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activities Thus from the life of saint, vice totally vanishes and there remains virtue which will also be transcended as soon as the flight into the realm of spirit is made
3. Dlumination
By the time the aspirant reaches this stage, he has developed a power of spiritual attention, of selfmerging and of gazing into the ground of the soul It is through the aid of deep meditation that the mystic now pursues the higher path Pujyapada 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 Karmic fuel, and then the person remains unaffected by external troubles and never experiences discomposure In consequence, he moves higher where exists the state of profound purity If the self follows the process of annihilition instead of suppression, it rises directly to transcendental life Here the conduct deluding Karma is destroyed instead of being suppressed 4 Dark Night of the soul Post-Illumination
Owing to the suppressed passions gaining strength the illuminated consciousness falls either to total darkness or to the stage of spiritual awakening 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
5 Transcendental Life
The slumbering and the unawakened 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 this stage the soul now possesses dispassionate activities along with omniscience (Kevalajnana) It is a state of Jivana Mukta, a supermental state of existence and an example of divine lıfe upon earth The self becomes Arhat It may be noted here that the self in this stage is called Paramatman, and the possessor of Paradrsti This perfected mystic is established in truth in all directions He experiences bliss, which is supersensuous, unique infinite, and interminable Whatever issues from him is potent enough to abrogate the miseries of tormented humanity His presence is supremely enlightening He is the spiritual leader of society Just as a mother educates her child for its benefit and a kind physician cures diseased orphans, so also the perfected mystic instructs humanity for its upliftment and dispenses spiritual pills to the suffering humanity He is always awake He has transcended
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