REVIEWS

The Two Hands of God: By Alan Watts. B-I. Publications, 359, Dr D. N. Road, Bombay-23. Price: Rs. 52-65.

This is a book of the well-known writer Alan Watts which contains the myths of polarity. Generally a specific region is held to be a cradle of a specific culture, and the myths are phenomena of that culture. This perpendicular classification is sought in this book to be superimposed by a horizontal classification, and an attempt is made to discuss the word mythology in terms of its themes rather than of regions. The idea behind such classification seem to he that myths are natural phenomena which grow out of the human mind, more or less uniformly in all places, just as a human body is of one essential pattern, say in China and Peru.

The book is divided into five parts, viz.. ‘The primordial pair’; ‘The cosmic dance’; ‘The two brothers’; ‘Ultimate dualism and ‘Dismemberment remembered’. Each section is primarily an anthology of ancient texts. However it is not a mere compilation of all the principal myths, but a comprehensive treatment of myths and mythical images in their polar relationship of opposites, together with a lucid commentary and introduction to the general theme that is covered.

Of particular interest to people in this country will be the chapter on ‘Cosmic dance’. To understand the depth and grandeur of ancient Hindu mythology or philosophy, is difficult even for one steeped in the Indian ways of thinking. The author has succeeded in this difficult task, quite well. The author has tried to find a synthesis between the twin aspects of the destructive power of Godhead, and the jubilant delights of the eternal dancer, to well-known to every student of Indian sculpture. The author has done full justice to this aspect of Godhead.

Equally interesting are the chapters on ‘Ultimate dualism’ ‘Dismemberment remembered’.

Broadly speaking, the author tries to bring out in this book, the thesis that normal human consciousness always depends on contrasts, and tends to ignore what is constant, even though it provides the necessary background for the perception of change. Hence to reject the wisdom of myth, which clearly shows this polarity, one has to abandon the whole philosophy of relations. In this background, the anthology is a collection of myths and mythical illusion, which concern themselves with the big polar relationships of opposites, together with a running commentary and a general introduction to the theme.

The author has well succeeded in his task of explaining explicit opposites in an implicit unity. This is convincingly illustrated by various stories and myths taken from China, India, Egypt and early Christian stories.

The book is well produced and has a number of figures illustrating the basic idea which the author has set before himself to prove.

–DR N. RAMESAN

Towards Understanding Gandhi: By D. K. Bedekar. popular Prakashan P. Ltd., 35-C Tardeo Road, Bombay-34. Price: Rs.45.

This is a posthumous publication of the author’s undertaking or project in response to the request of the Gandhi Centenary Celebration Committee. The material left by the author, after laborious search and research of the Gandhian mind and its pivotal urges, fills these pages drawing the attention of all earnest students of the Gandhian philosophy. Though much has already been written about Gandhiji’s springs of action as revealed in his thought, here the author approaches the theme of Gandhian views on religion, politics, methods for achieving synthesis of thought with action and many other problems that have thrown out challenges to deep thinkers everywhere, with a certain amount of originality and unconventional outlook.

The Editor in his note has confessed to his attempting only an arrangement in placing the material for a book, while much of it may still be “incomplete” and “unfinished.” Still, because of the true worth of the discussion on some of the major theories of Gandhiji such as Ahimsa, Satyagraha, Experiments with Truth, the book in its present shape can be of help in understanding Gandhiji and the relevance of his ideas to a modern world.

Apart from the introduction, the Editor has added a “Key to the Contents” of the ten chapters. But the appendices to Part II bear an equally valuable content sufficient to stir and stimulate any serious thinker on these problems. The formative influences upon Gandhiji through Gokhale, Ranade, Tilak, Agarakar and Raichand, the deepening of the spirit involved in Gandhiji’s concept of Truth is God from what earlier he had held as God is Truth, and his stand on “Faith as a basis for action” are all provoking of thought and provide enough of intellectual pabulum. Even as one pursues the many interactions of the thought here dealt with, one is not sure that any finality even as far as the author is concerned, has been reached. The Editor has very justly and usefully pointed out how his responsibility would cease with placing the book before the reading public without any further comments of his own regarding the points of discussion. Yet one would easily become aware of the acute power of analysis as well as understanding the author has shown in divining the motives or sources of Gandhiji’s actions. Indeed it is a book which has to be remembered and ruminated upon.

–K. CHANDRASEKHARAN

Ananda Coomaraswamy: By Dr. S. Chandrasekhar. Blackie & Son Publishers P. Ltd., Madras-2. Price: Rs. 10.

