By Japan K Pathak, Ahmedabad: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amitbhai Shah will launch 24 Gujarati books republished by Sastu Sahitya Mandir Trust (SSMT) on March 9. Shah has been the President of SSMT for the last two years and has written the preface for all republished books.

Established in 1907, Ahmedabad-based SSMT, under the printed name of Sastu Sahitya Vardhak Karyalaya, published over 10,000 titles in the span of 116 years. Many of these titles were not republished due to weak financial conditions, and therefore, many titles were unavailable in the market. These titles were very valuable as they had contributed a lot to previous generations of Gujarat. With Amitbhai Shah as the new President of the Trust, the books waiting to be republished for long have been reborn.

While 24 titles are going to be launched this weekend, SSMT has selected around 800 titles for republication in total. SSMT faced labor problems and other issues in previous years, and its financial condition had also weakened. SSMT also publishes the Akhand Anand magazine, which was discontinued for some time, and the Lotus brand of Ayurvedic medicines and related items.

According to Ajaybhai Patel, Chairman of Ahmedabad District Cooperative (ADC) Bank, the next plans involve Hindi and English versions of the books, republication of books by other authors, increasing the pages and circulation of Akhand Anand magazine, digital versions of books, availability of books across platforms, and especially among children, and more.

According to Pareshbhai Amin and Harshadbhai Shah, both Trustees of SSMT, it was SSMT that inspired the birth of Geeta Press Gorakhpur. A team from Geeta Press had visited SSMT first, and inspired by SSMT, they started Geeta Press.

The list of books set to be launched includes:
1. Devi Bhagwat
2. Ramayan (Part One and Two)

3. Geeta
4. Aryabhishak
5. Ashtang Hriday
6. Batris Putli Ni Vaato
7. Drashtant Ratnakar
8. Kanthabhushanam
9. Swami Vivekananda
10. Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta
11. Santo Ni Anubhav Vaani
12. Uchchjivan
13. Small Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta
14. Baal Ramayan
15. Charak
16. Shri Chandi Path
17. Prabhumay Jivan
18. Niti Manjari
19. Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta (Gujarati Saral Arth)
20. Prarthnao
21. Sundar Kand
22. Shri Satyanarayan Ni Katha
23. Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta

SSMT was started by Bhikshu Akhand Anand on Akshay Tritya in 1907. In his worldly life before diksha, Bhikshu was Lallubhai Jagjivandas Thakkar from Borsad town in Central Gujarat. In 1904, he took diksha with Shivanand Swami as his Guru. He was planning to move to the Himalayas. In Mumbai, he went to purchase religious books when he found that religious books were very costly. He also found that the book of Geeta was available for a higher price than the Quran and Bible. He postponed his Himalaya yatra and took a pledge to do something to make Hindu religious books available at cheaper prices. “The Bible is available for a cheaper price, the Quran is available for a cheaper price, why not the Geeta?” Bhikshu Akhandanand told Nathima Bhatiya, a wealthy person. Nathima gave Rs. 1,000 to Bhikshu Akhandanand and said it was not a loan; it was a donation for noble work.

With this, Bhikshu Akhandanand made the Geeta available for 2 aanaa and Ekadash Skandh for 6 aanaa. After working for three years in Mumbai, the printing and binding unit was moved to Ahmedabad in the Bhadra area under a steel roof. The activity of making Hindu religious books and other important books available at a cheap price earned fame nationwide. Hanuman Prasad Poddar, Jaydalal Goenka, Ghanshyamdas Birla visited SSMT and honored Bhikshu Akhandanand. They inquired about the activity of making Hindu religious books available at cheaper costs. Hanuman Prasad Poddar told Bhikshu Akhandanand that they had ordered SSMT literature before starting Geeta Press, and SSMT’s work had inspired them to start Geeta Press.

After the passing of Bhikshu Akhandanand, other dignitaries like Manu Subedar, HM Patel, Anand Amin, and now Amitbhai Shah continued the journey of SSMT. According to Ajay Patel, Amitbhai Shah wishes that children read the books instead of constantly using mobile phones. The books that shaped generations but were unavailable for years due to lack of republication for a long time are to be republished now and made available in translated and digitized forms for wider reach, Patel added. DeshGujarat.