________________
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
We feel immense pleasure in bringing out this commemoration volume- Sumati Jñana - Perspectives of Jainism-in honour of Māsopavāsī, Samādhisamrāta Parama Pūjya Ācārya 108 Śrī Sumatisāgara Ji Mahārāja, one of the great Digambara pontiffs of twentieth century. Śrī Sumatisāgara Jī Mahārāja was born in 1917 in the village Sayampura in district Morena (M.P.) and took samādhi on 3rd October 1994 in Sonagiri, dist. Datia (M.P). I am very fortunate that I have got a plenty of opportunities to adore him. He was an icon of calmness and always had a smiling face with great serenity. He had been always indulged in deep penance and had frequent fasts (vrata) many times that's why he was called “Māsopavāsī' (making fast for a month). He has also authored many books on Jaina religion and philosophy.
After Śrī Sumatisāgara Jī Mahārāja, his most learned disciple Sarākoddhāraka Parama Pujya Upādhayāya 108 Sri Gyan Sāgar Ji Mahārāja came up who is now propagating śramana tradition all around. He is a saint of amazing personality. He has not confined himself only to the religious pursuits but also involved himself in the different fields of human welfare. He is a great preceptor of non-violence, vegetarianism, national-integrity, religious-coordination and humanity. He has a deep sense for Indian culture and archaeology. He always motivates people to protect incredible Indian heritage.
Last year, in 2006, during his Sagar (M. P.) cāturmāsa he expressed his desire to pay homage his revered guru (Sri Sumatisāgara Ji Mahārāja) in the form of the publication of a momentous volume; I immediately gave my acceptance for its publication. Finally, we decided to publish a commemoration volume in honour of Param Pūjya Śrī Sumatisāgara Jī Mahārāja, This volume is now in your hands as an immortal homage to Param Pūjya Śrī Sumatisāgara Ji Mahārāja.
For this pioneer work, we would like to cordially congratulate to Prof. Hampa Nagarajaiah (chief editor), Dr. S. K. Dwivedi and Dr. Navneet Kumar Jain (editors) and Prof. C. S. Gupta, Prof. C. D. Singh, Prof. S. N. Mishra and Dr. S. M. Tripathi (members of the editorial Due to their immense efforts, this volume come out in the shape of an international volume with various dimensions of Jainology.
We express our great sense of gratitude to all the contributors of this volume. Without their cooperation, this work was quite impossible.
Our sincere thanks are due to the staff involved in the processing and printing of this volume. 'Sat-sat Namastu' in the feet of samadhistha Param Pūjya Ācārya Sumatisāgara Jī Mahārāja. 'Sat-sat Namastu' in the feet of Param Pūjya Upādhayāya 108 Sri Gyan Sagar Ji Mahārāja
Publisher
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org