Elusive Consciousness

Author(s): Narendra Bhandari, Surendrasingh Pokharana, Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 89

manifested by mundane souls i.e. by different living beings. Thus a perfectly ordered consciousness is analogous to a ground state which is free from any excitations and an excitation then corresponds to a Karma. Karmas are of eight different types and they obstruct the true nature of the pure soul.
At every moment, an empirical self is attracting this matter towards him by his actions through mind and body. This matter which has now become karma then remains latent in the empirical self for some time which is determined by the passions at the time of arrival of new matter. Passions in turn are determined by karmas which are already present. Karmas have the following four characteristics (A) Nature, (B) Number, (C) Lifetime and (D) Intensity. They explain all properties of all living beings in the world. Many other details are given in other paper in this document by the author and that of Dr. Narayan Lal Kachhara
4. PHASE TRANSITIONS, GUNASTHĀNAS AND JAIN CONCEPT OF
EVOLUTION OF SOUL THROUGH FOURTEEN STAGES IN JAINISM:
The path of evolution of soul in Jainism is described through fourteen stages through which one has to pass before getting liberalized (that is becoming a pure soul from an impure soul which is associated with many karmas). These fourteen stages or phases are called fourteen Gunasthanas (Pokharna 2012) and they are;
Mithyatatva, Sasvadan,
Samyagya,
Mithyatatva Dristhi (Mishra),
Avirat Samyagya dristhi, Virtavirat (Deshvirati), Pramat Sayant,
Apramat Sayant,