The Ladder of Spiritual Ascent According to Jainism

Swami Brahmeshananda’s article outlines the fourteen guṇasthānas—stages of spiritual development that form the ‘ladder of spiritual ascent’ in Jainism. He begins with an overview of the four types of meditation (dhyāna): sorrowful (artadhyāna), violent (raudradhyāna), virtuous (dharmadhyāna) and pure (śukladhyāna); the first two are caused by anxiety, anger, sensual desires and are spiritually degrading, while the latter two purify the mind and occur only at higher stages. The author explains that the first stage, mithyātva guṇasthāna, corresponds to ignorance or perverted attitudes toward one’s nature, duty and goal; individuals at this level mistake untruth for truth, are governed by anger, greed, egotism and deceit, and lack moral guidelines. As faith awakens, the seeker reaches the fourth stage of avirata-samyag-dṛṣṭi guṇasthāna; here one gains right attitude but cannot yet abstain from wrong actions—the stage is compared to ‘conversion’ or spiritual awakening. The article notes that the third and second guṇasthānas (samyag-mithyātva and sasvāda) are transitional stages of doubt and momentary relapse; they appear only in descent since the soul jumps directly from the first to the fourth stage when ascending. In the fifth stage, deśa-virata guṇasthāna, the seeker becomes a householder (śrāvaka) by taking the twelve vows; he gives up prohibited acts, restricts sense gratification and begins to control the four passions. The sixth stage, pramatta sarva-virata guṇasthāna, marks formal monastic life; the aspirant takes vows of complete restraint, abstains from all sense indulgence and injuring living beings, and becomes a true spiritual aspirant. The seventh stage, apramatta samyag guṇasthāna, occurs when the monk can temporarily detach his consciousness from the body and relinquish the sense of agency; however, he may remain in this stage only briefly and often oscillates between the sixth and seventh stages. During this stage he abandons violent thought patterns (raudra dhyāna) and spends most of his time in dharma dhyāna and early forms of śukla dhyāna. After fully relinquishing body consciousness, the aspirant ascends to the eighth stage (apurvakaraṇa guṇasthāna), which is described as a unique and joyful milestone characterised by a hitherto unexperienced spiritual realisation and the reduction of karmic coverings. At this stage only subtle greed and deceit remain; the seeker gains sufficient spiritual energy to undertake an intense struggle, and reduces karmas through five techniques collectively called apurvakaraṇa, such as reducing the duration and intensity of karmas and rearranging karmas so their effects can be experienced sooner. In the ninth stage (anivṛttikaraṇa guṇasthāna), the aspirant suppresses or destroys all lustful desires (vedas) and remaining passions except subtle greed. The tenth stage, sūkṣma samparāya guṇasthāna, involves removing the six remaining quasi‑passions (laughter, attachment, aversion, fear, sorrow and hatred). The eleventh stage, upaśānta-moha guṇasthāna, is described as dangerous and impermanent; the last subtle greed is merely suppressed, and after 48 minutes the aspirant slips back to the seventh stage. In the twelfth stage, kṣīṇa-moha guṇasthāna, all caritra‑mohanīya (conduct-deluding) karmas are destroyed; the soul attains moral perfection (yāthākhyāta caritra) and remains there briefly before ascending. In the thirteenth stage, sayogi-kevali guṇasthāna, the aspirant destroys the remaining knowledge-obscuring, perception-obscuring and energy-obstructing karmas and becomes a kevalī (omniscient being). Although residual āghāti karmas continue to cause physical, mental and vocal activities (yoga), these activities no longer produce karmic bondage. The final four karmas (body-determining, age-determining, feeling-producing and status-determining) exhaust naturally in the fourteenth stage, ayogi-kevali guṇasthāna, where all activity ceases and the soul attains bodiless liberation (siddhahood). The article emphasises that the soul ascends this ladder by progressively shedding karmic impurities and passions; suppression of passions (upasama śreṇi) may lead to temporary progress followed by fall, while their destruction (kṣapaka śreṇi) ensures permanent ascent. Meditation (dhyāna), combined with right faith, knowledge and conduct, is essential at each stage to purify the mind and concentrate on the soul. The author thus presents the fourteen guṇasthānas as a systematic map of spiritual evolution from ignorance to omniscience and ultimate liberation.

Summary reviewed by a volunteer editor.