Three is a Crowd--Part I

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Three is a Crowd !

 

My neighbour stepped out into the street with his wife and son, all three dressed up and apparently intent on enjoying an evening of entertainment. Just then, the elderly lady of the house called out to my neighbour not to go in a threesome. Unwilling to succumb to superstition and yet afraid of transgressing age-old beliefs, my neighbour sent his son ahead, waited a few minutes and then went with his wife. I was watching the proceedings attentively (it is really interesting to observe the activities of other people, especially one’s neighbours—of course, in my case, it was no mere idle curiosity, but a “genuine desire to study people”).

 

Since the neighbours had left and I could no longer observe them, I gave myself up to thinking—a rather strenuous exercise for a person of feeble intellect like me—and my thoughts focused on the old lady’s aversion for a threesome. This jogged my memory, which in turn reminded me of the English saying, “Two is company, three is a crowd”, which too speaks of the Europeans’ preference for a twosome rather than a group of three. Is the Number Three then inauspicious and to be shunned in all our transactions? I felt this could not be the case, for there must be any number of matters where No. Three does play a significant part. I set my thoughts rolling and found, to my entire lack of surprise, that there was indeed a profusion of stuff for which Three forms the basis. Just a few are listed here.

 

The Three Vedas

 

Being Vaidikas, let us start our journey into the thrilling world of Three with the Vedas. When faced with the question as to the number of Vedas, even a child would come up with the answer that they are four—Rk, Yajus, Saama and Atharvanam. However, “Trayee” is the word the Vedas use to describe themselves, in many a context. Thus, only Rk, Yajus and Saama Vedas are recognized to be the principal ones, with Atharvanam forming a mere adjunct for them. Says the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad—

“trayo Vedaa eta eva vaak RgVedo Mano YajurVeda: Praana: Saama Veda:” Sri Bhattar too calls the Pranavam “Trayee saaram” or the quintessence of the three Vedas—“Trayee saara: trayaatmaa Pranava: imam arttham samadisat”. When Indra wants to indicate to Bharadvaaja Maharshi the minuscule quantum of Vedas the latter has managed to learn during several lifetimes, it is three handfuls of sand that he holds up, while the portions of the Shruti yet to be learnt are represented in the form of three huge mountains. It is thus clear that the number of Vedas is indeed Three. “Moondru tondru sodiyaai” says Sri Tirumazhisai Piran too, praising the Lord as the luminous entity shining in the Pranavam. He also calls the Lord “Moondru moorthi”, signifying the embodiment of the three principal Vedas.

 

 

 

 

The Three-lettered Secret

 

We talked about the Pranavam, which is considered to be the distilled essence of all the Vedas. We find that the Pranavam too consists of three letters—A, U and Ma. And the Pranavam itself was formed by the Lord, with its components extracted with care from the three Vedas, says the Manusmriti—

 

“Akaaram chaapi Ukaaram cha Makaaram cha Prajaapati:

Veda trayaat niraduhat Bhoo: Bhuva: Sva: iti cha”

 

Is it any wonder then that Azhwars praise this formulation sky high as “Moondru ezhutthu”? And this Pranavam is to be pronounced with three maatraas, says Swami Desikan in Tatva Navaneetam--“Moondru maattirayaana ottrai ezhutthirkku mukkyaartthamaai”.

The Pranavam, in turn, forms the first word of the Ashtaakshara (Narayana) Mantram, which too consists of three words, the other two being the Nama: sabdam and Narayana naamam. Similarly, the principal “Vyaahritis”, used in Praanaayaamam, are again three in number—“Bhoo:, Bhuva: and Sva:”.

 

Talking about Praanaayaamam, again three of it is required to be performed before the Sankalpam for any Vaidika karma—“Tri: praanaan aayamya”. Three Praanaayaamas, done in the prescribed fashion, represent penance in its highest form, says the Manusmriti:

“Praanaayaamaa braahmanasya trayopi vidhivat kritaa:

Vyaahrti Pranavai: yuktaa: vigyeyam paramam tapa:”

 

 

 

The Holy Triad--Rahasyatrayam

 

How many are the esoteric formulations which every Vaishnavite should always have on his (or her) lips and heart? No marks for guessing, they are again three in number—the Ashtaaksharam, Dvayam and the Charamaslokam. Here is a beautiful paasuram of Swami Desikan, expressing the Rahasyatrayam as a function of three:

 

“Moondril oru moondrum moovirandum munnaangum

tondra tolayum tuyar”

 

Moondril—Of the three esoteric formulations or Rahasyas

Oru Moondrum—the three-lettered Pranavam

Moovirandum—the Dvayam with twice as many (six) words

Munnaangum—The Charamaslokam with four times three (twelve) words.

 

This Kural tells us that a clear understanding of the Rahasya trayam and constant meditation on its esoteric purport would provide relief from all sorrow and ensure emancipation.

