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Foreword
Some of the important and significant life events of the 24th Tirthankara Bhagawan Shri Mahavira, depicted with the artist's brush form the subject matter of this long awaited publication. For me it is like joyous fulfilment of a long cherished life's dream.
The life of Bhagawan Shri Mahavira was full of compassion, truth, Ahimsa and austerity which aided by transcendental meditation of the highest order and of the purest from culminated into the attainment of Nirvana. In the doctrines preached by him lies the path of salvation. What is needed is its proper assimilation and translation into actions. His message of practice of Ahimsa in the field of action, reasoning with the aid of Anekant or Syadvad, and acceptance of spirit of austerity on the planes of mind, speech and action can usher in the era of eternal bliss. Herein lies truly the answer to all the conflicts, either individual or group. Considering the universal application of his message, it will be necessary to bear in mind that he belonged not to a particular sect or province or country. His message is for the mankind as a whole.
34 coloured paintings adorn this book. The 35th plate has Shri Gautamaswamiji, the first disciple of Bhagawan Shri Mahavira, as its subject. I had in mind to include a few more paintings in this book, but for some inexplicable reasons this idea could not materialise. Each art has its language, form and idiom. In recreating the events included in this book, the technique of the art and the vision of the artist had, therefore, to be given its due place. Being a pictorial biography, a briefer commentary on each of the plates could have served the purpose as well. However, I opted for a golden mean and made these commentaries short enough to be pithy, but long enough to be informative. The commentaries have been written in simple but direct language shorn of ornamental usages. The narratives have been confined strictly to the subject of the painting. The commentaries have been written in Hindi, Gujarati, and English, catering to a large but mixed section of readers as the book will have wider circulation, even beyond the frontiers of this country. The last section of the book, however, has been written only in Hindi
The curious, particularly the foreigner, has been wanting to know everything about the religious congisance and symbols: its forms, its significance and its implications. This curiosity is not born out of idle inquisitiveness. Nor has it over diminished. Keeping this intellectual curiosity to gain deeper knowledge of Jainism in view, I have included symbolistic drawings, in this book from which both a layman and a researcher, can liberally draw. These symbols had to be used with great imagination without deviating from the Text. They have been framed in art strips and printed below the text as pictorial foot notes. Most of these symbols are in accord with Jain Canonical scriptures. The rest are common to other Indian religions as well. In all twelve symbols and forty pictorial strips have been used to aid the reader. In addition I have a few write ups included in the last section which gives detailed information on the various symbolistic and pictorial representations.
In this inspirational and creative work the lives and missions of great luminaries like Bhagawan Shri Parswanath, Bhagawati Shri Padmavati Devi, Acharyadev Srimad Vijay Mohansurishwaraji Maharaj, had been a great source of strength. Similarly, the blessings of Acharya Shri Vijay Pratapsurishwaraji Maharaj. Acharya Shri Vijay Dharmasurishwaraji Maharaj inspired me in this humble effort at every stage. I record my sincere appreciation of the invaluable co-operation and help of Muni Shri Vachaspativijayji through all the formative as well as final stages of this publication. The publishers' in their note have acknowledged the unflinching faith in a work of this nature and co-operation of the friends and well-wishers in giving shape and form to this stylised pictorial biography. I join the publishers in thanking everyone who is connected with this endeavour
Let Bhagawan Shri Mahavira's life and word inspire humanity which is grouping in dark in this age of industrial growth and material prosperity.
Muni Yashovijay A.D. 1974. V.S. 2030, Bombay
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