BOOK REVIEWS
THE PRESENCE OF SIVA: By Stella Kramrisch. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi -
7. Price: Rs. 225.
Who is Siva really? There are conflicting
legends and stories of his doings. Scriptures, mythological accounts, spiritual
experience give different versions of this God who is reputedly a great
destroyer. And yet the Veda lauds him as the supreme Healer. Is the Siva of the
Puranas different from the Siva of the Tantras? The author, who is well-known
for her researches in Indian Temple Architecture, Art and Sculpture, applies
herself to a thorough exploration of the rise and development of the concept of
Siva right from the Vedic – even pre-Vedic – origins. Of course the Name
differs from age to age, from people to people. There is even a development of
the figure of the Almighty from the original “Wild Hunter” who confronts
Prajapati on the eve of his adventure of creation, to the “Hound of Heaven”, to
the Cosmic Dancer who combines the rush of movement with immutable calm in his
being, to the Healer of disease – not the physical only. The author narrates in
detail the evolution of this Master-Vision of the Indian Spirit, delving into
the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Brahmanas, the Puranas, astronomical texts, the
epics. The documentation is accurate and scholarly. She warns: “The myths of
Siva have many levels. They have to be entered all at the same time, or else
the total, multiple perspective of each is lost sight of. Crazed beggar,
saviour, necrophiliac, voluptuary, ascetic, he is wholly on the plane where he
acts, while on another plane he is Sadasiva, the eternal Siva, who lays out his
presence in his five faces of which the fifth, invisible in principle, is part
of the Panchamukha Linga, Siva’s concrete, monumental symbol.’ P. 428.)
Illustrated with
32 plates and a special chapter on the Cave of Siva at Elephanta, this volume
is more than a scholarly treatise; it is a Siva-Experience.
INDIA’S INTELLECTUAL
TRADITIONS: Ed. Daya Krishna. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi - 7. Price: Rs. 75.
Arising from a seminar at Jaipur to examine
the relevance of India’s intellectual traditions in different fields, these
learned papers relate to Arthasastra, Natya and Manusmriti (mainly).
As the sponsors point out, there is a general recognition of India’s traditions
in the quest of the Spirit and Arts but very little is known of the original
thinking that has gone into intellectual pursuits. The writers of these papers
underline the deep perceptions of the Indian mind in these lines of enquiry,
e.g., Drama, Rasa, Dhvani, Jurisprudence, Sociology. The discussion is
scholarly and takes into account the developments in the
West in these fields, dating from Aristotle, Plato, Aquinas and others.
Patankar analyses Madhusudan Sarasvati’s Bhaktirasayana
in order to ascertain the relation between Bhaktiyoga and Bhaktirasa, between
Bhakti and Kevaladvaita in his treatment. Incidentally a distinction is drawn
between the rasa of the Upanishads and the rasa as elaborated by Bharata. (P.
187)
K.J. Shah’s discussion on the concept of rasa
is exhaustive and it includes the question–how far a work of art needs to have
a moral lesson. As one would expect, Dr. Krishnamoorthy’s paper on Dhvani is
brilliant. He observes: “The Dhvani theory is a sound aesthetic principle to
explain beauty not only in poetry whose raw material is language, but also
other arts like music, painting, sculpture. No other theory in India is as
comprehensive as Dhvani.” (P. 155)
The papers on Natya Sastra are
stimulating. Manu’s conceptions of man and society are
shown to have a perennial relevance to sociological thought. One hopes more
such studies will follow.
MAN’S ORIGIN AND DESTINY: S. V. Ganapati, Kalakshetra Publications,
Madras - 600 041. Price: Rs. 20.
