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Istopadeśa – The Golden Discourse
अविद्वान् पुद्गलद्रव्यं योऽभिनन्दति तस्य तत् । न जातु जन्तोः सामीप्यं चतुर्गतिषु मुञ्चति ॥
(46)
Believing the matter to be the soul, the ignorant gets attached to it and, as a result, the matter does not leave the soul in its four states of existence (caturgati).
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Every soul present in the three worlds - the lower world, the transverse world, and the upper world – has been in transmigratory existence since beginningless time. Being propelled by the mechanism of karmas, the soul wanders in the cycle of births and deaths, undergoing millions of afflictions. There are four states of worldly existence (caturgati) – the infernal state, the subhuman (plants and animals) state, the celestial state, and the human state.
Ācārya Amritchandra elucidates in Puruşārthasiddhyupāya: जीवकृतं परिणामं निमित्तमात्रं प्रपद्य पुनरन्ये । स्वयमेव परिणमन्तेऽत्र पुद्गलाः कर्मभावेन ॥ As a consequence of the rise of passions like attachment in the soul, physical matter gets bonded with the soul, transforming itself into karmic matter, like knowledge-obscuring karma.
(12)
परिणममानस्य चितश्चिदात्मकैः स्वयमपि स्वकैर्भावैः। भवति हि निमित्तमात्रं पौद्गलिकं कर्म तस्यापि ॥
(13)
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