 

Number Three in the Gita

 

1. Three Parts of Gita: The Bhagavad Gita is divided into three Shatkas or groups of six chapters each, forming eighteen chapters in all. Predictably, we find several references to the number three in the Gita. Following are a few:

 

2. Three Types of Karma Phalam: The Lord classifies the fruits of all of our actions into three broad groups:

a. Favourable or desirable,

b. Unfavourable or disliked and

c. A mixture of both—

“Anishtam Ishtam Misram cha trividham karmana: phalam”

 

3. Trigunam: The basic characteristics of Prakriti or Primordial Matter are again three, collectively known as Trigunam—

 

Sattvam (Goodness)

Rajas (Passion) and

Tamas (Ignorance).

Of these, Sattvam is the embodiment of Purity and is illuminating. It frees one from all sinful actions and bestows unblemished knowledge. It confers robust health and righteousness too. (“Tatra Sattvam nirmalatvaat prakaasakam anaamayam”

 

Rajas is responsible for generating passion, unlimited craving and longing after various objects of desire (“Raja: raagaatmakam viddhi trishnaa sanga samudbhavam”).

 

Tamas is caused by ignorance and is responsible for creating delusion, laziness, sleepiness, etc.—

“Tama: tu aggyaanajam viddhi mohanam sarva dehinaam

Pramaada aalasya nidraabhi: tat nibadhnaati Bhaarata!”

 

It is these three traits that cover men with a veil of delusion, which prevents them from realizing the true nature of the Lord, as being greater than the greatest and being everlasting and indestructible, says the Gita.

 

4. Three Doors of Hell: The Lord enumerates another set of three factors which unerringly lead us to the gates of Purgatory. These three ignominious traits ensure that the Jeevatma is forever bound up in Samsaaram and in the interminable cycle of births and deaths:

”Trividham narakasya idam dvaaram naasanam aatmana:

Kaama: Krodha: tatthaa Lobha: tasmaat etat trayam tyajet”

 

 

Kaamam is desire. The Shruti likens desire to an ocean—just as the ocean is full of waves, ceaselessly rising one after the other, the mind too generates more and more desires: the moment one wish is satisfied, it gives rise to another and so on.

Krodham is the uncontrollable anger which arises from unrequited desire and is directed at all those responsible for the non-fulfillment of the desire.

Lobham is miserliness and the disinclination to share one’s prosperity with others.

 

5. Three Types of Shraddha: The Lord classifies the faith, sincerity and focus of all beings again into three—Saatvikam, Raajasam and Taamasam--

“ Trividhaa bhavati shraddhaa dehinaam saa svabhaavajaa

Saatvikee Raajasee chaiva Taamasee cha iti taam shrunu”

 

6. Three Types of Food: The food preferences of people too fall into three categories, according to the three modes of material nature—viz., Sattvam, Rajas and Tamas.

 

Foods dear to Saatvikas increase longevity, purify our lives and bestow health and happiness. Such foods are succulent, fatty, wholesome and pleasing to the palate—

“Aayu: Sattva bala aarogya sukha preeti vivardhanaa:

Rasyaa: snigdhaa: stthira hridyaa aaharaa: Saatvika priyaa:”

 

Foods that are bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burnt are dear to Jeevas dominated by Rajo gunam. Such foods give rise to indigestion, disease and distress—

“Katu amla lavana ati ushna teekshna rooksha vidaahina:

Aahaaraa: Raajasasya ishttaa:du:kha shokha aamaya pradaa:”

 

Stale foodstuff which has lost its original flavour, smelly foods like garlic, left-overs, tasteless, decomposed and putrid food, food not offered first to the Lord, etc. come under the category of Taamasic aahaaram—

“Yaata yaamam gata rasam bhooti paryushitam cha yat

Ucchishtam api cha amedhyam bhojanam taamasa priyam”

 

7. Yagyas are of three types: Sri Krishna appears to be quite fond of Number Three. Here He is, enumerating another triad—three categories of Sacrifices, predictably falling into Saatvic, Raajasic and Taamasic ones.

 

Sacrifices performed as per scriptural prescriptions, with a sense of duty and without an eye on reward, concentrating on Sriman Narayana as the Supreme Person to be pleased by the sacrifice (irrespective of the deity to whom the sacrifice is addressed) is said to be Saatvika Yaggyam.

 

Sacrifice performed for the sake of puerile material benefits, prompted by pride and other base emotions, is known as Raajasa Yagyam.

 

Sacrifices performed in contravention of the scriptures, without the permission of elders and the wise, without the use of Mantras and ingredients prescribed by Shastras, without commensurate Dakshina to the participants and without the requisite degree of faith and sincerity, are classified as Taamasic Yagyas. Looking to the current day practices, most of the Yagyas we perform may well fall under this head.

 

To be continued--

 

Srimate Sri LakshmiNrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadeikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan