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For the progress towards the goal of soul's emancipation from the lust-embedded causal body, the Jain scriptures have enumerated the following progressions: Fourteen Gunasthanas (levels of purity of soul, in a way the last eleven are the levels of developed stage, and the first three are the levels of the undeveloped stage). Two types of indirect knowledge (mati and shrut acquired through sense organs and the mind) Three kinds of direct knowledge (avadhi, manahparyaya and keval directly generated by the intellectual soul) Eleven Pratimas (stages of renunciation for a layman) with reference to Shravak. The rank-order can only be explained through the system of Bhed-Prabhed (classifications). But, the soul heading towards its goal does not entangle in counting these milestones. This is such a journey where always lies the danger of turning back before attaining the goal. We can regress even further from the point where we had started in some earlier birth.
Mythology has presented the incarnations of Mahavir in previous births in great detail and fantasy. As compared to his eventless life, his previous births are very eventful. The narration of previous births in the first section of Jain literature classified as Prathamanuyog indicates that Sadhana and asceticism can make any soul a Mahavir, that by taking birth in previous incarnation as a Lion, a soul can attain the qualities of Mahavir and can be instrumental in liberating and freeing human beings from the cycles of life-and-death, that in the deep-darkness of karmic bondage is inherent the existence of light and one has simply to search for it. For liberation from the bonds of karmas, the roles of upadan (material cause) and nimitta (instrumental cause) are to be fulfilled with rational perception, rational knowledge and rational conduct. This path of Mahavir is difficult, but once is fully comprehended and put into practise, it is uniquely very simple.
The thought of Mahavir is a composition in its entiretya complete structure/construction, in which the bricks have been laid one over the other scientifically. We cannot remove a brick from anywhere. Mahavir's teachings should be seen in their epistemological entirety. To cull an isolated sen
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