This is an address specially prepared by the renowned author on the occasion of the birth centenary celebrations of the late savant at the Indo-American Association, Madras, on the 22nd August 1977. Fortunately, Dr. Chandrasekhar is one of the very few living today who has had occasion to know personally Coomaraswamy and also to have discussed with him regarding matters concerning art, Indian culture, some of the Indian personalities and such other topics of immediate concern. In this tiny volume of only fifty pages we get no doubt a concise but satisfactory account of the main incidents of Coomaraswamy’s life, his important writings, some of the opinions of him from art-critics of the West and the author’s own thoughtful reactions to them.

It is not easy to say much within a short survey like this, especially of a person like Coomaraswamy, whose range of studies and writings cannot be succinctly even referred to in a circumscribed canvas. Anyhow the author has ably filled these pages with such information as would be necessary and profitable to learn of the great man. We find the author’s own reactions of him sometimes worth remembering, when he contrasts him with other philosophers and thinkers. For instance, contrasting him with Dr Radhakrishnan there is a sound stalement of his to which we cannot but refer. He writes: “Coomaraswamy’s role and writings in a sense are not unlike those of the Indian philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan... While Radhakrishnan ceaselessly interpreted Indian thought to the West, he brought nothing Western to India. He certainly knew his European philosophy but he did not bring it home. His was largely one-way traffic, for there was little “Western” in his training, talent or temperament.

“But Coomaraswamy’s writings by interpreting India and East to his Western contemporaries helped them to better understand their own West; and through interpreting the West to his Indian and Asian compatriots, not only in its greatness, but also in its menace, he has helped them to understand better their own Indian and Asian heritage.”

Another valuable conclusion of the author on what Coomaraswamy must be taken to be today strikes also worth quoting. He says: “Some of Coomaraswamy’s views, taken at random and torn from their logical context, might appear old-fashioned and even reactionary. Only a superficial perusal of his writings may mislead one into the belief that he was a faddist and even an obscurantist, But this is far from the truth, for a careful study, granting the postulates that he does, will convince the reader that he is today as relevant as Mahatma Gandhi, Bharatan Kumarappa or Marco pallis.”

Inspiringly also the author has finished his short but illuminating address thus: “The greatest tribute one can pay him at this distance of time is that he had achieved in his life the rare integrated inner unity that exists between Being and Becoming, Mind and Nature, Attachment and Detachment, Action and Contemplation. This was because of his abiding belief in the ultimate superiority of the Spirit.”

–K. CHANDRASEKHARAN

Har Dayal (Hindu Revolutionary and Rationalist): By Emile Brown. Manohar Book Service, 2 Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi-2 Price: Rs. 60.

This is a biography of an outstanding revolutionary, who evinced a trait which combined in itself an ardent spirit for securing freedom for the motherland with a startling capacity for extreme methods for achieving it. Apart from being a fire-brand in politics, his scholarship and deep acquaintance with many languages and power of expression easily made him remembered by most of the nationalists of this country.

Born in 1884, he got a scholarship to go to England and study in Oxford, which was aborted before an year was concluded. His return to India and his involvement in revolutionary activities during the early freedom struggle are vividly narrated with sufficient minute details.

The author who is a foreigner and a Fulbright scholar has spared no pains to present the picture of the man and his ideas with copious documents, records of statements and correspondence, in order to be convincing of the factual accuracy of the life, the times, the contacts he made with important men like Gandhiji, Lajpat Rai, S. D. Savarkar, Rash Behari Bose and others and the activities in foreign countries which made him a very prominent figure in political groups. No doubt the vicissitudes of his eventful career which ranged from a strong antagonist of the British imperialism into a man of milder outlook, give the reader an impression of his youthful rashness gradually yielding to mellowness with age and personal sufferings. Still from what he wrote with profound understanding of the modern spirit and the wide appreciation his ideas evoked from persons of consequence, he strikes us as no ordinary person. His banishment from India which could not be revoked by the British Government till almost his closing years made him a sad man yearning to return to his native soil. If a saintly publicist and reformer such as C. F. Andrews could say of him that “he was one of India’s noblest children and in happier times could have done wonders with his gigantic intellectual powers”, we can understand the stature of his personality.

The author’s enviable objectivity is partially due to her not having known him personally, but at the same time her training in the art of presentation, has enabled us to view the picture more as a piece of good biographical attempt than of mere hero-worship.

–“SAHRIDAYA”

Tulsi Das: By Madan Gopal. Baokabode, 2/17 Vasant Vihar, New Delhi-57. Price: Rs. 40.

