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9
GUNASTHĀNA
(STAGES OF SPIRITUAL ADVANCEMENT)
The Soul's Journey From Delusion To Deliverance -
The condition of the naturally pure and free soul in a state of karmic bondage is quite different from its natural state. When the bonded inauspicious karma-matter is on the rise its (the soul's) spiritual power is subdued. It cannot realise its deplorable condition and its unlimited power and prowess. The all-powerful sovereign spirit becomes unable to feel its reality. Under such a state of bondage the conscious soul starts thinking that it is one with the inert body composed of insentient matter. It fails to appreciate the duality of the sentient soul and the insentient body and becomes totally engrossed in the pursuit of bodily enjoyment. It throws the spiritual concerns to the winds. This is its lowest state that of complete delusion (Moha) - induced by the false belief that soul and body are the same. However, when the pressure of such deluding karmic influence reduces a bit due to karmic separation achieved through the process of inevitable retribution, albeit unconsciously, it starts to realise the duality of the body and the soul and comes to recognise the soul's powers. This is the dawn of right-belief and the beginning of its journey to rise from the dungeon of falsehood to the garden of truth. Though this journey to the final spiritual destination is a
