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JANUARY, 1993
not accept a spiritual goal of life though they may be morally more or less advanced then mere brutes.
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Right attitude (samyag-darśana), right knowledge (samyag-jñāna) and right conduct (samyag-caritra) are the three pillars of Jainism. In the mithyatva guṇasthāna all these three are obstructed. When right attitude and faith awaken, the individual ascends to the fourth gunasthāna.
4th Avirata Samyag-drşti Gunasthāna.
As the name suggests, the individual in this stage gains right attitude (samyag-dṛṣṭi) towards reality and about one's own nature and aim of life but is not able to abstain from undesirable actions (avirata).
This stage marks the beginning of a righteous life and is given great importance since a person in this stage gives up his obstinacy and corrects his erroneous beliefs and notions. He gains right attitude although he is not able to act accordingly. He has right vision but his conduct is not in accord with his faith. He neither abstains from sense pleasures nor desists from causing injury to creatures.
Samyag-dṛṣṭi literally means right vision. Its original meaning was right attitude or vision regarding life and about oneself. However, in course of time the meaning changed into 'right faith' and traditionally samyag-drşti means faith in prophets, saints, scriptures and tenets of Jainism, without which none can be a Jain nor can one ascend to the fourth step of the spiritual ladder. This stage can be compared to 'conversion' or 'spiritual awakening' and is understandably given great importence in Jainism, as in all other religions. Faith undoubtedly, is the basis of all spiritual endeavour, and greater the faith more the chances of spiritual advancement. Although a man with strong faith runs the risk of becoming begotted, its shallowness on the contrary, makes one unstable and confused.
No one can ascend to the fourth gunasthana unless he has suppressed or conquered the darśana mohaniya karma and the anantānubandhi quartet of passions." If these are merely suppressed, the individual
6 The description of second and third stage would follow.
7 In ultimate analysis karmas are responsible for passions, spiritual inertia and other defects. Hence karmas responsible for them must be understood wherever not mentioned.
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