This is a biographical sketch of the renowned poet Tulsi Das, who lived in the Mughal period, particularly of the great Akbar. From almost authentic sources, it is believed that the poet lived for eighty years spanning the interval between 1543 and 1623, when he died. The author of the short literary biography has earned a good name by his previous work on Munshi Premchand, the great Hindi writer. There is no doubt that he has added another feather to his cap by publishing this book. In about sixty odd pages and under fourteen heads the narrative proceeds with sufficient indications that the author has been careful not to draw upon his own imagination for details of that life. The preface itself is a compendium of what a student of history would perform in making his readers believe in the truthfulness of his accounts. Few details of the legendary birth of the child with an unusual-sized head presaging evil to the parents similar other such points of chronological extravagance are mentioned, while at the same time other valid sources of information are also alluded to, which make the whole interesting reading. The chapter “Versatile Poet” dwells upon the chief merit of Tulsi Das’s unique work. The poet’s other writings are also briefly mentioned to prove the fact of his creativity in writing.

The appendix contains extracts from the twin sources, the Gautamachandrika and the Mool Gosain Charit, both of which are supposed to have been written by contemporaries of the poet. With restraint and taste, the author has alluded to the many incidents which have been later glorified as remarkable ones in the life of the saint. The stamp of a true biography is impressed on every page of this meritorious work.

–“SAHRIDAYA”

Essentials of Dharma: By Manmohan Ghosh. Sribhumi Publishing Co., 79, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Calcutta-9. Price: Rs.30.

This is an English translation of Bankimchandra Chatterjee’s book Dharmatattva in Bengali. The famous novelist of historical themes had a profound conception of Dharma and its connotation in relation to many aspects of human activity. He relates Dharma to culture of a comprehensive nature, involving physical faculties, faculties of knowledge, faculties of action and faculties of aesthetics. In short he says:

“The result of this devotion is love for the world, For God is in all creatures.

“The love for the world has no quarrel with self-love, love of the family and friends and relatives and patriotism. That we find some quarrel, is because we do not make any efforts to convert these qualities into desireless action. This happens due to lack of proper culture.

“As it can be said devotion to God and love of mankind is the same, that it can also be said that patriotism is the most serious Dharma except devotion to God.” (P. 160)

In the form of dialogues which is an ancient method of carrying conviction to the reader, the entire scope of the concept of Dharma has been vividly analysed here in 28 chapters. Some of the observations, though made nearly a century ago, seem to bear great relevance to many of our modern problems. His knowledge of Western thought has been of immense help to his clarifying Indian metaphysical approach to Truth.

Indeed it is a book which abounds with useful discussions of several aspects of culture and sustains much of them by the philosophy expounded in the Bhagavad Gita, which to the author is beyond doubt a scripture of absolute wisdom.

The translation of such a book, till now not known outside Bengal, brings credit to the translator for rendering it in a language which has the widest influence in the world.

–“RASAJNA”

Sri Aurobindo: The Perfect and the Good: By Robert Neil Minor. Minerva Associates, 7-B, Lake Place, Calcutta-29. Price: Rs. 60.

There is a tendency among the biographers of Sri Aurobindo to speak of four distinct periods in his life, e.g., In England, in Baroda, in Bengal and in Pondicherry. Dr Minor prefers to look upon Sri Aurobindo’s career as a whole, in what he calls a religio-historical perspective. He underlines the continuity in his manifold evolution. His scheme as described by him is as follows: religion and ethics of Aurobindo in his student days; religion and ethics of Aurobindo the nationalist leader; religion and ethics of Aurobindo the Yogi in Pondicherry...the continuity of religion and ethic is clear...points to two factors which are important for his ethic throughout the last three periods: the transcendent Absolute, and the intuitive, self-authenticating Yogic experience. Aurobindo’s religion and ethic cannot be separated and still remain the same, for the principle of Aurobindo’s ethic is: that is good which promotes Aurobindo’s religion.”

Perhaps the line between religion and spirituality is not drawn clearly. Sri Aurobindo’s “ethic” is not “ethical” in the traditional sense. As the author points out Sri Aurobindo’s ethics are teleological. “They promote that solution which follows from his view of reality.”

It is satisfying to note that the author grasps the central thrust of Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy and Yoga, as is evident in the following passage: “Aurobindo’s ultimate concern while a Yogin at Pondicherry was the realisation of the Divine by the individual being and by the world itself. Viewing the world in terms of the evolution of the previously involuted Divine back to its open manifestation, Aurobindo called for the individual to promote that evolution. The means of such a promotion is integral Yoga, a Yoga which attempts to combine those aspects of Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga which he interprets as their essences and which affirm movement toward the perfection of the individual in terms of the evolutionary process ... His ethics are defined in terms of the evolutionary process to perfection. God is that which promotes the evolution and evil is that which hinders it. However, in the integral view of Reality all is seen as the chance for the individual soul to promote that evolution. To do so is to affirm that ultimate Good which is Sacchidananda, to realise one’s true Self as identical with the Infinite, and to live in the pure existence, integral consciousness, and unlimited bliss of the Infinite.”

