pathaam vaasal means the one with paththu vaasal (ten doors). Our 'self' has ten entry/exit points in this manifest world. Our 'self' is like a street with ten doors. They are the five indriyas with which it processes information (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch) and five indriyas with which it executes functions (work using hands, motion using legs, speech using mouth, recreation using genitals, metabolism using digestive and respiratory systems). But the 'self' in itself is a door to the consciousness behind (though it is like a street with ten doors to the manifest world). The principle behind this is, from that consciousness rises the 'self' that exists in all life-forms and separates them from non-living. But that consciousness is just a witness to the self. It does not interact with the self. The self cannot see the consciousness. This witnessing consciousness is called purusha, the avyaya sAksi (eternal witness). Thus the manifest 'self...