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STAGES OF SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
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when they completely annihilate them, they are at this stage. The subtle greed which was active in the tenth stage is also destroyed in this stage. That is, the soul which has started climbing up the ladder of destruction in the ninth stage goes up from the tenth directly to this twelfth stage. The eleventh stage is not for it. The eleventh and the twelfth both the stages are characterised by perfect equanimity, but the only difference between the two is that the former is not permanent whereas the latter is permanent. In other words, the fall from the former is certain, whereas there is no possibility whatsoever of the fall from the latter. At this twelfth stage of spiritual development the soul enters into pure meditation (śukla-dhyāna), totally destroys the deluding, knowledge-obscuring, vision-obscuring and obstructive karmic matter, and as a result attains kevalajñāna (pure knowledge, omniscience). Sukla-dhyāna is divided into four types. They are designated as follows:
(1) Prthaktva-vitarka-savicāra (Constant conceptual thinking applied to various aspects of a substance).
(2) Ekatva-vitarka-nirvicāra (Constant conceptual thinking applied to one aspect only of a substance).
(3) Sükṣmakriya'pratipätin (Concentration accompanied with subtle physical i.e. bodily movement and infallible).
(4) Samucchinnakriya'nivṛtti (Concentration accompanied with complete cessation of all activities and infallible).
In the twelfth stage the first two types alone are possible and hence they are practised. So at this juncture we explain them.
(1) Prthaktva-vitarka-savicāra : When a performer of dhyāna takes up for concentration an inanimate entity like atom, etc. or a conscious entity like soul and undertakes in relation to its numerous modes like permanence, destruction, tangibility, nontangibility, etc. and with the help of the various standpoints a reflection dominated by difference at the same time in the interest of reflection switches over from one mode to another, from a meaning to a word, from a word to a meaning, or from one activity to another, then the dhyana concerned is called prthaktva-vitarka-savicāra. Let us explain this Sanskrit term.
RELI-15
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