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The man who wishes to obtain samyaktva must pass through three stages or processes. They are called respectively: yatha-pravritti-karana, apurva karana, and ani-vritti-karana. But before describing them something must be said about the duration of karmas and the Jain idea of time.
The first of these three processes lessens the duration of the karmas, and that is the first thing to do in order to obtain the samyaktva.
Time is the duration of the modifications of substances. Duration is the fact that a given state of anything or being stays for a certain length of time. The modification (or state, that is) lasts for a certain length of time. (Time is not, therefore, any mysterious mystery, it is quite plain and graspable.)
The maximum time that the karmas could last
is as follows; that is to say that any given
karma which is in combination with the soul, would naturally be worked out during the time as given below; but then it is to be understood that while this particular karma is working out, the individual may generate an addition of karma of a similar nature, and so although at the end of the following maximum times, the particular karma, would all be rid from the soul, yet the soul would be in combination with fresh karma if the inflow has not been stopped.
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