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are acquired. And the already acquired karmas are completety dissociated or destroyed by means of penance, internal as well as external. Sukla-dhyana (pure concentration) is the highest form of penance. It destroys those karmas that obstruct and obscure the fourfold nature of soul. And the activities that still remain, at this stage, without the slightest tinge of attachment and aversion get altogether stopped and the person attains the final stage of spiritual evolution called Saileşt. Thus discriminative knowledge is the seed of Liberation. (9-10)
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Non-discriminative knowledge (Abhedajñāna) and its effects: On the other hand, the seed of worldly existence or bondage is non-discriminative knowledge. This non-discriminative knowledge is Ignorance of the distinction between soul and non-soul. It is Nescience. It is mithyatva. Due to this Ignorance one is unable to discriminate soul the nature of which is cognition from passions that arise depending on karmic matter. As a result of it he identifies soul with passions and consequently superimposes doership on soul. Thus he comes to believe that soul is an agent, actor or doer. From the beginningless time soul is associated with non-soul i. e. karmic matter; so, its power of discrimination has been veiled. A person stricken with Nescience is fascinated by worldly objects, hankers after them, thinks that there obtains a relation of the owner and the owned between soul and these worldly objects, gets soul transformed into the ideas of them, is possessed by the ideas so much so that he completely forgets his own true self. He is a man of likes and dislikes. When he comes in contact with desired and undesired objects he entertains the feelings of attachment and aversion with regard to them respectively. Accordingly, he ideally constructs them, becomes one with them, ponders over them; consequently his consciousness assumes their forms. Thus he remains caught up in the cycle of activity (of attaining or abandoning them) and its fruits. (11-12)
Removal of Ignorance: Ignorance of the true nature of soul is the cause of the notions 'I' and 'Mine' in the case of what is essentially different from soul. How can one remove this ignorance? It is demo⚫nstrated as follows: Soul is of the nature of jñana (determinate cognition) and darkana (indeterminate cognition). This is established by experience itself. As soon as the veil of Nescience (mithyatva) is removed, it is found engrossed in its infinite knowledge and bliss. Nescience is removed either spontaneously or by listening to the preachings of a spiritual teacher, One who has not attained samyaktea (opposite of mithyatsa, redeeming knowledge, right faith) previously at any time attains it spontaneously. This samyaktsa of his is invariably of the aupasamika type. One who had attained samyaktva previously but who is now deprived of it will regain it with the help of
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