________________ XXX Jaina Meditation by the immoral conduct and sinful activities (asravas). The characteristic signs of the person established in sukla-dhyana, clearly demonstrate the close affinity between this dhyana and the bhavanamayi prajna found in Buddhism, the dhyanabhyasarasa in the Yogadarsana of Patanjali, and nididhyasana in the Upanisads. 7. Dhyana from the Standpoint of Gunasthana Meditation in early Jainism or even in the early formulation of the classical doctrine had no direct reference to the doctrine of gunasthana.1 But in the works of Sivarya and Umasvati we find a clear linking of the two doctrines, one being considered as the integral part of the other. Of course, apramada (alertness and vigilance) was always considered as the sine qua non of meditation, but the seventh, viz. the apramatta-samyata gunasthana as such was not mentioned in the earlier formulation of the doctrine of dhyana in the Sthananga Sutra. The later Jaina thinkers invariably explained the types of meditation with reference to the gunasthana. A very brief account of dhyana from the standpoint of gunasthana is given here. The arta-dhyana is possible only upto the sixth gunasthana, and the raudra upto the fifth. The dharma-dhyana, according to Umasvati, is possible only at the seventh and onward upto the twelfth. According to Pujyapada Devanandi and Akalanka, however, it is possible even at the lower gunastha. nas, beginning from the fourth, but it is not possible while climbing up the sreni, that is, in the eighth gunasthana and onward. In the opinion of Virasena, only the aspirants prone to passions (sakasaya) are qualified for dharmadhyana. In other words, it is possible only upto the tenth gunasthana. An ingenious solution of the conflict in these views has been attempted by pointing out that dharmadhyana is possible at the fourth, fifth and sixth gunasthanas only secondarily, the primary 1 For a brief outline of the doctrine of gunasthanas vide Studies in Jaina Philosophy, pp. 268-280. 2 TSu, IX. 35-6. There is no clear mention of the first three gunasthanas in these sutras. But they can be understood by implication. Haribhadra's commentary on Dhyanasataka, 18, is quite clear on the point. 3 Ibid., IX. 37-8. Cf. Dhyanasataka, 63. 4 SSi, IX. 36; TVa, IX. 36. SS, IX. 37 and TVa, IX. 37 : srenyarohanat prag dharma dhyanam, sre yoh sukladhyanam. 5 Dhyanataponirupana, p. 79.
