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VII
The whole text of this work, and of Part 1 of Karma Kanda had been printed off in March 1927. The stock of feather-weight paper which was being used for the work was completely exhausted before the Index, etc. and title pages could be printed. The mills also had no more such paper left in stock. An order was placed with them to manufacture such paper afresh, and thus an unexpected delay has been occasioned in the publication of Gommatasára.
This sudden breakdown was an extremely unfortunate circumstance. The intense poignancy of this mishap was felt on the sudden receipt of a wire from Indore announcing the death of Mr. J. L. Jaini. Alas, this great master of Jaina Philosophy could not live to see the greatest monumental work of his life in the shape of a bound volume. It saddens my heart so much, when the discussions he had with me in May last, as to the manner and quality of the binding come to my mind.
This is my first venture as a publisher; and the responsibility has been forced upon me by the miserable decree of Fate which has taken away from us the Founder-Publisher of the Sacred Books of the Jainas, and the incomparable author of two of the most authentic, ancient, and standard works of Jaina Philosophy.
The defects, for which I am responsible, are too many to escape notice. I have no justification to plead in self-defence. I confess my short-comings, and throw myself on the indulgence of the benevolent readers of this volume.
The depth and vastness of the knowledge displayed here-in, and the thorough and exhaustive analysis of the endless varieties of mental vibrations is amazing and fascinating indeed.
Gommatsara will, I hope, be found to be a real treat by the scholar, the seeker after truth, the Jnáni and the Dhyáni, and will, for the Right Believer, prove a practical guide to the path of Liberation.
AJITASHRAM, LUCKNOW :-)
November 30, 1927.
AJIT PRASADA,
Jain Education International
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