It is rightly emphasised that the basis of this philosophy is experience and vision deriving from that experience, and not intellectual speculation.

–M. P. PANDIT

Concepts of Indian Philosophy: By Sarasvati Chennakesavan. Orient Longman, Madras-2. Price: Rs. 20-00.

There are the standard surveys or histories of Indian philosophy by Radhakrishnan, Surendranath Dasgupta, Hiriyanna, Swami Prabhavananda and others. But Prof. Chennakesavan claims that her book is no “history,” and the late Prof. Nikam, in his foreword, maintains that “Indian Philosophy” is strictly no “history” but “a development.” But “a development” in time does involve a “history.” Prof. Chennakesavan herself, notwithstanding her sense of inadequacy at the “historical” approach, devotes her first 50-page chapter to his very “history,” although she says that she uses the word only “in its wider meaning as the activity of man.” Actually this chapter is a quick more or less chronological summary of the Vedic, Upanishadic and Puranic periods, of Buddhism and Jainism and Charvaka Materialism, of the six systems (Nyaya-Vaiseshika, Samkhya-Yoga and Mimamsa-Vedanta).

In the hard central block, the chapters on ‘Metaphysics’ and ‘Theory of knowledge’ which take up three-fourths of the rest of the book, the method adopted by the author is “one of dialectical development from plural explanations to monistic explanations in metaphysical concepts and from perception to verbal testimony in epistemology.” Substance, realism, pluralism, monism, idealism, perception, non-cognition and sabda-pramana, all are covered in the survey. But these chapters are also an almost fantastic and often exasperating attempt to impress upon the reader that all metaphysical and epistemological arguments usually accepted and argued upon in Western philosophy are also to be found in Indian philosophy.” Whatever they in the West had thought, we here had thought too! In the result, these two chapters with the parallel parade of concepts and thinkers (Western and Indian) and comparative and contractive studies whirl about, and while there is a display of scholarship and industry, for the reader himself it is all like a cramming exercise.

Democritus and Leucippus greet the atomic Vaiseshika philosopher (P. 59); Kant and Hegel jostle with the Samkhya philosopher (P. 78 ); Berkeley and Jung figure alongside of the Hinayana Vijnanavadin (P. 107); Hobbes and Watson are bedfellows of the Charvaka philosopher (P. 134); and William James, C. S. Pierce and John Dewey are seen with the Naiyayikas (P. 154), and so on. All this is no doubt interesting (if not distracting), but where do these fortuitous correspondences take us? How is all this an improvement upon the “historical method?”

The two shorter chapters on “Principles of Morality” and “Philosophies of Religion” (Visishtadvaita, Dvaita and Saiva Siddhanta) are more to the point, and are not cluttered with the names of European philosophers. They tell a straightforward story, and this is a merit.

In the last chapter, “Some stray thoughts”, Prof. Chenna-kesavan raises more questions than she answers. “I have digressed much”, she says, “from the traditional philosopher who arrives at consciousness via intuitive and mystical channels” (P. 241) That is perhaps the reason why, although she has mentioned a plethora of Western thinkers, she has not mentioned Sri Aurobindo. Nevertheless, Prof. Chennakesavan’s is a gallant (if somewhat misconceived) effort at philosophical exposition, and will be welcomed by students of philosophy.

–Dr. PREMA NANDAKUMAR

The Epic Muse: The “Ramayana” and “Paradise Lost”: By S. Ramakrishnan. People’s Publishing House, New Delhi. Price: Rs. 25.

One is reminded of the Tamil proverb that seeks to bring together Gokulashtami and Ghulam Khader. Kamban and Milton belong to entirely different spheres. Milton the Puritan poet writing in the 17th century came much later than Kamban who must have composed his epic almost a thousand years ago. While Milton made his language heavily decorative with his classical scholarship, Kamban sought to release Tamil poetry from archaisms and pedantry. Milton chose a brief episode for detailed study; Kamban’s canvas includes the entire Ramayana myth. However, both were epic poets. They sought to explore the existence of good and evil in this world, and project an utopia for the sorrow-ridden world. Besides, their popularity has endured through the many centuries that divide them from us.

Granted the almost impossible nature of the comparison, one must, however grudgingly, admire Sri Ramakrishnan’s tenacity of purpose and ability to squeeze out plausible comparisons.

