Gunsthan - Book Summary | JainGPT

Here's a comprehensive summary in English of the Jain text "Gunsthan" by Hiralal Jain, based on the provided pages:

This book, "Gunsthan," by Pt. Hiralal Jain, explains the concept of Gunsthan (stages of spiritual development) within Jainism. It outlines the progressive journey of the soul from its current state of ignorance and worldly entanglement towards ultimate liberation.

The Core Concept:

The soul, from time immemorial, has been trapped in the cycle of birth and death due to ignorance, attachment to worldly pleasures, and intense passions (kashayas). Despite experiencing the vast diversity of life forms and enjoying worldly successes, the soul has failed to realize its true self. This lack of self-realization leads to a perverted perception, causing the soul to identify with external objects and suffer when they are not obtained. Jain scriptures refer to this state as Mithyadrushti (false belief) or Bahiratman (outer self).

The Gunsthan are the fourteen sequential steps or stages through which a soul progresses from being a Bahiratman to becoming an Antaratman (inner self) and ultimately a Paramatman (supreme self) by progressively acquiring spiritual virtues. These stages represent the soul's gradual ascent towards self-realization and liberation.

The Fourteen Stages of Gunsthan:

The book details the fourteen Gunsthan as follows:

Mithyadrushti (False Belief): This is the initial stage where the soul is completely under the influence of ignorance. Souls in this stage identify with the physical body, its attributes, and sensory pleasures and pains. They are driven by strong passions and attachment to worldly things. Liberation from this state begins when a soul receives guidance from a true Guru, leading to a weakening of passions and an inclination towards self-realization. This leads to the potential for the next stage.
Sasaadan Samyagdrushti (Degrading Right Belief): This stage is attained when a soul, while in the state of Right Belief, falls back due to the intense influence of karma. It's a transient state where the soul experiences a glimpse of the purity of Right Belief but is in the process of falling. The analogy used is tasting sweet kheer (rice pudding) and then immediately vomiting, still retaining the memory of the sweetness. This stage lasts for a very short period (a few avali – an extremely short unit of time).
Samyakmithyadrushti (Mixed Belief): In this stage, the soul experiences a mix of Right and False Belief, like the taste of curd and sugar combined – neither purely sour nor purely sweet, but a distinct mixed flavor. The soul's inclinations are neither completely pure nor entirely impure. This stage is also brief, lasting at most for an antarmuhurta (a short period). A soul in this stage can ascend to the fourth stage or fall to lower ones.
Asanyat Samyagdrushti (Unrestrained Right Belief): This is the first stage of true Right Belief. The soul has achieved a clear understanding of its true nature. This Right Belief can be Aupashamik (temporary suppression of karmas), Kshayik (destruction of karmas), or Kshayopashamik (partial destruction and suppression of karmas). While the soul has the right vision, it still engages with worldly pleasures and senses, albeit with reduced attachment. The book highlights that the external behavior might not significantly differ from a Mithyadrushti, but the internal disposition is vastly different, moving from painful artraudhyan (fierce meditation) to auspicious dharmadhyan (religious meditation).
Deshsanyat (Partially Restrained): As the soul progresses, it begins to renounce worldly pleasures and practices vows, called anuvratas (minor vows), to control the five sins: violence, falsehood, stealing, unchastity, and possession. These vows are partial, signifying a conscious effort to limit engagement with worldly activities. The soul also undertakes gunavratas and shikshavratas (subsidiary vows) for spiritual growth. This stage represents the ideal householder life. The soul progressively reduces its worldly involvements and may eventually move towards asceticism or embrace a peaceful death (sallekhana).
Pramattasanyat (Prone to Delusion/Carelessness): In this stage, the soul has taken vows of mahavratas (major vows) and becomes a monk. However, the soul is still susceptible to pramada (carelessness, negligence, or attachment to sensual indulgences and mental distractions). Pramada has 15 forms, including the four passions, gossip, and sensory indulgence. The soul experiences a cycle of coming into pramatta (deluded) state and apramatta (non-deluded) state.
Apramattasanyat (Free from Delusion/Carelessness): This is the stage of wakefulness and constant self-reflection. The soul is actively engaged in introspection and contemplation. When the soul succumbs to any form of pramada, it falls back to the sixth stage. The time spent in this stage is generally shorter than the time spent in the sixth stage. The author notes that in the current era, it is difficult for monks to consistently remain in this stage or higher.
Apoorvakaran Sanyat (Unprecedented Causation): From this stage onwards, the soul enters the path of Upasham Shreni (path of suppression) or Kshapak Shreni (path of destruction) of karmas. In this stage, the soul experiences unprecedented internal transformations. The purification of its mental states is immeasurable with each passing moment, preparing for the suppression or destruction of mohaniya (delusion-producing) karma.
Anivarttikaran Sanyat (Non-regressing Causation): Here, the soul's mental states are similar to each other at each moment, without regression or deviation, though they continue to become more refined and pure. In this stage, significant karmic activities like karma grading, destruction, transmutation, and reduction of duration and intensity begin. The duration of karmas that were previously bound for millions of years starts to decrease.
Sukshma Samparay Sanyat (Subtle Greed): Only a very subtle form of greed remains, which is gradually weakened. The soul on the Upasham Shreni suppresses this subtle greed and moves to the eleventh stage, while the soul on the Kshapak Shreni destroys it and moves to the twelfth stage.
Upaashantkashay Vitraag Chhadmasth (Suppressed Passions, Detached but Concealed): All passions are suppressed after the subtle greed is overcome. The soul experiences a state of detachment and purity, akin to clear water after impurities settle. However, the soul is still chhadmasth (concealed or unaware of omniscience) because the karmas covering true knowledge are still present. This suppression is temporary, and the soul eventually falls back to lower stages unless it makes efforts to ascend further.
Ksheenkashay Vitraag Chhadmasth (Destroyed Passions, Detached but Concealed): The soul on the Kshapak Shreni destroys the subtle greed at the end of the tenth stage and enters this twelfth stage. Here, the soul destroys the remaining three ghati (destructive) karmas: gyanavarniya (knowledge-obscuring), darshanavarniya (perception-obscuring), and antaray (obstruction). Upon the destruction of all four ghati karmas, the soul attains omniscience and enters the thirteenth stage.
Sayogikevali (Omniscient with Activity): The soul has achieved omniscience and is now an Arhant. It has an infinite capacity for knowledge, perception, bliss, and power. The term sayogi indicates that the soul still has subtle physical and mental activities (yoga). The Arhant proclaims the path to liberation and performs kevalisamudghat (a process of spreading subtle self-substance throughout the universe for a specific purpose) to equalize the duration of remaining aghati (non-destructive) karmas with the soul's lifespan.
Ayogikevali (Omniscient without Activity): In the final moments of the thirteenth stage, the kevali ceases all physical and mental activities (yoga nirodh). This is the ultimate stage of liberation, where the soul sheds all remaining karmas and becomes a Siddha, residing in the Siddhashila (abode of liberated souls) forever, free from the cycle of birth and death.

Conclusion:

The book emphasizes that the journey through these fourteen Gunsthan is a process of self-effort. The souls in the first three stages are considered bahiratman, those from the fourth to the twelfth are antaratman, and those in the thirteenth and fourteenth are paramatman. The ultimate goal of every enlightened person should be to ascend through these stages, realizing their true self and attaining eternal bliss.