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INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Jains (followers of Jainism) are (generally speaking) hardly or not at all known by French people; apart from some distinguished specialists on India and its religions. Deeply interested after my first discovering and my subsequent personal contacts with them, I undertook a careful study of their philosophy and faith. Excited by such a task, that I have pursued for many years, I decided to share what I have learned of them with all who, like me, are eager to know what exists after our worldly life and what other people's opinions are on that matter, since the existence of humanity. For that reason, thanks to the precious contribution of some eminent scholars and of Jain friends I have in India, in the United Kingdom and in North America, I have published my translations of two books on the matter especially selected for their authenticity and their easy reading for the non-initiated.
The first of these books, entitled “Mahavira, le Grand Héros des Jaïns” (Lord Mahāvīra, a study in historical perspective), by Bool Chand with an 'Introduction' by Dr. Sagarmal Jain, two great specialists on this Indian spiritual Master, was published in 1998. This work is important because it recounts the life and teachings of he who is worshipped by his followers as the 24" and last "Tīrthankara” i.e. one among the ford-makers that permit to human beings to cross the boundless ocean of successive deaths and rebirths and to attain eternal bliss. Like followers of some other religions, Jains believe in the transmigration of the souls of living beings after their death. In order to get free from this cycle, they think it is imperative to follow the example of the “Tirtharikara” and in particular that of Mahāvīra, the last of them, who was born in India in the vi'" or Vh century BC and who preached the religion of the “Jina"(the conquerors).
The second book, published in 1999, entitled “Le Jainisme - Philosophie et Religion de l'Inde "(Jainism - Philosophy and Religion of India) is the translation into French of “Aspects of Jaina Religion” by Dr. Vilas Sangave. Dr. Sangave, Honorary Director of the "Sahu
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