The first part deals with the ages of Kamban and Milton. Scholar-poets both, their respective epic traditions have also to be studied closely. The author patiently goes on detailing Western critical heritage as well as pre-Kamban Tamil epic literature. Silappadhikaram’s architectonics must have provided Kamban with the necessary blue-print. But why this total black-out of Jeevaka Chintamani, which they say, was the exemplum for future epic compositions in characterisation and prosody?

The second part is about the ideal society visualised by Kamban and Milton. The author calls Kosala a communist utopia. In a very interesting passage he tries to prove that unlike Valmiki, Kamban envisaged Kosala as a continent of peace for he had nothing to say of Ayodhya’s army.

“...for him the capital is a citadel of peace. No wonder, Valmiki’s Dasaratha’s coronation-eve advice to Rama to keep the arsenal and treasure well-stored is implicitly challenged by Kamban’s Vasishta, when he gives his coronation-eve advice to Rama. The sage tells the prince that if hatred is eschewed completely wars will cease, but glory will not be dimmed, for the wreath of peace (won by having no enemy) is not a whit inferior to the laurels of victory in war; moreover, in conditions of lasting peace, the danger of annihilation will never arise.”

Milton’s vision of an utopia is from a different angle. Kamban’s is optimism, while Milton’s is nostalgia. Kamban can imagine a perfect city. Not Milton. Compare the Pandemonium, “city and proud seat / of Lucifer.”

The long chapters that follow give us a complete view of Paradise Lost and Ramavataram as the critic swings between the two epics to distill analogies. Incidentally, we learn a little about action in Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes and Comus. As for the two great antagonists:

“Ravana’s partial regeneration, his heroic fight and his glorious death at the hands of the godhead’s incarnation as Rama are in marked contrast to Satan’s progressive degeneration, his dastardly deception of Eve and his triumphant position in the fallen world. Ravana’s death opens the door to his salvation, while Satan is doomed to eternal damnation...”

The Indian mind considers life as a divine comedy unlike the West which takes its cue from Greek tragedy. Sri Ramakrishnan deserves praise for keeping this view constantly before him while analysing the epic characters of Kamban and Milton, The Epic Muse is that rare exotica: a rewarding doctoral dissertation from an Indian university.

–Dr. PREMA NANDAKUMAR

Ananda Coomaraswamy: Spiritual Frontiers of Art, Literature and Culture: By R. Raphael. Rayappa Publishers, 60, Krishna Nagar, Virugambakkam, Madras-92. Price: Rs, 30.

When a person is left alone, he grows up with a fierce determination to be free, to be independent, to belong totally to himself. The inevitable has to be endured, because man enters into this world alone. Everyone should learn to live by himself or herself for a while in life. It makes one discover unknown recesses within oneself. Coomaraswamy advocates man’s spirit of independence and individual freedom. Only a philosopher can interpret the philosophy of another philosopher. That brings us nearer to Mr. Raphael. Yes, it is so because Mr. Raphael brings us nearer to Ananda Coomaraswamy.

For Coomaraswamy everything starts with Duty–duty with a capital ‘D’. He asserts that caste is not determined by birth but by one’s loving devotion to one’s duty. Raphael sees no reason why one should disagree with Coomaraswamy. He tells us that even the Catholic theologians accept that by doing his work properly according to the will of God, man grows in spiritual perfection, Raphael would like to bring all thinking human beings under a new category–a new class perhaps of “spiritual aristocrats.”

Coomaraswamy echoes Plato’s views when he says: “The function of art is to nourish and make the best part of us grow.” Raphael quotes from the Preface to The Arts and Crafts of India and Ceylon and proves that Coomaraswamy is a true representative of Oriental Wisdom. “The Hindus have never believed in art for art’s sake; their art, like that of mediaeval Europe, was an art for love’s sake...I am glad to think that they have never consciously sought for beauty...For great art results from the impulses to express certain clear intuitions of life and death, rather than from the conscious wish to make beautiful pictures or songs.” This, in fact, makes the Indian artists realistic and so modern. For Coomaraswamy “aesthetic” means the “disinterested contemplation” of beauty and life.

Raphael’s analysis of Coomaraswamy’s philosophy of art is quite interesting. He points out that Coomaraswamy is the first person to say that the purpose of art is always one of effective communication. Since what is communicated is always a “thesis,” “an idea”, the function or the end of art is not beauty: since it is by its beauty that we are attracted to a work, its beauty is evidently a means to an end, and not in itself the end of art. Raphael refers to Gitanjali to prove this point. Tagore insists on the importance of purifying the body and the soul so that we might become temples of the Holy Ghost. Raphael’s knowledge of philosophy and philosophers are clearly seen in his appreciation of Coomaraswamy’s philosophy of art. He points out that for Coomaraswamy the experience which leads to the creation of a work of art is neither aesthetic nor psychological but what Plato and Aristotle call a Katharsis. To enable an ordinary reader to understand it fully, he explains the theories and diffucult terms whenever they occur.

