Introduction to Tantra Sastra - Aghori

THE THREE TEMPERAMENTS 59
(śila), and caste (varṇ a). Other enumerations are given
of the afflictions which, according to some, are sixty-two,
but all such larger divisions are merely elaborations of
the simpler enumerations. The paśu is also the worldly
man, in ignorance and bondage, as opposed to the yogī,
and the tattva-jnāni. Three divisions of paśu are also
spoken of—namely, sakala, who are bound by the three
pāśas, called aṇ u (want of knowledge or erroneous knowledge
of the self), bheda (the division also induced by
māyā of the one self into many), and karma (action and
its product). These are the three impurities (mala)
called āṇ ava-mala, māyā-mala, and Karma-mala. Pratayakalā
are those bound by the first and last, and
Vijnāna-kevala are those bound by āṇ ava-mala only.
He who frees himself of the remaining impurity of aṇ u
becomes Śiva Himself. The Devī bears the pāśa, and is
the cause of them, but She too, is paśupāśa-vimocinī, 1
Liberatrix of the paśu from his bondage.
What has been stated gives the root notion of the
term paśu. Men of this class are also described in Tantra
by exterior traits, which are manifestations of the interior
disposition. So the Kubjika-Tantra 2 says: “Those
who belong to paśu-bhāva are simply paśus. A paśu
does not touch a yantra, nor make japa of mantra at
night. He entertains doubt about sacrifices and Tantra;
regards a mantra as being merely letters only. 3 He
lacks faith in the guru, and thinks that the image is but
a block of stone. He distinguishes one deva from ano-
1 Lalitā-sahasra-nāma (verse 78).
2 Chapter VII.
3 Instead of being Devatā. Similarly the Nityā-Tantrā (see Prāna-toṣiṇi,
547 et seq.).