________________ सिद्ध-सारस्वत को महसूस करने के लिए सक्षम करते हैं। मेरी माता जी ने मेरी देखरेख सही ढङ्ग से की तथा उन्होंने पी-एच.डी. होने पर भी सर्विस नहीं की। यदि में ये कहुँ कि मेरे माता-पिता मेरे सबसे प्रथम व सक्षम और सर्वश्रेष्ठ गुरु हैं, तो यह कोई अतिशयोक्ति न होगी। मुझे इस जीवन में जो भी प्राप्त है वह उनके मार्गदर्शन, सहयोग, समर्पण और प्रेम का प्रतिफल है। इस निधि को पाकर मेरा जीवन आपका कृतज्ञ है और मैं आपको शत-शत प्रणाम करता हूँ। डॉ. संदीप जैन डायरेक्टर, सिस्को ग्रूप, सैन्फ्रांसिस्को, अमेरिका My Father is Respectable Personality Sartaga The untold story of my father Prof. Sudarshan Lal Jain cannot be lost to time. It is not only a story worth telling, but also the story that shaped the person I am today. The story that circulates in his circle of peers is the one that begins at his professorship, or perhaps earlier when he began college. However, the true significance of the story can be found in the folds of his beginnings. (1) He was born in Damoh, M.P and grew up without his mother, in the shadow of a loving but strict father, It was a small place, where building a family and working at home were of higher priority than extended schooling. Children were expected to know only what they needed in order to continue the family business at best, and then to come support a family. It was a decision time for him. His passion for studies on one hand and responsibilities of his sister and dad on the other hand. He then made a wise decision to pursue his passion but did not give up on his responsibility towards his family. (2) After years of self-guided, self-motivated study, which he persisted upon despite a staggering lack of support from the community, he traveled to Katni, M.P for the next level of his education. During breaks in his schooling, he returned to his quiet small town to support his family, and he cooked and cleaned and studied between it all. He progressed even further, moving to Varanasi, U.P for his graduation and post-graduation. (3) It was at this time that he built a family of his own, on a foundation of books and ink and the love he held for his education. He married my mother Smt Manorama Jain, who supported not only his dreams of becoming a professor, but also his dreams of supporting his family. Soon after, my brother was struck with polio in his youth, and somehow both my parents bore the resultant stress with stoicism and strength. Despite all these setbacks, he continued to push the boundaries of excellence defined by people around him. (4) Surrounded by studious individuals who encouraged his voracious appetite for knowledge, my father completed his research from Parshwanath Vidyapeeth Varanasi and got awarded his Ph.D., which was recognized and awarded by government of U.P for his excellent work in Jainism. Soon after he started lecturing at BHU Varanasi and fought his way upward, eventually becoming head of his department. And he kept ascending, his growth did not stop there as he became 116
