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Jain Yoga-Stages of Spiritual Development :
Gunasthāna
Mukul Raj Mehta
Jainism believes that soul is inherently pure. But, due to karmic matters, its purity is tainted since the karma is responsible for its imperfection and the spiritual progress is determined by the extent of removal of karmic particles. Guna means the life-force or essence of soul, equanimity, conduct, virility, etc. and Sthāna means the higher and lower stages of the purity. Gunasthāna is the stages known as 'states of virtue'. The virtue does not mean an ordinary moral quality but it stands for the nature of soul i. e. knowledge, belief and conduct!.
Guņasthāna is a logical order of decreasing sinfulness and increasing purity. According to Jainism, the soul has potentiality or inherent capacity to come out of the samsāra and to attain emancipation. This capacity or tendency causes detachment with the worldly pain and pleasure and tries to elevate the self. This urge which comes out from within the soul is known as yathāpravrttakarana? Yathāpravșttakarana consists in Apūrvakarana and Anivsttakarana. Apūrvakaraņa implies the destruction of the duration (sthitighāta), destruction of intensity (rasaghāta), reduction of karma (Gunaśreņi) and reduction of intensity of karma (Gunasamkramana). While Anivșttakarņa implies the destruction of passions and vision deluding karman.
In samavāyānga Sūtra, we observe the 14 Jivasthānas according to the purity (annihilation of karma): 1: Mithyādsști (Perversity of Attitude)
This first stage is characterised by the presence of wrong belief. The self accepts and treats the wrong belief as a right belief under a false impression. Abhavyas (not capable of liberation) live eternally in this gunasthāna while bhavya (capable of liberation) remains in this gunasthāna due to certain untrue
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