Apporva Avasar

Author(s): Shrimad Rajchandra,
Publisher: USA Jain Study Group NY

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Appendix 1
GUNASTHANAKAS (SPIRITUAL STAGES)
What is a GUNASTHANAKA? "Guna" means virtues, characteristics or natural attributes and "sthanaka" denotes location, condition, stage or level. The spiritual level of a soul with respect to its natural attributes (relative to its maximum potential) ie. Infinite Knowledge (Gnan) and Perception (Darshan) is called GUNASTHANAKA. Jain scriptures stipulate fourteen stages as milestones of spiritual progression and regression (not necessarily in chronological order) and describe them in detail.
The degree of freedom from karmas manifests itself in the aspirant's thoughts and behavior. The poem "Apoorva Avasar" describes this process of achieving freedom from karmas as the soul progresses through various spiritual stages.
The following briefly names and describes each stages:
1. Mithya Drashti (Wrong Perception): Spiritually blind due to the influence of karmas, the person neither has the knowledge nor does he believe in the teachings of Tirthankara as a means to achieve Moksha. To go to higher spiritual stages, one must cultivate full faith in the teachings of Tirthankara and practice them accordingly.
2. Saswadana (Retained Taste): This is a transitory stage through which a soul passes for a very short duration of time only when descending from a higher stage. This stage is not encountered during an upward advancement from the first stage. The soul in this stage retains the taste of SAMYAK DARSHAN (previously acquired) before further degeneration to the first stage occurs.
3. Mishra Drashti (Mixed Perception): The aspirant, wavering between right and wrong beliefs, has mixed feelings toward the teachings of Tirthankaras. The soul temporarily passes through this stage while descending from the fourth or ascending from the first.
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