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## Chapter 8: The Six Stages of Existence
**The Chhakhandagam**
Due to the strong force of **udaya** (arising), the soul has been wandering in delusion since time immemorial. Because of the powerful influence of **mohakarma** (karma of delusion), it does not strive to attain its true nature. Instead, it remains restless in pursuit of worldly objects that are not its own. This false perception or misinterpretation of the soul is called **mithyatva** (falsehood). Those souls who possess this **mithyatva** are called **mithyadrishti** (those with false vision). The tendency of **mithyadrishti** souls is to always dwell in **kṣayās** (passions) and they have no understanding of **dharma** (righteousness) and **adharma** (unrighteousness). The majority of beings in the world are situated in this state of **mithyatva**.
The duration of this **mithyatva** state is of three types:
1. **Anadi-ananta** (beginningless and endless): Those souls whose **mithyatva** has been ongoing since time immemorial and will continue for an infinite time, meaning they have never attained true vision and will never attain it in the future. These **abhavya** (non-liberated) **mithyadrishti** souls have a **mithyatva** state that is **anadi-ananta**.
2. **Anadi-santa** (beginningless and finite): Those souls whose **mithyatva** has been ongoing since time immemorial but who, through effort, will overcome it and attain true vision, becoming **samyagdristi** (those with right vision) and ascending to higher stages. Their **mithyatva** has an end, so its duration is called **anadi-santa**.
3. **Sadi-santa** (finite and finite): Those souls whose **mithyatva** has been overcome and who have attained true vision once and ascended to higher stages, but due to the influence of **karmodya** (arising of karma), have fallen back into the **mithyatva** state. Their **mithyatva** has both a beginning and an end, as it will eventually be overcome. Therefore, its duration is called **sadi-santa**.
Thus, there are three types of souls found in the **mithyatva** state.
**The Second Stage: Saasadan**
When the soul strives to attain its true nature and through this effort gains true vision, it immediately jumps from the first stage to the fourth stage. However, due to the arising of **anantabandhi kṣayās** (passions that bind for an infinite time), which have subsided but not completely extinguished, it falls back down. This downward movement is the second stage. The name **saasadan** refers to the negation of **samyagdarshan** (right vision), and because it is associated with this negation, this stage is called **saasadan**. The duration of this stage is at least one **samaya** (moment) and at most six **avali** (periods of time). No soul can remain in this stage for longer than this. After this, it inevitably falls back to the first stage.
**The Third Stage: Misra or Samyagmithyatva**
When the soul in the fourth stage experiences the arising of **samyagmithyatva** (mixed vision) karma, which is a type of **darshanamohaniya karma** (karma that obscures vision), it falls from the fourth stage to the third stage, the **misra** stage. In this stage, the soul's state is a mixture of both **samyaktva** (rightness) and **mithyatva** (falsehood), hence its name **misra** or **samyagmithyatva**. The shortest and longest duration of this stage is **antarmuhurta** (a very short period of time). If, upon the completion of this time, the soul...