________________
126
THE PRACTICAL PATH.
The next thing to be attended to is conduct without which it is not possible to realise the ideal in view. Hence the remaining gunasthanas are the landmarks on the path of progress in respect of Right Conduct. The eighth and the ninth stages are also characterised by increased meditation, hence concerned in the advancement of knowledge ; but to follow the teaching of the siddhânta on the still bigher rungs of the ladder, it is necessary to remember that perfection in conduct means neither more nor less than the attainment of the state of desirelessness which is possible only with the complete eradication of all those traits which spring from desire.
Now, desire signifies greed, the immediate cause of deceitfulness. Greed also leads to pride by focussing attention on the physical personality and by aug. menting the sense of egoity; and pride and greed combined give birth to anger. Thus, greed is the root of the remaining three forms of kashayas (passions) and the most difficult mental trait to be destroyed. It cannot be eradicated before the twelfth stage for this reason. Omniscience is manifested in the thirteenth stage, while the fourteenth is like an ante-room to nirvana. For facility of reference we give the main features of the gunasthanas in the accompanying tabulated form.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
