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THE SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATIONS OF JAINISM
7.3 FIRST FOUR STAGES
The first four stages in Fig. 7.2 are Incorrect View (of reality), Vanishing Faith, Mixed Faith and Doubt, and True-Insight respectively.
7.3.1 Definition of stages and internal motion
The first rung of the ladder corresponds to humans with an "Incorrect View of Reality". In the beginning every soul is in this stage of complete ignorance, i.e., it has the Four Passions at the maximum level. However, in view of Axiom 1, every soul strives to release its four elements from karmic matter. This process can be triggered off by either internal experience such as remembering past lives or external experiences such as hearing the Jain teachings. This event is followed in a flash by passing through stages 2 and 3 (defined below) to stage 4 which corresponds to “True Insight”. This experience is the complete revelation of the true nature of life and the reality of the soul.
This first experience of True Insight lasts only for a few moments and it comes from jamming the insight-deluding karmic component rather than from its elimination. The jammed component will be quickly unja mmed and will assert its influence again. Hence the soul will revert to its extreme perverted stage with all five karmic agentsPerverted Views, Nonrestraint, Carelessness, Passions and Activitiesoperating with full force. However during this fall, the soul goes through the third purification stage for a short time where the gross passions remain suppressed but there is no longer True Insight; this stage is described as the stage of “Mixed Faith and Doubt". Below this is stage 2, the "Vanishing Faith" stage, in which the fourth degree of passions reassert themselves and instantaneously drop the soul down to stage 1 again. In the first transition to the fourth stage, the insight deluding component is suppressed only, but in subsequent (guaranteed) transitions, of longer durations, there is also partial elimination of this component. After a number of such transitions involving partial elimination-cum-suppression, the soul gets firmly established in the fourth stage to proceed to the fifth stage and beyond as it is described below. Table 7.1 is a summary of these stages.
7.3.2 Description of the fourth stage and visible signs
At the fourth stage Perverted Views are removed and equanimit is attained. It is this increase in purity which allows the flash of T