Sri S.V. Ganapati’s book Man’s Origin and
Destiny makes an absorbing reading. The author tries to explain man’s
origin and destiny from an angle entirely different from that of modern
science. Not that the author undervalues science and its achievements, but
that science cannot find right solutions for the eternal problems of life and
death since it is on the wrong track above. The right clue is to be found in
the Vedas. But Vedic views, alas, are ignored or misinterpreted by some of our
saints and sages. The author is bold enough to challenge some of the traditional
ideas firmly entrenched in Hindu Philosophy for centuries together. The author
explains the aim of his book as follows, in his preface to the book. “This
little work was undertaken because of many refreshingly new ideas having come
to light from the ancient Vedas”. “The concept of the Vedas is that ideas alone
constitute knowledge and give rise to every kind of activity in the universe
and its creatures. Ideas rule the world. Everything in the world is a form of
ideas. All radiation, light, heat, sound, electricity or magnetism and all
matter are forms of ideas. Ideas can explain about the matter; but matter
cannot explain about the ideas. The purpose of their co-ordination in existence
is explained in this book.” It is, indeed, a thought-provoking book, which
shakes off our complacent attitudes towards cosmic and microcosmic problems,
based on an all-efficient science. In the absence of documentation and
rigorous logical treatment (deductive though it be) of the subjects, the book
is no more than a bunch of respectable opinions, all assorted. Nonetheless, the
book is most welcome.
HEADING EAST AND CRACKING UP: By Donald T. Nigli. Writers Workshop,
lake Gardens, Calcutta - 45. Price: Rs. 40.
There used to be a group of poets in England
called “Sons of Ben”; today we have in India some poets whom we may call “Sons
of Eliot”. Donald T. Nigli is one among them. His latest volume of poetry Heading
East and Cracking up consists of two parts. Each part is ably introduced by
Prof. Eugene D’vaz and Prof. S. Albert, respectively, to help the average
reader to grasp the poems in their correct perspective. The first part in which
the poet attempts to give a graph of man’s physical growth and spiritual
decline seems to be an artefact. The Bible, The Bhagavatgita, The Tirukkural,
Shakespeare and Milton, American pop songs and Wordsworth, T.S. Eliot and Dylan
Thomas, mix and mingle in the poems giving it an admirable texture a la the Wasteland.
The image of a spiritual journey towards the final inertia is also there.
The poet’s use of vernacular Tirukkulam is
interesting. To call the body “the embodied self within the city with nine
gates” is a typical Indianism. But to explain “Sahasrara” as the “soft part on
the child’s head” does not appear to be accurate. “Sahasrara” is a Chakra.
It is not a physical reality, whereas the Brahma Randhra (the hole of
Brahma) is a part of the anatomy of a child. The reference is to Brahma Randhra,
not to Sahasrara.
The second part is poetry in the raw as Prof.
S. Albert explains in his foreword, Albeit, it is also difficult as the experience,
though authentic, gets frozen under stylistics. However, it is indeed a
pleasure to read poems like Reminscences of a High School Boy/Girl
contemplating a teacher. The Tale of a Tramp, Autopsy and Cracking up.
KENA UPANISHAD: - By Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo Ashramam,
Pondicherry. Price not mentioned.
This slender volume throws a flood of light on
the Kena Upanishad. What is the propelling force behind the workings of the
mind, life force (Prana) word, and sight etc., is the main question raised by
this Upanishad which also answers ‘that there is such a greater existence
behind, which is to the mind and its instruments, to the life force and its
workings and gods, what they are to the material world”. It is mind to the mind
etc., Sri Aurobindo explains in separate chapters on a rational and scientific
basis how that supreme is mid to the mind etc. Conclusions arrived at in the
Kena and Isha Upanishads are compared. Significance of words “Patati” etc., in
the sentence “Kena inshitam patati manes”, is explained for the first
time on a scientific and psychological basis (P. 108). Similarly discourses on
the meanings of the words Samjnani, Prajnana and Ajnana, Vidmati
and Vijanimch, Akshitam Sravati and Yuktah are
noteworthy. A statement, “the Vedic use of the Mantra is only a conscious
utilisation of the secret power of the word” is explained in detail (p. 34). He
proclaims that the Upanishads are “not the record of ideas, but are a record of
experiences.” (P-108).
According to Sri Aurobindo, “the Upanishad
does not assert the unreality, but only the inferiority of our present
existence.” An incomplete commentary is reproduced in the appendix, and the
second chapter therein must be studied for a proper and scientific
understanding of this Upanishad. This review cannot do full justice to the
work. It is only to be read to be enjoyed and enlightened.
LETTERS OF WISDOM TO VASANTI RAO: By B. Sanjiva Rao. Dipti Publications,
Pondicherry: Price. Rs. 30.
This book is an edited collection of letters
covering a period of seven years (1958-1965).
