Acharangasutram Sutrakrutangsutram Cha

Author(s): Sagaranandsuri, Anandsagarsuri, Jambuvijay
Publisher: Motilal Banarasidas

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nity which he did through practice rather than precept. He opened a branch of the firm at Patna and appointed as a manager, a near relative whom he had nurtured from childhood.
Then came a crash with the partition of the country. The firm suffered complete destruction at the hands of fanatics who set fire to the entire stock of books and the printing press. In 1947, the family, homeless and hearthless, migrated to Varanasi where they opened a book house and set up a printing press. Here he worked with unabated vigour and unswerving devotion and restored the firm to its former glory and excellence.
In 1957 he established permanent head office at Delhi when on the occasion of All India Oriental Conference Dr. A. S. Altekar opened the firm's splendid mansion at the Bungalow Road. Since then, during the twenty years from 1958 to 1978 he had been very active. He set up a big printing press in the suburbs of Delhi and published over 1200 books including the Sacred Books of the East, Linguistic Survey of India, Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology Series. In this he was assisted by his co-partners Lala Shantilal Jain and his sons who worked shoulder to shoulder with him and are discharging responsibility with the spirit of devotion and zeal.
A versatile genius and a humane man he devoted his life for the betterment of society, diffusion of knowledge, propagation of ancient culture. Large-hearted and liberal-minded he gave large sums of money to social and religious institutions. To the needy and deserving individuals his purse was always open. He contributed splendidly to the progress of S. A. Jain College and as a founder member played a crucial role in bringing it to the present form and position. He was attached to several societies which received the benefit of his sound advice and wholesome direction. He was a member of Shri Atmanand Jain Mahasabha, Panjab, S. A. Jain College Committee, Ambala, Hastinapur Jain Tirth Committee, Hastinapur, Seth Anand Ji Kalyana Ji Board, Ahmedabad, Shri Atmanand Jain Sabha, Roop Nagar, Delhi, Svetambara Jain Tirth Society, Varanasi, 2500 years Mahavir Nirvana Celebration Committee, Delhi, and a founder Trustee of Atma Vallabha Jain Smaraka Trust.
An ardent believer in the preachings of Acarya Shri Vijaya Vallabha Suri, he developed a multi-dimensional personality by his constant association with seers and saints preaching different religions and advocating various ways of Sadhana. He could read 'sermons in stones, books in running brooks' and receive knowledge from whatever source it came. He was a man of pragmatic nature, religious and benevolent in words and deeds. His quest of truth was inward. He devoted most of his precious time, snatched from business tangles, to meditation for Self-realization. There was a kind of halo around him and anyone who came to see him could not have left his presence without a very real sense of having been in touch with a very special mind and a most superior person,
His sweet memory will long be cherished by us all. May his soul rest in peace.