Mahavira attained to absoulte knowledge and gave a religious discourse for the first time. In the beginning he said, ‘Uppannei va. vigamei va, dhuvei va (It comes into being, is destroyed and remains steady.)

Bhagvan Mahavira laid the foundation of the great and grand edifice of Jaina philosophy on these three word - utpata (creation), vyaya (destruction) and dhaurya (permanence).

He said : ‘The substance comes into being, the substance is destroyed, the substance remains steady’.

Daily and regular change takes place in every part of the substance. Every moment it comes into being, is destroyed and remains steady also. The original form of a substance remains intact and impartite, but its modes come into being and are destroyed. Creation, destruction and steadiness - this threefold position is called ‘sat (existent). What is ‘sat’ is a substance. For example, gold. The substance is not destroyed. the form of the substance changes but the original substance remains as it is.

We feel that the soul dies. In reality the soul never dies. The soul takes another birth. only its body changes. The soul remains steady as a substance. It is idestructible and eternal.

The word - Jiva, Atma, Cetana - are all synonymous. Jainism states that the soul has been bound by karma since times immemorial. Subtle, deep and detailed discussions about the soul and karma are found in Jainism.

That which has inborn and natural feelings and activity is Jiva (the soul). It is chetana (sentient). That which possesses the four chief instincts - the instinct of eating, the instinct of fear, the instinct of copulation and the instinct of possession (mine-ness) and related activities, is the Jiva (the soul).

The soul has its internal beauty also. It is manifested through experience, This internal beauty of the soul is faultless and formless. It is free from karma. Essentially the soul is not a male, nor a female and nor neuter. The soul has infinite knowledge, infinite perception and unlimited happiness. These are its fundamental qualities. According to Jainism, the incomparable beauty of the soul is enveloped by the cover of karma. The soul reaps fruits of the karmas it accumulates. The soul experiences miseries of life and death because of karma. It enjoys various types of happiness on account of karma. Nobody gives or can give happiness or misery to the soul. It itself is the performer and the enjoyer or sufferer.

To know more:

http://www.jainuniversity.org/philosophy_jain.aspx

http://www.jinalaya.com/jainism/karma.htm

The meaning of life is to realize that you a divine being who is here to express its divinity in this world. You are more than who you think you are. You are endowed with a spiritual self in addition to your human self. In other words you have a dual nature; a human self that is your body, emotions and mind, which most of us primarily identify with, and a spiritual self that we also call the soul, spirit, higher self or consciousness, which most of us believe in but have no understanding of. We may think that we are a person who has a soul and the point of the soul, if there is any, is to be our “body” when we’re walking around in heaven talking to everyone we know who has died. But the truth is that we are the spiritual self who is using the human self to express itself in this world.

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Jesuit priest (1881-1955)

And what does the soul want to express, in other words, why are we here? The soul wants to use the human self to express the divine qualities of love, wisdom, joy, peace, goodwill, generosity, forgiveness, integrity, harmony, etc. as much and as completely as possible in this world during this lifetime. Truly realizing that you are this eternal, immortal spiritual self who is using the human self is the start of enlightenment and expressing the soul’s divine qualities in everything you say, think and do is the meaning of life and the reason you’re here.

Why is this the meaning of life? This is the meaning of life for at least two reasons. First it’s because through this process divinity finds its full expression. It is brought from potentiality to actuality and is therefore complete. It’s like an inventor who takes an idea from his mind, which would unfulfilled if left there, to a physical product that is used by and benefits another. Second, the increased ability of the spiritual self to express divinity through the human self in this world survives the death of the human self. In other words it’s the soul that learns how to better express itself through the human form during the course of a lifetime. The spiritual self then brings this improved quality of character (the origin of the word character is enduring marks) into its next human lifetime. This is the only thing that endures and survives a lifetime. All things of the human self (e.g. possessions, identity, accomplishments, experiences, etc.) end no matter what the immature, ignorant human self cares to believe. All things of the spiritual self live on because it is an eternal, immortal force created by God.

Please feel free to add your thoughts, comments and questions below. I am also particularly interested in hearing about what you know of the soul…not a definition…not an opinion…but what you really know - your intuitive understanding - of the soul.

Source: www.brendanmcphillips.com

1. They ask brilliant questions.

2. They are fit like athletes (as I mentioned on Twitter the other day "Your #1 business asset is your health".)

3. They are direct/clear/authentic communicators

4. They read (The best leaders have the biggest libraries! Read to Win).

5. They keep journals to record good ideas, lessons learned and dreams to be executed on.

6. The run their own race. Leadership isn't about following the mob and being like everyone else. That's followership.

7. They are ethical - maintaining pristine reputations.

8. They lead where they are planted, deeply understanding that leadership is a way of behaving versus a title on a business card.


Source:Robin Sharma's Blog