Fourteen Gunasthana

Arun Zaveri
www.ScientificMeditation.com
Phone: +91 22 2414-2989 Email: arunzaveri07@gmail.com
Paryushan Parva Lecture Series
Jain Center of Greater Boston
Norwood, Massachusetts, USA
September 2-9, 2013
Day 6
Stages of Spiritual Progress

Soul vs. Karma
Karma
 Karma’s inherent potency is the centripetal
force that compels the soul to transmigrate
 Soul’s inherent potency is
the centrifugal force which
ceaselessly tries to pull
itself away from the
endless transmigration
Soul
2www.ScientificMeditation.com

3
Perverse Beliefs (
Non-abstinence (
5 Causes of Karmic Influx
Remissness (
Passions (
Activities
(
Mental
Vocal
Physical

Right Faith & Attitude
Abstinence & Self-Restraint
5 Causes for Stoppage of Karmic Influx
Spiritual Alertness
Freedom from
Passions
Stillness
Mental
Vocal
Physical
4

 The Doctrine of the fourteen stages of
spiritual development
Fourteen Gunasthana
 Fourteen states of the soul with reference to
the consideration of the purification of karma
 Nature of purification due to the manifestation
of qualities of the soul

14 - Omniscience with total cessation of activities
Emancipation -
13 - Omniscience with activities
7 - Self-restraint with freedom from
remissness
3 - Right cum wrong belief
8 - Dissimilar coarse passions
6 - Self-restraint unexempted from remissness
5 - Right belief with partial abstinence
4 - Right belief attended with non-abstinence
2 - Lingering relish of right faith
1 - Perverted belief – deluding world-view
12 - Extirpation of delusion
11 - Subsidence of delusion
10 - Subtle passion
9 - Similar coarse passion
Fourteen
Gunasthana

1. Deluded World-View (Mithyatva Gunsthan)
 The soul’s original and beginning less state of
always surrounded by wrong beliefs
 The soul is in spiritual slumber, unaware of its
own bondage with Karmic matter
 Perverted beliefs occur due to the strong
influence of View Deluding Karma
 Soul endlessly transmigrates within 8.4 million
species, experiencing pain and pleasure

9
Fruition of Karma Karmic Expression Primal Drives
Messages of
 Attachment
 Aversion
Subtle
Taijjas Body
– Link body
Lesya
Psychic Colors
Electromagnetic Field
Limbic System
Neuro-Endocrine Mechanism
Activities:
 Mental
 Vocal
 Physical
Soul (Atma)
Karma body
Taijjas body
Physical Body
Instincts
Passions,
Quasi-Passions
Influx of
Karma Matter
Karmic influx
and bondage
Vicious Cycle of Karma

2. Lingering enlightened worldview
Saswadan Samyakadristi Gunsthan
 Pit-stop for the Soul on its way down from right
belief of 4th to 11th stages of spiritual progress to
the lowest (1st)
 The Soul loses the right faith, but retains the
passing taste or lingering relish of right faith for
maximum 4 hours and 48 minutes (= 6 avalikas)

3. Right and Wrong World Views
Mishra Dhristi Gunasthan
 Mixture of enlightened and deluded world views
 Subsidence and partial destruction of the View
Deluding Karma results in partially enlightened
world view but not firm conviction in the
truthfulness of the truth
 This stage marks the dawn of spiritual progress,
but it lasts less than 48 minutes (intra-hour)
 To progress further the soul must now suppress the
force of karma, otherwise it will fall back to stage 1 via
stage 2 11www.ScientificMeditation.com

Gordian Knot of View & Conduct Deluding Karma
Conduct deluding:
 Anger
 Pride
 Deceit
 Greed
View Deluding:
 The near perfect
enlightened world-view
 Deluded world-view
 Mixture of the two

Purification
Two capacities assist centrifugal force of soul:
 Generate a series of varied new experiences
 Generate progressively purer karma
Progressive purification:
1. Lowering of duration of karma
2. Lowering of intensity of karma
3. Premature fruition during intra-hour
4. Unprecedented type of bondage of very short
lived karma
5. Transformation of one type of karma into
another type

4. Right Belief with Non-Abstinence
 The soul enjoys the dawn of enlightened word
view (samyag darshan) which leaves a lasting
impression
 Such enlightened word view is attained on more
than one occasion during spiritual progress until
the final liberation is achieved
 The soul is prone to fall to the third or second
stage when it faces rising of view deluding karma
which was postponed for intra-hour

 Belief – Reality of the self – bondage and
emancipation of soul
 Tranquility – calming of passions: Anger, Pride,
Deceit & Greed
 Keen desire for salvation – saving from sin and
its consequences
 Detachment from – worldly affairs, body and
pleasure
 Compassion – Kindliness, friendship towards all,
fellow feeling
Characteristics of right faith

4. Right Belief with Non-Abstinence
Karmic clusters are divided into three heaps in the
last time unit of the third stage
Pure Semi Pure Impure
Any one heap comes into effect at the end of 3rd stage
Will not obscure
enlightened world view
Soul sticks to 4th
stage - retains
Will partly obscure
Soul rebuffs and
slips to 3rd stage. It
may either go to 4th
stage again or to the
1st stage via the 2nd
Will completely
obscure world view
Tenacious passion
arises and the soul
slides back to 2nd
and then 1st stage

Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Stages
 Soul actively cultivates morality to reach higher stages
 Capacity to self-restrain begins at 5th stage of
Enlightened World-View with Partial Self Restraint.
The layperson takes twelve small vows
 The 6th stage is Complete Self-Restraint with
Unexempted Remissness. The person takes the great
vows of an ascetic
 The 7th stage is Complete Self-Restraint with Freedom
from Remissness. This is achieved through deep
meditation 17www.ScientificMeditation.com

Eighth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Stages
 During these stages soul is on one of two
ladders:
1. Ladder of Suppression -
2. Ladder of Elimination -
 The Soul that climbs the first ladder suppresses
the deluding karma, reaches 11th stage and falls
down to 6th, 5th, 4th or 2nd stage.
 The Soul that climbs the second ladder
eliminates the deluding karma and climbs up to
the 12th stage 18www.ScientificMeditation.com

Twelfth, Thirteenth, & Fourteenth Stages
 In the 12th stage there is complete self-restraint
with no deluding karma
 In the last time unit of the 12th stage, the soul
eliminates knowledge covering, intuition
covering and energy obstructive karmas and
reaches 13th stage
 13th stage is omniscience with physical activity
 In the 14th stage the remaining karmas are
eliminated and the Soul attains disembodied
liberation

14 - Omniscience with total cessation of activities
13 - Omniscience with activities
7 - Self-restraint with freedom from remiss
3 - Right and wrong beliefs
8 - Dissimilar coarse passions
6 - Self-restraint unexempted from remissness
5 - Right belief with partial abstinence
4 - Right belief attended with non-abstinence
2 - Lingering relish of right faith
1 - Perverted belief – deluding world-view
12 - Extirpation of delusion
11 - Subsidence of delusion
10 - Subtle passion
9 - Similar coarse passion
E M A N C I P A T I O N

1. Deluded world-view
2. Lingering relish of right faith
3. Right cum wrong belief
4. Right belief attended with non-abstinence
5. Right belief with partial abstinence
6. Self-restraint un-exempted from remissness
7. Self-restraint with freedom from remissness
8. Dissimilar coarse passions
9. Similar coarse passion
10. Subtle passion
11. Subsidence of delusion
12. Extirpation of delusion
13. Omniscience with activities
14. Omniscience with total cessation of activities 22

Fourteen Gunasthana

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