Article – Significance of Three
Past, present, future; length, width, height; small, medium, large—there are many groupings of 3 that we’ve used throughout human history to describe and organize the world around us.
Past, present, future; length, width, height; small, medium, large—there are many groupings of 3 that we’ve used throughout human history to describe and organize the world around us.
Across all religions, many of the most important theological concepts are expressed as groupings of 3. One of the most obvious examples of this is the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, which most—though not all—branches of Christianity believe in.
The Holy Trinity refers to the belief that God, though One, is manifested in 3 forms: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. The 3 forms coexist as distinct from one another, but each one is understood as God. There are many other 3s in Christianity as well: the 3 wise men who came to witness the birth of Jesus, the 3 days between Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the 3 Abrahamic Patriarchs, recognized by Judaism and Islam as well: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
There are 3 Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. And the religions of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism are all subdivided into 3 major sects.
Three main sects of Christianity are Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodox; Sunni, Shia, and Sufi are the 3 for Islam; Buddhism is also split into 3: Mahayana, Theravada, and Vajrayana; Hinduism has countless sects, but the largest 3 are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism. Hindus also believe in 3 primary gods, which are all manifestations of God, somewhat similar to the Christian Trinity: Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the nurturer, and Shiva (also known as Mahesh), the destroyer.
Hinduism abounds with groupings of 3. Some others include “Sat, Chit, Annand” (truth, consciousness, bliss), the 3-part description of Brahman, the ultimate reality; the 3 core values of Satyam, Shivum, Sundaram (truth, godliness, beauty); and the 3 “gunas,” qualities that are present in every individual in different proportions: sattva (goodness, calmness, harmonious), rajas (passion, activity, movement), and tamas (ignorance, inertia, laziness).
The number 3 features so prominently in the psyche of Indians that the richest Indian when choosing a number (phone, car, bids) will only choose the numbers that are divisible by three.
Many religions represent beliefs and principles relating to conduct in groupings of 3 as well. There are 3 Taoist Treasures: compassion, simplicity, and humility. In his Analects, Confucius designates many similar groupings of 3 core principles of conduct. In Jainism, there are 3 Jewels: samyagdarshana (“right faith”), samyagjnana (“right knowledge”), and samyakcharitra (“right conduct”).