The writer, B. Sanjiva Rao (d. 1965) was the second of the four Benegal brothers, rail of whom achieved distinction
in their respective spheres of life. Sanjiva Rao gave his whole
life to the cause of education in
India. Early in his career, when
he was a lecturer at the Central Hindu College, Benaras, he fell under the
spell of Annie Besant, who encouraged him to devote himself to
education. He was invited to join the Indian Educational Service and held several distinguished positions during his long
innings. But his greatest contribution was the foundation of the Rajghat School
at Benaras, which he established at the behest of J. Krishnamurti. He served this institution for thirty years, almost single-handedly ensuring its
success despite enormous difficulties. The recipient of the letters, Ms. Vasanti
Rao is a long-standing sadhika and resident of Sri Aurobindo Ashram.
These letters present a most remarkable record
of a spiritual life in practice. This is the first time that the story of how
the Rajghat school was established has been made known to the public. It is a
truly marvellous story of the mysterious workings of higher powers in human
life. It is a story of how action should be performed if it is to bear fruit.
In the process we also get very valuable insights into one of the outstanding
personalities of this century, Annie Besant, and also a memorable picture of
Krishnamurti. This book, however, is most valuable as a spiritual record. The
author has distilled in it the kernel of his experience of life.
The true value of such a
book is better experienced than described or analysed. Ms Vasanti Rao, the
sponsor, and the publisher of the book deserves our thanks for placing before
us such a record. A book like this can change one’s life; and if one’s life has
already been changed, it can confirm one’s faith.
ECONOMICS NATURAL OR INTEGRAL ECONOMICS: By J.N. Mukherjee. Sri
Aurobindo Books Distribution Agency, Pondicherry - 605 002. Price: Rs. 75.
Man’s proclivity for material comforts,
together with law level of ecological awareness, has led to a
cataclysmic crisis in the form of fast depletion of scarce natural resources.
In their anxiety to achieve a high rate of economic growth, modern societies
are paying scant attention to ecology resulting in misuse and devastation of
land; squandering and depletion of non-renewal resources like petroleum and
minerals and disruption of ecological balance. Capricious exploitation of
natural resources has smudged the quality of life, particularly in developed
countries. A high rate of economic growth has only increased the incidence of
poverty and inequality in a climate of exploitation.
Technology is an instrument which has to be
handled carefully. It should be essentially self-supporting, should minimise
wastage and should make maximum possible use of renewable materials.
It is not possible to build a viable economy
out of imposed concessions and subsidies. The anti-poverty schemes and other
populist programmes cannot provide any permanent panacea to the poor. On the
other hand, they may prove to be burdensome, and even counter-productive, in
the long run. Hence, the author has advanced a case against the concessional
system.
The message of the book is very clear: the
integration of economics with ecology is possible only when man gives up
conspicuous consumption and wasteful expenditure and learns to live with
nature. There is a kernel of truth in the author’s statement, “Economy and
ecology should be closely integrated, one in tune with the other, one to
promote the other.”
The four appendices of the book contain a
methodology to integrate ecology with economic development. This work will be
read with considerable interest by all those who are paying attention to the
ecological dimensions and high social costs of economic development.
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL IDEAS OF KANDUKURI VEERESALINGAM: (A Study in
Political Thought): By Major P.A. Raju, 34 Service Selection Board, Selection
Centre East, Allahabad. Price: Rs. 90.
Mr. P.A. Raju, the author of the book, at
present holds the rank of a Major in the Army Educational Corps, and evinces,
as is evident from his avidity for acquiring academic degrees, (he holds two
M.A. Degrees and a doctorate) a Keen interest in pursuit of educational topics
and writing about them in his own way. The present work was the dissertation he
had submitted to the Marathwada University for his doctorate.
Kandukuri Veeresalingam Pantulu, the
redoubtable champion of social reform in Andhra and an outstanding literature
of a high order, has been hailed as the Father of Renaissance in this part of
the country, as Ram Mohan Roy of the South (it was Mahadeva Govinda Ranade who
paid this compliment) and the first investigative journalist in Telugu, who
wielded his pen as sword not only to lop off blind superstitions and evil
social practices of those days, but to put down corruption in high places and
civic life, with a heavy hand and uncompromising severity and rectitude.
