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Editorial Statement: My Dreams Came True
It was December of 1623. I had passed the Nyayatirith and Shastri examinations at the Jain Education Institute in Jabalpur and was studying the higher texts of Jain principles. I was also teaching Dharma Shastra to the students of the English department at the boarding school. One night, in the last watch of the night, I had a dream. I was studying the Shri Dhwala and Shri Jayadhwala texts. Suddenly, the 4 am bell rang, signaling the time for the students to wake up, as per the hostel rules. I woke up with a start, washed my face and hands, and joined the prayers. As I returned to my room after the prayers, a student said, "Shastriji, it's your turn to clean the room today." I picked up the broom and started sweeping the room from one side. Finally, when I was sweeping under my bed, I saw a thick, small, double-page handwritten manuscript. I picked it up and read it in the light. I was overjoyed to see that it contained the Mangal Gatha of Shri Dhwala on one side and Shri Jayadhwala on the other, written in thick letters in black ink. I placed it on my head, feeling blessed, and kept it safe in my trunk. I thought to myself, "What a dream! It's coming true as soon as I see it."
Then, in October of 1624, I was a Dharma teacher at the Syadvad Mahavidyalaya in Banaras and used to sleep at the school. One night, again in the last watch of the night, I dreamt that I was studying Dhwala-Jayadhwala again. Suddenly, the bell rang for the students to wake up. I woke up and immediately started thinking about the dream I had seen. I took the manuscript with the Mangal Gatha from my trunk, placed it on my head, and recited it with devotion and reverence before starting my morning routine. That day, a telegram came from the school's minister, Ba. Sumati Prasadji, who was serving in Saharanpur at the time, addressed to the school's superintendent, "Send Pandit Heeralalji to Saharanpur for the annual festival to deliver a lecture on Shastra." I left Banaras and reached Saharanpur on time. I was put up at the residence of the famous Jain philanthropist, Dharmaveer (late) Lala Jambuprasadji Jain. The next morning, after my bath and other rituals, I went to his private temple for darshan. What did I see? A southern gentleman was reading a text in Prakrit, and another man was writing it down quickly. I sat down nearby and listened attentively to what was being discussed. When I asked, "What are these texts?" I was told that copies of the Siddhanta texts had arrived from the treasury in Moodbidri and were now being transcribed into Nagari script. I remembered the dream I had seen in Banaras just three days ago and felt fortunate to have seen these Siddhanta texts in person. I spent the next three days studying them for two hours every morning. On the last day, before leaving, I went to the temple and paid my respects to the Siddhanta texts. I vowed to myself that I would study these texts thoroughly at least once in my life.
Those two manuscripts are now quite worn out, but they are still safe with me today.