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Kaṣāya and thus absolves itself from the rise of all types of passions.85 If the self follows the process of annihilation instead of suppression it rises directly from the tenth to the twelfth Guņasthāna known as Kșīņakaṣāya Gunasthāna. 86 Here the conduct deluding Karma is destroyed instead of being suppressed. Pūjyapāda rightly observes that meditation produces supreme ecstasy in a mystic who is firmly established in the self. Such an ecstatic consciousness is potent enough to burn the Kārmic fuel; and then the person remains unaffected by external troubles and never experiences discoinposure.
(5) Dark night of the soul post illumination:
Owing to the suppressed passions gaining strength, the illuminated consciousness of the eleventh Gunasthāna falls to the lowest stage of Mithyātva or to the fourth stage of Avirata Samyagdrsti Gunasthāna. The consequence is that the ecstatic awareness of the transcendental self gets negated and an overwhelming sense of darkness envelops the mystic. It may be noted that not all mystics experience this dark night. Those of them who ascend the ladder of annihilation escape this tragic period, whereas those who ascend the ladder of suppression succumb to its dangers and pains. Mystics of the latter type no doubt will also reach the pinnacle of transcendental life, but only when they climb up the ladder of annihilation either in this life or in some other to come.
(6) Transcendental life or (a) Sayogakevali and (b) Ayogakevali Guņasthānas:
The slumbering and the un-awakened soul, after passing through the stages of spiritual awakening, moral and intellectual preparation, now arrives at the sublime destination by dint of ascending the rungs of meditational ladder. In the thirteenth stage the soul possesses dispassionate activities (Yoga) and omniscience (Kevalajnāna), hence it is known as Sayogakevali Guņasthāna88 It is a state of Jivana-Mukta, a supermental state of existence and an example of divine life upon earth. The fourteenth stage is called Ayogakevali Guņasthāna, as there the soul annuls all
Jaina Mysticism and other essays
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