Very important points first, then detail.

1. Right belief + very little practice → which guṇasthān?

In Jain philosophy, guṇasthān (14 stages) are decided mainly by:

• purity of darshan (belief/view), and
• level of virati (restraint / vows / self‑control).

Roughly:

• 4th guṇasthān – Avirata-samyag-dṛṣṭi

Right belief is present, but no real renunciation / vows yet.

• 5th guṇasthān – Deśa-virati

Right belief + partial vows (like 12 vrats of śrāvaks, regular restraints, real daily discipline).

Now your case (as you described):

> “I have right belief, but only take very minor vows like navakārsi, that too very rarely.”

Key points:

1. Right belief (samyag-darshan) must be genuine:

– true acceptance of tattvas (jīva, ajīva, puṇya, pāp, āsrava, saṃvar, nirjarā, bandha, mokṣa), – deep reverence for Arihant, Siddha, Āchārya, Upādhyāya, Sādhu, – absence (or strong weakening) of wrong views (kudṛṣṭi, mithyātva).

1. Very rare minor practices like occasional navakārsi:

- This is not stable, structured “deśa-virati” as described for 5th guṇasthān. - 5th guṇasthān needs regular, vowed self‑control (like actual śrāvaka vows with some consistency). - Occasional small practices due to mood, family pressure, or social habit usually do not qualify as deśa-virati of the 5th guṇasthān.

Therefore, if:

• your right belief is truly samyak (not mixed with wrong belief),
• but your conduct is basically unrestrained worldly life, with only rare, small practices,

then according to classical description you are at best in 4th guṇasthān (Avirata-samyag-dṛṣṭi), not in 5th.

If right belief itself is not firmly established or is mixed with wrong notions, then it may even be 3rd (miśra-dṛṣṭi) or 1st (mithyā-dṛṣṭi). Only a kevalī (omniscient) can know exactly; we speak only conceptually.

You can read a simple outline of guṇasthān here: You can read more here

And with brief arth here: You can read more here

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2. Does a jīva keep fluctuating between 1st, 4th, 5th etc., or stay constant?

(a) Guṇasthān is not permanently fixed in one life

• In one human birth itself, a jīva can go up and down several guṇasthāns.
• Example (worldly view):

- A person with wrong belief (1st), - gets right belief for a short time (2nd), - becomes firm in right belief without vows (4th), - later takes proper śrāvaka vows (5th), - then falls back by strong passions or wrong belief (down to 3rd or 1st).

So yes, fluctuation is possible.

(b) But it is not like changing every minute casually

• Change of guṇasthān is linked with real changes in faith and karmic states.
• It is not that if today you do navakārsi you are in 5th, if tomorrow you don’t, you fall to 4th, then 1st, then up again mechanically.
• The classifications describe inner spiritual status, not just outer actions.

(c) How does fluctuation generally happen?

Very simply:

1. From 1st to 4th:

- When mithyātva (wrong belief) is broken and stable samyag-darshan arises, the soul moves from 1st/3rd to 4th.

1. From 4th to 5th:

- When that right belief is joined by actual, taken vows / renunciation (virati), the soul moves to 5th.

1. Fall from 4th/5th back to 1st/3rd:

- If strong wrong views arise again (doubting tattvas, rejecting Jain path), then it may fall.

Thus:

• If right belief stays, but conduct varies within the same general level of irreligious or weak practice, the jīva might stay within the same guṇasthān (e.g. 4th) for a long time.
• Fluctuation happens when belief quality or vow‑status truly changes.

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3. Your specific description, step by step

You wrote:

> “Right belief, but only very minor vows like navakārsi, that too very rarely”

Case 1 – Right belief is steady and clear

If:

• You truly believe in:

- jīva–ajīva, - karma theory as told by Jinas, - bondage–saṃvar–nirjarā–mokṣa, - the supremacy of Arihant–Siddha and the Jain path,

• and you do not seriously believe in contrary views (no “all religions are equally true in all details”, no denial of karma, no denial of Jain tattvas),

then the minimum guṇasthān, from a scriptural angle, would be 4th (Avirata-samyag-dṛṣṭi).

• Occasional navakārsi strengthens punya and saṃskār, but does not by itself take you to 5th.
• 5th requires systematic deśa-virati (e.g. accepting proper śrāvaka vows with some discipline).

Case 2 – Belief is mixed or casual

If:

• You feel “I like Jainism, it sounds right”,
• but at the same time you hold strongly:

- “soul may or may not exist”, - or “karma is just psychology”, - or “mokṣa is not real, only mental peace is the goal”,

then this is more like miśra-darshan (3rd) or even mithyā-darshan (1st).

In that scenario, even navakārsi or other rituals do not place you in 4th or 5th, because the basic darshan itself is not samyak.

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4. Does a jīva “keep fluctuating from 1st to 4th or 5th”?

Putting it very simply:

• A jīva can move: 1st → 3rd → 4th → 5th and also back again.
• But this depends on deep inner transformation in:

- faith (darshan), - vows (virati), - control over passions (kaṣāya).

It is not like a daily see‑saw just because some small practice was done or skipped.

Some practical points:

1. If you really gain samyag-darshan, you generally don’t keep falling to 1st easily.

Falling back to 1st means strong wrong belief returns.

1. Among laypeople, many who are serious in Jain dharma may remain in 4th for long periods, and very few reach 5th in the strict classical sense.

1. True 5th guṇasthān (deśa-virati) means:

- proper acceptance of partial vows from a guru, - steady observance, - real transformation in lifestyle and restraint.

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5. Essence, in one line

• With genuine right belief but only occasional small practices, scriptures would locate you around 4th guṇasthān (Avirata-samyag-dṛṣṭi), not 5th.
• A jīva can go up or down guṇasthāns within one life, but only when there is a real change in inner belief and vow‑status, not with every small, occasional act like navakārsi.