In Jain Dharma, mān (मान) = pride / ego, one of the four kaṣāyas (krodh, mān, māyā, lobh).
Both anantanubandhi mān and aprtyākhyāni mān are forms of this same pride, but of different intensity and spiritual effect.
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1. How does anantanubandhi mān feel?
This is the worst, most dangerous form of pride.
Inner feeling / experience
- “I am right, I am great, I will not bow down, ever.”
- No interest in checking, “Am I wrong? Am I sinful?”
- No feeling of guilt or regret
- Even if you insult, hurt, cheat or destroy someone’s life, inside you feel:
- “He deserved it.”
- “I did nothing wrong.”
- “Why should I say sorry?”
- Hatred and enmity can become lifelong
- If someone hurts your ego, you may think:
- “I will never forgive you.”
- “I will break relations forever.”
- The
feeling of separation and
revenge becomes very deep and long-lasting.
- Closed towards religion and truth
- Talks of dharma, samyak-darshan, gurus, śāstra do not touch the heart.
- Either you mock them, ignore them, or use them only to boost ego (show-off).
Spiritual impact (Jain standpoint)
- Destroys or blocks samyak-darshan (right faith).
- Binds very heavy mohaniya karma for a long time.
- Typical example:
- “I will never fold my hands before this person / this sadhu / this truth, whatever happens.”
Both Digambar and Śvetāmbara accept anantanubandhi kaṣāya (including anantanubandhi mān) as the top, most intense grade that does not allow right faith to arise.
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2. How does aprtyākhyāni mān feel?
This is also pride, but one step less intense than anantanubandhi.
Inner feeling / experience
- Strong ego, but some awareness
- You still feel:
- “I am great, I am better than others.”
- Yet somewhere inside, you
know:
- “This ego is not right. I should not be like this.”
- You feel bad afterwards, but not enough to give it up
- You may shout, insult, or show off.
- Afterwards:
- Mind pricks a little, some
pashchātāpa (remorse) arises.
- But there is no firm inner vow: “From now on, I will not do this again.”
- Old habit continues.
- You can respect dharma in theory, but cannot take real vows
- You may agree: “Jain dharma is true, I should follow it.”
- But when it comes to:
- Taking
anu-vrata,
- Reducing ego by real discipline,
- Accepting someone’s guidance,
pride stops you.
Spiritual impact (Jain standpoint)
- Does not destroy right-belief – samyak-darshan can be there.
- But it does not allow renunciation / vows to start properly:
- Stops even
minor vows of śrāvaka from being taken fully and honestly.
- Hence called apratyākhyāni = that stage of passion where the person has not yet truly “given up” (pratyākhyān) the fault.
Again, both traditions agree broadly:
- Apratyākhyāni kaṣāya = intense enough to block proper vrat / saṃyam,
but not so intense that
right-belief itself is lost.
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3. Direct contrast (felt from within)
a) View towards one’s own fault
- “This is not a fault. My pride is justified.”
- No real self-criticism.
- “Yes, it is a fault… but what to do, my nature is like this.”
- Mild self-criticism, but weak resolve.
b) Relation with dharma
- Heart
closed to dharma, gurus, scriptures.
- Often mocks, opposes, or just ignores.
- Intellectually
respects dharma.
- Emotionally still
pulled by pride, so practical following is weak.
c) Duration and stubbornness (as described by ācāryas)
- Like a
line engraved on stone – very difficult to erase.
- Can remain for
lifetime, even many lives if not broken.
- Like a
line drawn on earth – strong, but can be erased with effort.
- With sincere pratikramaṇa and real inner resolve, it can soften and change into milder stages.
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4. In very simple words
= Such hard ego that you
don’t even feel it is wrong, and
don’t care about dharma or others’ suffering. It blocks right-faith itself.
= Strong ego, but you
know inside it is wrong.
You feel a bit bad, sometimes repent, but
still don’t take a firm decision to leave the habit, so true vows and deep discipline do not start.
Both are to be feared and slowly reduced, but anantanubandhi mān is spiritually far more dangerous than apratyākhyāni mān.
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