Bruhat Katha kosha

Author(s): Harishen Acharya,
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Page 19

[A8]
Director of the Postgraduate and Research Departments of the Gujarat Vernacular Society, Ahmedabad), Prof. R. V. Pathak (who is, at present, the Vice-Principal of the S. L. D. Arts College, Ahmedabad), Pandit Sukhlalji (who is the Head of the Department of Jain Studies in the Hindu University, at Benares) and myself occasionally met, we all revived our old sweet memories of the Vidyapith and the Puratattva Mandir, discussed also the possibility of a regeneration of the Mandir or of the establishment of other similar institution at Ahmedabad and enjoyed in dreaming dreams of schemes of such institutions.
During this period my aim of life had centred round the Singhi Jain Series and I devoted every iota of my energy to its development and progress.
In June, 1938, I received, to my agreeable surprise, a letter from Śri K. M. Munshi (who was, then, the Home Minister of the Congress Ministry of the Bombay Presidency), my esteemed friend and the originator and the founder of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. In that letter he had mentioned that Sheth Sri Mungalal Goenka had placed a liberal sum of two lacs of rupees at his. disposal for the establishment of a good academic Institution for Indological studies and he had asked me to come down to Bombay to discuss and prepare a scheme for that. Accordingly, I came here and saw Munshiji. Knowing that he had a fervent desire of founding at Bombay an institution of the type of the Puratattva Mandir, I was extremely delighted and I showed my eagerness to offer for that such services as might be possible for me. We, then, began to draft out a scheme and after some deliberations and exchange of ideas the outline of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan was settled. Accordingly, on an auspicious full-moon day of the Karttik of 1995 (V. S.) the opening ceremony of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan took place amidst the clappings and rejoicings of a magnificent party which was arranged at the residence of Munshiji. The Bhavan will complete five years of its career on the next Kärttiki full-moon day. The brilliant achievement and the wide publicity which the Bhavan has been able to secure in this short period of five years, bear eloquent testimony to the inexhaustible fund of energy and unsurpassed skill of Munshiji. As I am inseparably linked up with its very conception, I also feel the same amount of joy and interest at the Bhavan's progress as Śrī Munshiji, its FounderPresident and therefore I have been always offering my humble services in its various undertakings and activities.
On the other hand, the Singhi Jain Series is the principal aim of my remaining life and the results of my thinking, meditation, researches and writings have all been devoted to the development of the Series. As life passes on, the time of activity is also naturally shortened and therefore it is quite appropriate, now, for me to chalk out lines of its future programme and permanence.