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DOCTRINE OF GUNASTHANA
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enjoys the first dawn of enlightenment or the spiritual vision (samyaktva or samyag-darśana). It is necessary in this connection to state in brief the nature of this enlightenment or spiritual vision that now brings about a colossal change in the career of the soul.
As we have stated above, there is absolute subsidence of the visiondeluding karmic matter for one antarmuhūrta at the end of the process of aniurttikarana. The function of the vision deluding karman is to delude the soul's right attitude towards or predilection for truth. But now as there is no effect of this karman on the soul, the vision of truth dawns upon it. This is enlightenment. The soul realizes its own nature during the vision, and it does no more fall into the darkness that it was in until now. Of course, the vision does not last long. But it leaves such indelible impress on the soul as does ever keep it above the previous depth of darkness. The soul may again fall in the darkness. But the darkness is never so deep as before, and that even the soul is sure to get rid of in due course. It is said that on the attainment of the vision the soul attains an insight which it had never attained before. Even as a person born blind can see the world as it is on the sudden acquisition of the eyesight so can a soul having experienced the vision can see the truth as it is. Even as a person suffering from long-drawn disease experiences extreme delight on the sudden disappearance of the disease so does a soul eternally bound to the wheel of worldly existence feel spiritual joy and bliss on the sudden dawn of the enlightenment. This elightenment is called aupaśamika samyaktva because it is due to the upašama (subsidence) of the karman that deludes the samyaktva (right vision). The vision-deluding karman, as we have seen in the third chapter, is nothing but what is known as avidyā in the other systems. We can therefore say that the enlightenment dawns on the subsidence of avidyā. And this is a very simple truth. The enlightenment is only temporary and the soul attains such enlightenment on more than one occasion during its spiritual career leading to the final eternal enlightenment. Let us come back to the main problem and see what happens after the enlightenment.
We have stated that the vision-deluding karmic matter is divided into two parts by the process of antara karana. The first part has already come into rise in the last part of the aniurttikarana. The second part, the rise whereof was postponed for the duration of enlightenment, is now to come into rise. The content of this part is placed into three heaps according to the difference of intensity during
1 Cf. jätyandhasya yathā pumsaś cakşurlābhe śubhodaye
saddarśanam tathai 'vā 'sya samyaktve sati jāyate. anando jāyate 'tyantam tāttviko 'sya mahātmanaḥ sadvyādhyapagame yad vă vyādhitasya sadauşadhāt.
- Quoted in Malayagiri's sīkā on Kp: Upa, 18. JP-35
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