Brahman is the cause. The effect (world) does not exist without the cause (Brahman). Having created all beings, Brahman has entered them as the very experience. Hence the very experiencer reveals the existence of Brahman. Therefore a wise man who has understood the above three gunas of prakriti and established in Brahman, is fearless, secured and blissful. For this wise man, anything good or bad is non-different from himself. Nothing in this world stands separate to threaten him.

-Arasu Ramanujam