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PHILOSOPHY
B14 - Fourteen Gunasthäna: Stages of Spiritual Development
first Gunasthäna the soul transits straight to the fourth, but it may regress to third or second on its path to the first for reasons given later. We will know more about them as we briefly describe each of the fourteen Gunasthänas, in the subsequent paragraphs. 02 Fourteen Gunasthänas The 14 stages of spiritual development are as follows: Mithya-drashti Gunasthäna
Wrong faith Säsvädana Samyag-drashti Gunasthäna Having tasted true faith Samyag Mithya-drashti Gunasthäna Mixed faith stage Avirata Samyag-drashti Gunasthäna Vow less right faith Desha-virat Shrävak Gunasthäna Partial renunciation Pramatta-samyat Gunasthäna
Full renunciation with less awareness Apramatta-samyat Gunasthana
Renunciation with awareness Apurva-karan or Nivritti-bädara
Meditative state Gunasthäna Anivritti-bädara Gunasthäna
Advance meditative state Sukshma-samparaya Gunasthäna Stage of subtle greed Upashänt-moha (Kashäya) Gunasthäna Suppressed passions state Kshina-moha (Kashäya) Gunasthäna Passionless stage Sayogi Kevali Gunasthäna
Active omniscience state Ayogi Kevali Gunasthäna
Inactive omniscience state
01. Mithya-drashti Gunasthäna
This is the lowest or first stage wherein the soul, due to manifestation of Mohaniya (Deluding) Karma, does not believe in the Right Path to salvation. The characteristic mark of this Gunasthäna is perversity of attitude towards truth; or unbelief in the truth taught by the Jina in its entirety. The soul at this stage has a minimum degree of right vision and very indistinct enlightenment - just enough that is required for a living conscious soul. A soul may find itself in this stage from the start or it may come to it from higher stages but the reason is the same - the manifestation of Deluding (Mohaniya) Karma. From this stage, a soul rises only to the fourth stage for the very first time and not to the second or the third as will be described later. In this Gunasthäna, all 28 types of Deluding
(Mohaniya) Karma are in manifestation. 02. Säsvädana Samyag-drashti Gunasthäna
This is the second higher stage where the soul finds itself for a very short time on its downward journey to the first stage but with some taste or memory of the higher stage. A soul has attained the higher stage due to the arising of true belief or enlightenment for a short duration due to suppression of Deluding (Mohaniya) Karma. However, due to the re-manifestation of the same Karma of an acute type, it goes back to the first stage staying for a short period in the second stage with taste of true belief lingering which has given it the name of a Gunasthäna with a taste. From this stage, it
only goes downwards to the first Gunasthäna (Mithyätva). 03. Samyag Mithya-drashti Gunasthäna
This third stage is marked by indifference towards true belief, the soul being in a mixed state of belief and non-belief in the true doctrines. This condition arises on account of manifestation of mixed Deluding Karma in the soul at a higher stage (Fourth) from which the soul comes down to this stage. The stay in this third stage is also of very short duration and is transitional, the soul going down to
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Compendium of Jainism - 2015
