________________
Publishers' Note
Mahesh, who rendered Vācaka Umāsvāti's Praśamarati Prakaraṇa into English, was a Yogabhrasța of the Bhagavad-gītā, born in the cultured and wealthy family of Bhogilals. He was extraordinarily brilliant with a razor-sharp intellect. He had achieved distinction in the academic field but that success did not bring him peace and tranquillity of mind. By nature he was deeply religious and he had a tremendous fascination for the monastic way of life. Although born as a Jain, he believed with Samadarśī Ācārya Hạribhadra :
पक्षपातो न मे वीरे न द्वेप: कपिलादिपु । युक्तिमद्वचनं यस्य तस्य कार्य: परिग्रहः ॥
He used to visit off and on Jain Munis, discuss various matters pertaining to Jain Dharma and Philosophy. With equal devotion he used to attend lectures on the Bhagavad-gītā delivered by Svāmī Cinmayānanda. He took legitimate pride in Ancient Indian Culture. He made no pretence to Sanskrit scholarship but he had profound love for Sanskrit. Vācaka Umāsvāti's Praśamarati Prakaraṇa, “Treatise on the Joys of Peace of the Soul” exercised profound influence on his mind. He read it over and over again with the help of a Gujarati translation. Later he sat at the feet of eminent Jain Sädhus, heard their discourses, got his doubts and difficulties clarified from them and when he felt confident that he had properly understood and grasped the deep meaning of this text he decided to render it into English for the benefit of English knowing scholars who are interested in Jain Dharma and