Like Agarkar in Maharashtra, Viresalingam
concentrated more on social reform and regeneration, the pressing
and urgent needs of the day, than turning his attention to political emancipation
of the country from the foreign yoke (it is interesting to note that he
attended the First Indian National Congress Session as a delegate). Mr. Raju
delved deep into the writings of Viresalingam and others who wrote about him
and his mission in life, and produced a volume with valuable source material
packed into it under several heads and chapters, Mr. Raju concludes, on the basis
of his persevering study and painstaking research, that Viresalingam was a
liberal in Politics, with a steadfast adherence to dignity of the individual,
freedom of conscience, and to human values,–a utilitarian in practical life,
an opposer of revivalism in religion and ritualism, and a nationalist with a
difference. Though some of the opinions and views expressed by Major Raju do
not find agreement with the cognoscenti, and some of his conclusions are not
correct and sound in the assessment of Viresalingam’s personality and
purposiveness of his movements and mission, it should be admitted that Mr.
Raju, with his unremitting zeal and unstinted efforts, has now brought out some
less known facts about Viresalingam’s work as social reformer and political thinker,
into light, thus giving an opportunity for those interested to pursue the
matter, discuss and debate the issues raised, and probe further into the
political philosophy of Viresalingam Pantulu as adumbrated in his writings and
activities in life in the cause of social upliftment.
SALT SATYAGRAHA IN THE COASTAL ANDHRA: By Dr. Ch. M. Naidu. Mittal
Publications, Delhi. Price: Rs. 75.
The author of this book, Dr. Naidu, is a Reader in History in the Andhra
University. Delving into old journals and books of the times, and interviewing
some surviving freedom-fighters and eliciting a good fund of factual (and
opinionated too) information from them, he has brought out the book describing
the genesis and progress of Salt Satyagraha in the Coastal Districts of
Andhradesa, highlighting the eventful episodes and important personalities
leading the movement with courage, conviction and consecrated devotion to the
cause at the clarion call of Mahatma Gandhi, in the wake of his famous march
from Sabarmati to Dandi on April 6, 1930.
Collating the information garnered from
various sources, the author has put it in the form of a book, dividing the
chapters district-wise. There are repetitious renderings of events here and
there an account of the individual treatment given to each district, and these
could have been neatly avoided on careful revision. The author’s painstaking
research into aid records and perseverance are commendable and he has brought
out in a nutshell and in one place the less known facts and events of the Salt
Satyagraha days - a glorious period in the Freedom Movement which attracted in
its magnificent stride the common folks too in good numbers.
The presentation
of the copious source-material gathered by the author could have been in better
and appealing expression and style, as the book abounds in solecisms, (grammar,
idiom and syntax), an eyesore to a punctilious reader or a stickler for right
usage of language. Errors are also committed in giving the names of persons (as
well as their surnames) – in spelling as well as in correct description – and
these could have been avoided, if only adequate attention was paid to
proof-reading. Apart from these defects, the book fills a void that had been
there in the history of the Freedom Movement in Andhra in so far as the Salt
Satyagraha, the real springboard for positive and affirmative mass action, was
concerned. One should be beholden to the author for bringing out the material
from the dark limbos of the archives.
Pothukuchi Suryanarayana Murty
THE SOVIETS AND AFGHANISTAN: By Cyriac Maprayil. Reliance Publishing
House, New Delhi. Price: Rs. 130.
This is an interesting book in many ways.
Seventeen pages of introduction, what the author calls “An historical perspective”,
refer to the strategic position of Afghanistan and the “designs” of Russia and
Britain on the region are followed by four small chapters. The impact of
Bolshevism on Afghanistan, the Soviet-Afghan Friendship, Anglo-Soviet
Intervention in Afghanistan and suggestions for a basis for settlement are
discussed lucidly. In the postscript the author observes that “there is an
undeclared Superpower conspiracy to keep the Afghanistan conflict out of the
lime-light to avoid open criticism of the war in their respective countries.”
This is part of the “game” the superpowers have been playing during the last
four decades. Much water has flowed under the bridge since Dr. Maprayil brought
out this book. Yet there is no denying the fact that it provides a very useful
background against which the Afghan crisis can be studied. Strange indeed that
this small book contains in all 72 pages of the author’s original work
(including the references) including 17 pages of introduction. The other 45
pages contain appendices, index, etc., and the price is a staggering figure of
Rs. 130!.