The book is more an explication of Coomaraswamy’s ideas than a criticism. Raphael seems to completely agree with Coomaraswamy and he would like the reader also to do so. Coomaraswamy feels that a work of art is an expression which has the quality of rasa in it. Rasa is the essence, the tincture or the juice of a thing, and Coomaraswamy translates it as “flavour.”

`The present book is a significant work in the sense that it is complete with all details of Coomaraswamy’s views on Art, Culture and Religion. There is a huge accumulation of truth, down to the smallest detail in Raphael; he seems sometimes a mountain of facts. But there is clarity in every statement that he has made. It is almost incredible that Raphael managed to fuse so many ideas, ideals and philosophers into a simple and unified whole. The language he has used is straightforward and spontaneous.

In short, Raphael had not only given us the essentials of Coomaraswamy, but also made them appear as the essentials of Indian culture, nay of all cultures, because they are truths lived and loved by all men of good-will at all times and in all places.

–K. R. CHIDAMBARASWAMY

Agama Pramanya: By Yamunacharya. Edited by Dr M. Narasimhachary. University Publications Sales Unit, M. S. University of Baroda Press, Palace Road, Baroda. Price: Rs. 18.

Agama Pramanya is an authoritative work of the Visishtaadvaita school of Vedanta written by Yamunacharya, the grand teacher of Sri Ramanuja. Yamuna declares that Agamas are as valid as Vedas themselves, and refutes the arguments of the opponents. This is the first critical edition of this work, and it is as it should be. The distinguishing features of this edition are: Three printed texts and twelve palm leaf manuscripts of the text were collated for this critical edition and all the variant readings are noted in the footnotes. Sources of many passages referred to in the text are traced and quoted also. Critical and explanatory notes in Samskrit and English according to the context facilitate an easy understanding of the text. An introduction in English is a masterly treatise. It deals with the nature of the Agamas in general, validity of the Pancharaatraagama in particular and its influence on the later works. A summary of the text giving the views of the Mimamsakas and Advaitins on the subject, and their rebuttal by Sri Yamuna, enables students who do not know Sanskrit to grasp the main theme of the work. An appendix showing the passages found at the beginning and end of manuscripts collated for this edition, four indices and a detailed table of contents make the work highly useful to the readers.

We congratulate the editor for his critical acumen and commend this work to all students of Visishtaadvaita philosophy.

–B. KUTUMABA RAO

Advaitic mysticism of Sankara: By Dr. A. Ramamurty. The Centre of Advanced Study in Philosophy, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan. West Bengal. Price: Rs. 38.

This is an exhaustive and authentic exposition of the nature of Brahmaanubhava, or experience of Brahman by being it, in all its aspects–a subject not given its due importance hitherto–as propounded exclusively by Sankara in his Bhaashyas and Prakaranagrandhas. The learned author rightly remarks that in Sankara we find both the mystic and metaphysician merged in one. That Brahman cannot be known by the means of sense perception inference and the like is the subject matter of the first chapter. In the second chapter which is the kernel of the work, it is established that Brahmaanubhava is an experience devoid of subject-object duality, is immediate and direct, unobstructed and ineffable and is quite different from Yogic experience–nirvikalpasamaadhi–swoon, deep sleep and death. “Brahman is absolute silence and may however be described negatively by superimposition and negation and still by the supreme way of silence.” “Brahmaanubhava is liberation and not limited to Turiya.” “To attain Brahman is to attain identity with all.” These are some of the salient points presented herein.

That one can experience Brahman by being it in this very life and yet be active in the world is shown in the third chapter entitled “Behaviour of a Brahmajnaani.” The “way to Brahmaanubhava”, the place of faith, emotions and reasoning therein, the object of Brahmaanubhava, empirical experience of Brahmaanubhava are dealt with in the succeeding chapters. The chapter discussing the validity of Brahmaanubhava deserves a close study, The last chapter under the caption “comparisons and conclusions” is an original contribution of the author. He compares the mystic experiences of Islam, Christ and Sankara and shows how Sankara’s experience is to be preferred to the former two. Two criticisms levelled against this Brahmaanubhava are answered. Written in simple and lucid style, without technical terms, this work presents in a logical and coherent manner, the essence of Sankara’s Advaita, giving due stress to the nature of his mystic experience, on the basis of his own statements translated into English, and offers a rich spiritual fare both to the lay man and a student of philosophy, and is a must for an easy understanding of Sankara’s Advaita.

