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Bhagwan Mahavir ]
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as the right and the false "guru ” or the preceptor as the true one, false religion as the right. He can not get the least glimpse of the path leading to salvation.
Doubt--If this is the most degraded condition why is it called Gunasthana ? This is not a stage of Guna (good quality ) but of Avaguna ( defect ) Therefore we must call it Avagunasthana and not Gunasthana.
Explanation--"Guna " is a generic terni. And“ Sadguna " ( good quality) and "Durguna " ( bad quality ) are specific terms.“ Guna” includes both the qualities. The meaning is that'Guna' can be made to interpret 'Avaguna' so according to its use here Guna can be taken to mean Avaguna. Besides, though the soul in this condition is completely undeveloped, yet its natural self is not completely eliminated. Even in that condition the soul possesses the qualities of counteracting the derogatory influence of Jnanavaran and Darshanavarana. There the soul has at its command a little knowledge and insight. They may be perv. erted due to the contact with Mithyatwa but they still exist though in a perverted form. Therefore this stage is called Mithyatva Gunasthana as these Gunas exist. The third thing is that the perverted soul has no perverted conception in all matters enternally because he can recognise a cow as a cow, a horse as a horse and a pitcher as a pitcher. With this view point also the word Mithyatwa Gunasthana is not a misnomer.
11. Saswadana Gunasthana. Just as a rock, falling from the top of a hill, rolls into a swift-flowing stream and becomes smooth and rounded rubbing against other stones, in the same way the soul, in
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