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Soul Science : Samayasara by Jain Acarya Kundakunda
the previous five stanzas. Here Stanza 233 presents the fifth attribute which in Samsksta is known as Upagūhana. The literal meaning of Upagūhana is 'to safeguard against alien aspects'. Stanza 234 describes 6th attribute named as Sthitikarana in SamskȚta. The literal meaning of this word is ‘steadfastness for staying on the right path'.
It is well known that a healthy person has immunity which safeguards his physical body against sickness causing bacteria, virus, etc. This analogy may be applied in the spiritual area. An enlightened being is spiritually healthy and has the immunity that protects his spiritual health against all external alien aspects. This attribute of spiritual immunity protects him against external disturbances. For example, if somebody tells him that there is nothing like the existence of soul then he is not misled. This attribute of spiritual immunity is called as the attribute of safeguarding (Upagūhana).
Regarding physical health, we also know that despite a good level of immunity, one may sometimes become sick. For example, one may get cold. But the body of a strong healthy person has inbuilt mechanism which helps him recover the health in a short time. In the same way, Ācārya Kundakunda in stanza 234 says that an enlightened being is capable of keeping oneself on the right spiritual path. This ability of keeping oneself on the right path even at the moment of deviating towards wrong path is called as an attribute of steadfastness.
Here one may ask: What about helping other enlightened persons to keep them on the right spiritual path? Scriptures describing these eight attributes from the relative point of view answer this question in affirmation. For example, Ācārya Samantabhadra in Ratnakaranda Śrāvakācāra in stanzas 1.15 and 1.16 explains that an enlightened (SamyagDịşti) householder has a tendency of helping other enlightened beings also. An enlightened
