Enemies of the Self

Today’s beautiful verse from thirumanthiram is the essence of one’s life mission on earth.

Legend has it that thirumoolar would sit in samadhi for a full year and at the end of year he would break his meditation long enough to speak out one single verse which gives the substance of his years of meditation.He wrote around 3000 verses in all each of it is 4 lines.you may ask why i say this? The wisdom contained in these verses is boundless and timeless. It transcends time. On that note let us dive into the verse for better understanding.

Meditation is either about

1. Focus on the divine(alambanam)

2. Focus on your thoughts

3. Focus on nature

4. Focus on your breath and so on.

Here thirumanthiram talks about the focusing on the mei porul which protects you from three enemies within ie. desire, anger and seduction.

These three qualities are understood on a very intellectual level which we often refer to as an intellectual knowledge (knowledge is of three types - intellectual , inferential and experiential).

We all know that desire, anger and seduction is a bad quality that we should get rid of but how to get rid of it.

Let us first understand the nature of these qualities and then find a way to get rid of them.

1. Desire arises from our senses:

All wants in unlimited measure are desires that arise out of our senses; it is often not thought out or analysed, hence it often leads us to make bad decisions. When we make these decisions we are not in charge, we will be too impulsive or too deliberate for our own good. The consequence is often inconsequential to the person when he/ she has the desire to punish others. So desire in any form has to be controlled and it is the enemy of the self.

2. Anger arises out of our ego:

Anger shapes up on the situation we are put into. There are three types of anger

1. Passive aggression - this is showing anger in a passive way by pretending that everything is fine, silent when you are angry etc.

2. Open aggression - is when showing anger physically or verbally.

3. Assertive aggression - dealing with anger by being controlled and confident, discussing it and dealing with the situation.

The first two types kindle the go within you and do not accept or confront the situation in a positive way.

The third type is much better than the two, this will pave way for forgiveness and better understanding. Realisation is the by-product of this discussion and it keeps the ego in check.

3. Seduction arises from the mind:

Why do I say this? It is the mind which designs seduction, it manipulates and finds ways to manipulate another person;it makes a person dependent on them; compulsion in many things.These are all designed and executed by the mind.

So when the senses, ego and the mind are controlled the body comes under control, when the body comes under control, our actions come under control, when our actions come under control, our karma comes under control, as karma comes under control our life journey is controlled and it is tuned to the will of the divine(ambal) which makes us sail smoothly unto her lotus feet .

Now turn back and look at the statement made by thirumoolar he says mei porul protected me from the enemies of the self when he surrendered his anger, desire and seduction. Then the sound of OM arose from my body, (the sound of OM is the sound of creation) as the sound of OM grew louder and louder thirumoolar came face to face with the mei porul which is the almighty leading him on towards the ultimate happiness which is mukthi.

Such is thirumoolar statement leading us from

"Worldly to the Ultimate

Unreal to the Real

Ocean to the Shore

Jivan to the Mukthi"

Date: 30.11.2021