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HIERARCHY OF LIFE
energy. The score for the liberated soul is at the point of infinity, as it has no impurity (not even a body). (Most Jains today might not accept these statements literally although some early followers believed that teachers of other religions could reach the higher states).
3.4 THE FOUR MENTAL STATES
Every living being possesses varying degrees of sensitivity due to its mental state. We describe the four main directions, which the mental state can take. The state with the highest agonising point is the hellish state. The extreme state of pleasure is called the heavenly state. This is a hedonistic pleasure but does not correspond to the state of bliss. The state where the living being does not know what is tomorrow or did not know what was yesterday, is the animalistic state. The state of the equilibrium point between the pleasure and the pain is the average human state.
Human State
Heavenly state
Hellish State
Animalistic State
Fig. 3.3
Four directions of the mental state in living beings.
