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made up by several organizations of the Jaina community.
According to Jainism, this universe is not illusory.* It is not a creation of imagination but a fact and reality. It is a display of the soul and non-soul (inanimate) elements. Jiva or soul is the animate substance having consciousness as its distinguishing feature from the non-soul or non-living substance. The soul is characterised by consciousness. This quality of consciousness of the soul is inherent in a latent stage and is inseparable. It is not the product of the stimulus in any sense. The stimulus is related to a mundane soul, and it merely awakens the consciousness which exists in dorment state within the soul owing to the adverse action of the Karmas on it. The stimulus does not thus create the state of consciousness but produces a stir or excitement only. There is nothing surprising in it.
Matter, too, possesses many wonderful *Tell me not in mournful numbers, ‘Life is but an empty dream ?'. For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem.". "Life is real ! life is carnest ! And the grave is not its goal." - Longfellow