–B. KUTUMBA RAO

The Allegory of Eternity: (Price: Rs. 10.) The Triple-Light (Price: Rs. 15). Sparks of the Absolute: (Price: Rs. 15). By Dr. K. V. Suryanarayana Murty. All the books are published by the author, Dept. of English, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam-3.

Dr. K. V. Suryanarayana Murty’s anthology of poems entitled “The Allegory of Eternity” reveals the poet’s intense awareness a vast and varied cosmos which enchants him with inexhaustible beauty and mystery. Dr. Murty is metaphysical in his attitude to life and poetic expression. What pleases us in his poetry is the variegated imagery culled from Nature. For instance, “The Path of Nature” reveals a joyous response to the pied beauty of Nature. Though the poet prepares us by his “Prologue” for poems with dark frustration as their basis, the poems in themselves do not warrant any gloomy vision of life. They pulsate with a sharp joy surging up from a deep stirring of the soul. The luminous visions of the poet swallow up the dark night of his soul and what elevates is Hope, as the Epilogue tells us.

We do not know whether the order of the poems in the anthology indicates the growth of the poet’s mind; but the poems toward the end of the book are maturer in poetic idiom and philosophic continuity. “The Path of Nature”, “The Light of Illumination”, “Meaning of Truth” “Attainment”, “Egg of Grace” and “Sythesis” are indeed poems that promise us a substantial poet.

However, Dr Murty is to guard himself against his weakness for abstraction. Anything expressed in language has its own limitations and it is these limitations that define and describe the imponderables of mind with strange expressiveness. Language, in prose or poetry, is not for concealing thought. Dr Murty’s command on English language is certainly praiseworthy. But disorder in syntax is often a source of confusion and cacophony in his poetry, as in

“Hot Sun catalyzed hunger his

He shelter took beneath a roof.”

“The Triple-Light” is Dr Murty’s second volume of poems. The metaphysical tone and idiom of the first volume deepen in the second volume. Each poem is a volcanic eruption of thought and emotion; there is light and sound but the lava of emotion is spilt all over. Disorder as an occasional phenomenon is not un-welcome but its continuous presence deprives us of all sense of order and meaning. A good poem ought to be something more than a jumble of jungling phrases. Dr Murty’s predilection to using oxymoron and paradox lavishly indicates the increasing complexity of his experience. But very often these poetic devices do not enlighten the reader at all. They only entice and puzzle him and leave him exhausted with too much of groping for meaning or feeling.

In the third anthology “Sparks of the Absolute” Dr Murty’s predilection to employing abstract expressions stretches itself to a breaking point. Most of the poems are purple-adjectived and are bloated with extravagant imagery. There is a blinding brilliance about some of his phrases but they form only a ring of light enclosing a dark world of obscure thought. Thoreau asks the men of the world to simplify. This piece of exhortation is not irrelevant if applied to poets and poetic craft. Economy, precision, clarity and suggestiveness of expression–these are the qualities of style that have always made most intricate thought or emotion felt. Dr Murty, by avoiding verbal anarchy, can surely emerge as an austere votary of the Indo-Anglian Muse.

–DR C. N. SASTRY

Kamadhenu (English version): By E. P. B. Pisharodi. Bharata Vidyapeetham, P. O. Era Nellur, Kerala. Price: Rs. 25.

Samskrit is the soul of India and is still a living language. Many attempts are being made to make its study easy. Kamadhenu method is one such. This book “is a concise form of lessons for forty days’ course in Samskrit in English medium.” The attempt is a marvellous success. The first twelve lessons deal with Sandhis, Sabdas, Dhatus, Kridantas and Sannantas, etc. Samskrit grammar is compared with that of Hindi and English. From the 13th lesson onwards, 4th canto of Raghuvamsa is taught on traditional lines. Nothing required for a clear understanding is omitted.

One cannot but be struck by the missionary zeal of Sri Pisharodi for the spread of Samskrit language. We unhesitatingly conclude that any student who takes this course seriously can easily understand Ramayana and Mahabharata, and Samskrit kavyas and dramas also with the help of some hints or commentaries, and can acquire a knodding acquaintance of Vedic literature also.

–“SANDILYA”

Essays in honour of Prof. S. C. Sarkar: People’s Publishing House, New Delhi. Price: Rs. 80.

