Kakapujandar's pathaam vaasal (street with ten doors)

 

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' with ten doors, itself is a door to the unmanifest consciousness. But self cannot see the consciousness.

That 'self' door is the smallest of all the doors (siru vaasal). It is between the brows (puruva nadu) and the door of knowledge (arivin vaasal). That 'self' is the door to the guru (the witnessing purusha, called avyaya sAksi, the consciousness behind). That is the door to the real wealth (thiruvaam vaasal). It is the door to the ultimate state of samadhi, which is the state of that ultimate witnessing sAksi , it is also the door to all conception with memories in the manifest world (karuvenraal ninaivirukku) from the unmanifest/witnessing world (mukti vaasal).

So one has to measure/calculate the steps to this house of wisdom (which is the body with the self or the street with ten doors). As one can see the street with ten doors itself is a door to something else and hence confusing. Separating and identifying that door to the ultimate (realizing that self as the door to the witness behind) is wisdom and hence our body is the house of wisdom (self-realization). It requires great calculation and understanding.

But how to get that understanding?. One has to be in here, suffer through that confusion of street and doors and understand it.(irunthu paarpeer) . But is there a guarantee that you will get through that confusion because you are in here..? No way (iruvenraal vaaraathe).

So we are all condemned to be in jn this ten door street, which in itself is a door to something, not guaranteed to understand/realize just because we suffer through this.

Thus says kakapujandar.