Gommatasara Jiva Kanda

Author(s): Nemichandra Siddhant Chakravarti, J L Jaini
Publisher: ZZZ Unknown

Page 14

I have given this longish history of the delay in publication to bring out a few points :
(1). All important Manuscripts must be kept most carefully. The risk of loss by moths or in transit etc., must be avoided.
(2). If possible, more than one copy of the Manuscript should be typed, to guard against any irreplaceable loss of it.
(3). The Manuscript as soon as it is ready may be given even to some Jaina periodical to be published. It is easier to reprint it in book form later, when many mistakes can be avoided and corrections made.
(4). True lovers of Jainism, learned men and rich men, should co-operate and organise the public service of the community in such a manner that the invaluable work of the preservation and propagation of Jaina Sacred Books in all important languages may be accelerated.
As to the great authority and veneration of Shri Gommațasára, it is enough to say that if Tattvártha Sútra is the Jaina Bible, the Gommatasára is a brief expansion of a part of that Bible, giving the Path to Perfection or Liberation.
The Path is clear and conclusive. If followed, it leads to the Goal, Liberation,
The Goal cannot be attained without following it.
The Soul-Classes, Quests and Stages, given in this book, may be verified by anyone easily with the necessary time, trouble, inclination and sympathetic realisation of the Word of the Omniscient, any day, in any condition of life, in any part of the World.
To follow the Path, it is not necessary to be born a Jaina or to profess or embrace Jainism. Call yourself by whatever name you like, live your life as you have lived it hitherto, but if it is in accord with Jainism, if it conforms to the type and measure of faith, knowledge and conduct leading to the Goal, the soul may be sure that he or she is a Liberable being and on the Path to Truth, and Freedom from the miseries and limitations of embodied existence.
-You build yourself. The Soul is the sole architect of its life and condition, here and hereafter. As such, believers in Jainism and those who come to consider and weigh Jainism in their search after Truth will find this translation a valuable guide.