Introduction to Jaina Sadhna

Author(s): Sagarmal Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

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66: An Introduction to Jaina Sadhana
an unattached and indifferent person. Thus the essential teaching of Jainism is the eschew- ment of attachment and not the negation of life. Gunasthāna
The journey of soul towards its spiritual heights is discussed in Jainism as a doctrine of Gunasthāna. According to Jaina thinkers there are fourteen stages of spiritual development from the lowest level of perverse attitude (mithya-drsti ) to the highest level of godhood ( siddhāvasthā). In the Samavāyānga, Satkhandāgama and in the works of Kundakunda and other Jaina thinkers we have a mention of these fourteen stages. These fourteen stages are technically called Gunasthāna. Guna-sthāna refers to the stage of the soul at a particular stage in its spiritual development with reference to the nature of jñāna, darśana and cāritra, i.e., knowledge, faith and conduct, through the operation, subsidence and destruction of karma.
1. The first stage is called mithyādrsti, i.e., perversity of attitude. It is the lowest stage from where the spiritual journey of soul starts. It is considered as a stage of spiritual development because in this very state the efforts for the attainment of the right vision are made. The process of granthibheda occurs at this stage. At this stage the soul, is in the grip of exterme passions (Anantānubhandhi kaṣāya ). The souls are of two types -- bhavya ( capable of attaining liberation ) and abhavya ( incapable of attaining liberation). Abhavya souls will remain in this stage for infinite time, while the bhavya souls will remain in this stage for a limited period of time. The perversity of attitude is of five kinds –(i)acceptance of one-sided view or the extremist view (ekānta ), (ii) acceptance of the view, which is contradictory to the fact or reality (viparita ), (iii) veneration to the false creeds or the ritualistic views (vinaya ), (iv) doubt or instability of faith ( samsaya ), (v) ignorance of the real nature of things ( ajñāna).