STAGES ON THE PATH - GUNASTHANAS

 

     

Main features of the fourteen stages.

 

Serial Number	Names of gunasthanas	Characteristics
1.	Mithyatva	Gross ignorance
2.	Sasadana	Vanishing Faith, i.e., the condition of mind while actually falling down from the fourth to the first stage.
3.	Misra	Mixed faith and false belief.
4.	Avirata samyagadristi	Right faith, unaccompanied by austerities
5.	Desavirata	Commencement of Right Conduct
6.	Pramatta	The formation of the aharaka  Shareer, and observance of vows though tinged with Pramad (carelessness or laziness).  This is the first stage of life as a Muni, i.e., of homelessness
7.	Apramatta	Elimination of Pramad, and partial realization of the Svabhavik Ananda, i.e., joy
8.	Apurva	Noted for the new channels of karana. thought, thrown open by the purification of the mind and the quiescence of the elements of  disturbance.
9.	Anivrittikarana	More advanced thought activity, i.e., meditation
10.	Sukshmasamparaya	Only very slight greed left to be controlled
11.	UpasantaMoha	Quiescence of the remaining traces of greed
12.	KshinaMoha	Desirelessness, i.e., the complete eradication of greed, hence perfection in Right Conduct
13.	Sayoga	Omniscience, hence the perfection Right Knowledge, and the realization of the state of Jivan Mukti, that is liberation in the embodied  state. In the ease of Tirthankaras revelation also takes place in this stage
14.	Ayoga	The cessation of the activity of  three yoga, i.e., the channels of  Asrava.  The next step takes one to Nirvana

               A glance at the above table would suffice to show that the liability to fall back to the earlier stages is completely shaken off only on reaching the state of no desire at the twelfth Gunasthan, since greed, the mother of the remaining three forms of kasha's and the root of all other minor passions and emotions, is eradicated only at the moment of stepping from the suksmasamparaya to the Kshina Moha state. Other forms of passions and emotions, such as superciliousness, envy and the like, are really the progeny of the four principal kasha's alluded to above, and have not been specifically treated for this reason; they disappear with the drying up of their respective sources. The complete eradication of greed simply means their total destruction and the full manifestation of all the divine attributes and properties of the soul, now become defied by the destruction of its Ghatia karmas.

 

     It only remains to study the working of the diverse karma prakriti in respect to study the working of the diverse karma prakriti in respect of their engendering, fruition and elimination. Obviously, all these energies cannot become active at one and same time, since some of them are counter indicated by those of an antagonistic nature which may be in actual play, e.g., one cannot have a human and an animal body at the same time, though a human being may contract the liability to the reborn as an animal, and vice versa. Hence, bandha does not signify immediate fruition of karmas, but only the liability to undergo certain experience at some future moment of time. This liability is contracted, as already pointed out, in consequence of the fusion of spirit and matter, and remains in abeyance till it finds a suitable opportunity for its operation in consequence of the subsidence of the activity of the particular energies which hold it in check. Thus there are three different aspects of the karmic force, namely, Satta (potentiality), bandha and Udaya (rising, hence fruition or activity), which have to be taken into account in a systematic treatment of the subject. The following tabular statement will show at a glance at what stage which of the karma prakriti are engendered, rendered inactive and destroyed. If the reader would only bear in mind the fact that a karma prakriti is not necessarily destroyed when it is rendered inactive, he would not find any difficulty in studying the table, though for fuller explanation he would still have to consult such works as the Gommattasara which contains a wealth of detailed information on subject.