Gommatasara Jiva Kanda

Author(s): Nemichandra Siddhant Chakravarti, J L Jaini
Publisher: ZZZ Unknown

Page 67

56
Three stages of this right belief are noticeable. To begin with, there is its absence, i.e., there is wrong belief. Then you may acquire right belief but lose it and slip from it to wrong belief, the condition of your belief during downfall. Thirdly, the condition of mixed right and wrong belief.
The above 2 triads give us 6 classes. These may be called Subsidential, Destructive, Destructive-Subsidential, Wrong belief, downfall belief and mixed right wrong belief. Here right belief is the basis of the Quest.
13.- Mind-Quest (Sanjná). Souls have mind or not. They are Rational or Irrational. This is the Rationality Quest.
14.-Assimilation-Quest (Ánára). Souls are in an incarnation, as celestial, human, sub-human, and hellish being; there they are assimilating particles of matter for their physical bodies every instant.
But in transmigration from one condition of existence to another there is no assimilation of matter of physical body. This distinction gives us the Assimilation Quest. That is, souls are :
(1) those who are assimilating matter of their birth bodies
(Áháráká Varganá); or (2) those who are not so assimilating it, i.e., in transmig
ration in the three instants of omniscient overflow in the 13th stage, and in the 14th stage.
III.-Spiritual Stages. If we mark the freedom of pure soul from the impurifying bondage of matter we notice 14 stages.
1. The soul has delusion. It has wrong belief. (Mithyátva).
2. It had Right Belief, but it is falling from that to Wrong Belief. This is the Downfall Stage. (Sásádana).
3. It is in a stage of Mixed Right and Wrong Belief. (Mishra).
4. It has Right Belief; but does not act upon it; does not resolve or vow to follow it in actual life. It is Vowless Right Belief. (Avirata Samyaktva).
5. It may follow it by partial vows. We may call it the partial Vow-stage. (Desha-Vrata):
6. It may be with all possible vows, but may keep them imperfectly. Owing to negligence or illness (Pramáda). Call it the partial Vow-stage. Pramatta-vrata).
7. If it has all Vows and keeps them perfectly, we have the Perfect Vow-stage. (Apramatta virata),