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Through the ascetic discipline the soul becomes gradually "purified", i. e., it goes through different stages of spiritual devel. opment, or quality-states (guna-sthanas). These stages are crucial for the soul in its journey towards divinity and the fourteen stages are also dealt with by the author. It is clearly shown how the soul attains a particular state depending on which binding factors are eliminated.
It is a well-known fact that in comparison to studies carried out in Buddhism and Hinduism, Jainism has been a rather ne. glected area. This is the case even though a discussion on any religious or philosophical theme in India is incomplete without taking into consideration the contribution of Jainism to Indian culture as a whole. In recent years, however, more and more schol. ars have taken recourse to Jaina themes with due respect being given to the work of Jaina thinkers for their achievements since early times. Dr Kothari's work draws attention to the concept of divinity and highlights the Jaina relevance and contribution.
Jayendra Soni, Professor of Indology at Philips University,
Marburg, Germany,
June 2000
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