This omnibus volume is a festschrift brought out in honour of S. C. Sarkar, Professor of History at several North Indian universities by the dedicated efforts of his students and admirers. The contributions collated and redacted are multifarious and their thematic diversity ranges from intimate profiles of the professor to well-researched papers on subjects like Economy, Society and Politics of India with elaborate documentation. The essays on Marxism raise a poser whether any ism has a future if it cultivates a class bias to a total lack of a cosmopolitan outlook. The aim of any polity is social welfare. Any deviation from this sacred objective spells its disaster. No gas chambers, concentration camps, purges, suppression of human rights, enforcement of conformism and doctrinaire-ism can be its palladia and on the other hand these distasteful and disaffective manifestations are so many death knells. Discreet and enlightened adaptability is to be the ethos and ethic of any political or economic system for its survival. A stick-in-the-mud attitude will be its graveyard. The articles compiled in the book are in-depth studies of the topic chosen and will be of valuable help to any researcher.

–K. SUBBA RAO

Patriots and Pioneers: By P. D. Tandon. Better Yourself Books, Allahabad-2. Price: Rs. 4.

The book is an anthology of biographical run-downs of eminent personalities of Bharat. As one skims through, the portraits drawn seem to step out of pages and stand before us fresh and alive: Gandhiji with his deep humanity, Bose with his fiery patriotism, Rajendra Prasad with his innate modesty, Vallabhbhai Patel with his iron will, Abul Kalam Azad with his elegance and grace, Sarojini with her enrapturing lyrical notes, Kasturba with her massive patience, Kamala Nehru with her encompassing compassion for the lowly and the lost, Govind Vallabh Pant with his subtle statesmanship, Kamalapati Tripathi with his affable manners and compromising temperament, Sampurnanand with his enviable scholarship, Kamaraj with his fund of common sense, Chalapathi Rau with his encyclopaedic knowledge, Mrinalini with her dreamy eyes, Sumitra Nandan Pant with his in-born charm and goodness and Maha Devi Verma with her lugubrious muse.

The low-down of each sketch is succinct and compact. There is neither exaggeration nor extenuation in the presentation of facts. The book is a neat study of men and human affairs. But Tilak, Gokhale, Ranade, Tyabji, Vithalbhai, Hume and a host of others are notable omissions.

Literature of any genre is the reflexion of a people’s culture and nurses its spiritual and material growth. India is fortunate in having for its exemplars, such exalted souls as our leaders to whom the whole universe is an extended home.

–K. SUBBA RAO

Divyamunitrayamu (Collection of three poems): By S. T. N. C. S. K. Jagannatha Tiruvenkatacharya and B. K. Rangaraja charya. Sri Goda Grandhamala, Musunuru. A. P. Price: Rs. 10.

This is a collection of three beautiful poems describing the lives of the great preceptors of Visishtaadvaita, Sri Yatiraja, Sri Sathari and Sri Ramyajameta. The first poem is divided into five Asvasas and written in Telugu metre free from prose and labials also. The second one contains only one Asvasa and is written in pure Telugu (Accha Telugu) verses free from prose and labials. These two poems are written by the first poet. In addition to the observation of the above restrictions, the poet without any effort wrote at his Gadya at the end of Asvasas in metres pregnant with meaning. In spite of all these metrical and linguistic feats the poem does not lose its charm and has its own beauty. The poet richly deserves our praise for his masterly command over the vocabulary of the Telugu and Samskrit languages.

The third poem of one Asvasa written by the second poet is mellifluous and is adorned with Telugu idioms and phrases here and there. We commend this to all lovers of poetry.

–B. K. SASTRI

TELUGU

Telugu Vaitaatikulu: Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi, Saifabad, Hyderabad-4. Price: Rs. 4.

This is a collection of four speeches on the lives, endeavours and achievements of four eminent Andhras, who roused their brethren from slumber and richly contributed to the renascence of Telugu literature and culture, and started the Andhra movement in the Telangana area, which paved the way for the Visalandhra afterwards. Late Komarraju Laxmana Rao founded Vijnanachandrika Grandhamandali which published many works on history and sciences in Telugu for the first time even in 1912. A Telugu encyclopaedia also emanated from his hands. Sri Raja Nayani Venkata Ranga Rao Bahadur, a zamindar, gave his helping hand to freedom-fighters, patronised men of letters and cultural institutions like Saradaniketanam, and stood by the national leaders. Late Adiraju Veerabhadra Rao, a penny less person, a journalist of note and a great research scholar without a doctorate degree, served many cultural institutions and wrote more than two hundred articles. “Andhra Pitamaha” late Dr Madapati Hanumanta Rao, a story-writer, a historian, a poet, a reformer, the founder of the Andhra movement in the Telangana, and many educational institutions for girls, was not only an eminent leader but a creator of leaders. These biographical sketches provide a pleasant and profitable reading. They are instructive and serve as guides and incentives to our young men.

–B. K. Sastri

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