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indulge in anger. He thus pacifies his anger. As he progresses in that direction, he realizes that the anger is unbecoming and adopts restraint for removing the same; in other words, he tries to get rid of the conditioning that induces him to be angry.
One thus tries to go ahead partly by pacification and partly by eradication. Though he is keen to rise on the spiritual ladder, his conditioning drags him downward. That upward and downward oscillation continues up to the seventh stage. The oscillation between the 6 and 7th stages occurs on that account. When one finally overcomes it, he reaches the end of that state and rises to the next stage. The progress thereafter is quicker. The stages 8 to 12 are of very short duration; one does not stay at any of them for more than 48 minutes.
The path from the eighth stage onward is bifurcated. One goes ahead either by calming down the remaining Karmas or by eradicating them. The former is called Upasham Shreni and the latter Kshapak Shreni. In either of the cases as one reaches the tenth stage, the deluding Karma is either totally calmed down or is entirely destroyed. Thereafter one moving by Upasham Shreni goes to the eleventh stage and then falls back. That happens by virtue of the pacified Karma becoming active. One progressing by Kshapak Shreni skips the eleventh stage and goes to the twelfth.
Shrimad happened to remember his previous lives and knew that he had earlier adopted Upasham Shreni and had fallen from the eleventh stage. He has mentioned in No. 170 of Vachanamrut that this had been seen with his own eyes and that he had experienced it. As such, he is now particular to avoid that path and contemplates to move ahead by resorting to Kshapak Shreni so that he would skip the eleventh stage and go ahead. That has been mentioned in the third line of this stanza.
Those, who intend to rise accordingly, should have developed a high level of discernment and awareness. They should also have implicit faith in the spiritual pursuit that they are undergoing. They are thus in a position to remain tuned to the nature of soul. This stanza therefore says that pure contemplation of the true nature would prevail at that level. That is termed as Shukladhyän.
Jain tradition specifies four types of meditation, of which Ärtadhyän and Raudradhyän are unwholesome and Dharmadhyän and Shukladhyän are wholesome. In the earlier stages the people remain more or less involved in Artdhyan and Raudradhyän. Dharmadhyän arises from the 5" stage and Shukladhyän from the 8th stage. Jain tradition does not consider it feasible to reach the eighth stage or to adopt Shukladhyän at present, at least in the area where we live. As such, this contemplation relates to an ideal.
14) Moh Swayambooraman Samudra Tari Kari, Sthiti Tyän Jyän Kshinamoh Gunsthän Jo; Ant Samay Tyan Poorna Swaroop Viträg Thai, Pragatavun Nij Kevaljnän Nidhän Jo. Apoorva.
Thus, crossing over Swayambhooraman sea (the largest sea) of delusion I may reach the state of elevation known as delusion-free state and attaining the total detachment at the end, I may manifest my inherent treasure of omniscience.
When?
Since it is very hard to overcome delusion, its overcoming is comparable to crossing of a vast ocean. Jain concept of geography stipulates consecutive masses of land and water alternating each other. That continues up to the largest ocean known as Swayambhooraman, which is unfathomable. Here the deluding Karma is compared with that vast ocean. Actually, the said Karma is more unfathomable than Swayambhooraman, because the worldly souls have been drifting over it since the time without beginning and still the end is not within the eyesight.
There is also another significance of that name. Swayam means self, Bhoo means to be and Raman means to play. As such, Swayambhooraman stands for playing on one's own. That interpretation appropriately applies to delusion, because soul has been indulging therein of its own choice. No one else, not even the deluding Karma, forces it to indulge that way. Though the deluding mode may arise under the impact of deluding Karma, every soul is free not to indulge in it.
Any way, when one overcomes the delusion, he rises to the 12th stage known as Kshinamoh, which means delusion-free stage. The remaining subtle categories of perception-obscuring, knowledge-obscuring and
