Basic Principles Of Jainism

Author(s): Narayan Lal Kachhara
Publisher: Narayan Lal Kachhara

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karmic matter and of the minor passions that prevent the perfect-right-conduct from attaining perfection. It is on account of these passions which still remain undestroyed fully that there is carelessness or imperfection in the observance of the vows, Hence the name pramada or careless error in vrata (vow). There is effort on the part of the person to control himself in his observance of the vows, but he is hindered by desires and impulses as the renunciation of attachment to worldly object is not complete. This is virtually the stage for an ascetic.
A saint or an ascetic in this stage possesses all the twenty eight essential primary qualities (mula-gunas) which a saint even in the lowest stage possesses. He performs his usual duties like teaching, preaching the scriptures, reading and writing books and looks after the discipline and conduct of his pupils. Carelessness may occur by way of censurable talk relating to women, food, politics, or the king, or control of passions, sleep and attachments, that is moha and sneha (delusion and affection). The conduct of a Muni in this stage is remarkable for its absence of negligence.
7) Apramatta-virata
The soul of a person who has reached this stage of spiritual development is free from the infirmities of the 6th stage and is absorbed in spiritual contemplation. When the perfect-rightconduct-preventing Karma (samjvalana) and the minor passions are suppressed there arise the quality of non-carelessness and the soul reaches the stages of perfect vow (apramatta samyaka). He is absorbed in contemplation but is not able to rise higher as the Karmas etc., is not wholly destroyed. This stage of (seventh) may last for one antarmuharta and the soul may fall down to the 6th stage.
This is a very vital stage of spiritual development. Here onwards there would be two ways of progress: one is where the Karmas and minor passions are merely pacified or suppressed (Uspasamaka sreni); while the other is ksapakasreni where the Karmas are annihilated. Undoubtedly the soul has acquired strength due to cessation of all attachments and thorough control over the body. There is full self-control and there is not the slightest negligence in the observance of the vows etc., without any kind of transgression.
8) Aspurva-karana
This stage is called the apurva-karana because the spiritual development of the soul leads to attainment of new thought activities which had not been reached before. All the souls that have reached this stage of development are not uniform in the degree of purity of thought as they might reach the stage at different points of time. The new thought-activities would be mainly concerned with the destruction or subsidence of the right-conduct-deluding karmas. These souls are free from the bondages of karmic matter of sleep (nidra) and drowsiness (prachala) and are therefore capable of bringing about the subsidence of right conduct-deluding karmas. The soul delights in checking or destroying the consequences of streaks of passions that might arise at times. This is the stage of pure contemplation; it is otherwise called sukla-dhyana or white
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