Four Stages of Sainthood

In Buddhism, there are the four stages of sainthood that leads to the fourth stage, that is the Arahant stage. A person is considered as have entered the stream when he or she has attained the first stage, which is the Sotapanna. He or she is then considered to be on "safe ground". The maximum rebirths between the first and fourth stage is seven. In Theosophy, the fourth stage is known as the Arhat, and the fifth stage is an Adept, which is also called the Perfected Man. This is something which spiritual aspirants aim for. But to achieve even the first stage of a Sotapanna, one has to attain quite a relative high degree of purity of one's vehicles, such as on the mental, emotional, etheric, and physical levels. Mindfulness is another key component. All these require strong faith, practice, discipline, character building and the cultivation of virtues. 

The Five Hindrances

These are the five hindrances that impede our meditation practice towards mental development. They are the obstacles that we often encounter in our progress on the spiritual path. The first of which is our pursuits for sensual pleasure or desire. We should also watch out for the other four minefields of ill will, sloth & torpor, restlessness & worry, and doubts. In order to combat them, we need to have strong mindfulness, loving kindness, perseverance, peace of mind, and wisdom. So do not give up your fight to overcome the five hindrances. 

Developing a Good Mind

We need to maintain a clean & healthy mental body because it will affect the astral/emotional, etheric, and physical bodies. There is a saying, "What you think, you become" which proves that your mind can affect you immensely. You might have a strong physical body, but if you have a weak mind having lost the will to live, you are actually weaker than someone with a weak physical body but has a strong mind having the will to survive,  Hence take care of your mind. One of my teachers like to say this, "You will know if your physical body gets hurt, but do you know if your mind gets hurt ?". Do not harbour any unwholesome or unskillful thoughts. Maintain your calm & composure. Be mindful of your various sense bases throughout the day.  Do not be drawn into unnecessary thinking to drain your mental energy, not to mention creating bad karma with potential negative thought forms.  Therefore, good mental development is key to a healthy & meaningful life.