Reviews

[We shall be glad to review books in all Indian languages and in English, French and German. Books for Review should reach the office at least SIX WEEKS in advance of the day of publication of the Journal.]

ENGLISH

Modern Biography.–By Dr. P. Guha-Thakurta, M. A., Ph. D. [The Hindustan Times Press, Delhi. Price As. 8]

Biography as a form of writing holds a very prominent place in Western literature today. One can measure its popularity by the way in which biographies have increased in such large numbers, succeeding one another so quickly. And a mere glance at any one of them will tell us how different modern biography is, in method and treatment, from what it was a few decades ago. The old form which dealt in dull facts and anecdotes, or ‘tedious panegyrics’ raising the hero to a pedestal so high that it tended to make him appear as if he belonged to another and superior order of men, has given place to vivid portraiture and discriminate praise. Modern biography with its literary finish is indeed decidedly more attractive than a fine novel of skillfully woven plot and lively delineation of character. Our interest in it is quickened all the more because we know it tells us about persons who have lived, felt and suffered like ourselves, and in that knowledge there is a peculiar gratification for us.

The life of a man written with that sympathy and insight into the workings of his mind and character must always make a higher appeal to us than that of any hero of fiction. For as Mr. Andre Maurois says, "The most complex hero of a novel is infinitely less complex than the most simple of human beings." But there is a tendency sometimes to pull down the god from his pedestal and expose to a scandalized world the clay feet of their idol. A truthful, dispassionate biography, however, if it has an aversion to indulge in loud panegyrics, is bound to be, by the very nature of its method to a certain extent, an iconoclastic work. Thus Napoleon is a great man and yet quite human, subject to limitations. Those intimate touches which reveal the man as he is, make him come down from his height at moments and mix with the crowd. But that serves only to win our sympathy as well as our admiration for all that is great and small in him. Again, if we take Lytton Strachey's "Queen Victoria," what a different Victoria it is that we behold emerging from its pages! It is not the ideal queen, virtuous and good, that we have ever loved to think of, but the woman of ordinary intelligence, spirited and full of life, and insisting on having her own way in certain things. But this Victoria, if anything, appears only the more interesting in our eyes for betraying the common elements in her nature. It is not to be denied that this form of literature does more than give mere pleasure to humanity. For in Herr Emil Ludwig’s words, "What task can be grander than to stimulate, and above all to stimulate the young by the example of great men, and show that each was but a man exposed to the limitations, difficulties, perplexities, and sufferings with which we all must contend?"

It is an engaging and fruitful study that Dr. Guha Thakurta has undertaken in this small volume, entitled "Modern Biography," and he deserves to be congratulated. Though he has not made, as he himself says, any elaborate attempt to trace the literary history of Biography, or discuss the comparative merits of those devoted to this branch of art, he has nevertheless succeeded very ably in touching upon all its aspects. It is clear that Dr. Thakurta understands well the technique and modes of treatment of Biography-writing. For, unless one is quite at home with his subject one cannot speak with authority and confidence as Dr. Thakurta does on the excellences and defects of such eminent biographers as Lytton Strachey, Emil Ludwig and M. Andre Maurois. His critical estimate, too, of other distinguished writers in the field, such as Mr. Guedalla, is no less convincing and may be said to be an eloquent testimony to his high literary perception. And it is a happy thing to note that to all this Dr. Thakurta joins a good, vigorous style which is no mean distinction to urge on behalf of any writer.

K. SAVITRI

The Essential Unity of all Religions.–By Dr. Bhagavan Das. [The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar. Price Rs. 3]

This is an attractive reproduction in a book form of a paper read by him in the All-Asia Education Conference held at Benares in December 1930. It is an inspired psychic plea for the unity of all religions.

This small book of less than 300 pages cannot be adequately praised. It is almost poetic in its expression like a Sufi song, which while expressing deep philosophical truths has the capacity of taking the reader unawares by Beauty and giving some rare touch of the soul's inner rapture. In a very clear, simple, lucid style the author discourses to us the real aims, objects and the Ideal of all our various conflicting religious strivings, and finally convinces the reader of their ultimate essential unity. The work is done with admirable care and masterliness and is replete with apt and carefully chosen quotations from almost all the scriptures of the world, and the sayings of many great religious masters and poets. There is hardly a page which does not contain a rare and inspiring quotation, and there are pages after pages where one softly glides on from quotation to quotation of rarest charm and beauty as well as of greatest spiritual wisdom. Thus from the beginning to the end, the book is delightful and captivating and deeply inspiring. The author so well performs his work and is so successful in it that one can safely say that after reading it even the most obstinate sceptic is bound to modify his views and get a broad vision of Truth. I am Sure there will be many who will be inspired and guided by this book and will find their way greatly cleared and illumined.

Religion is something very intricate and complex; it has a very strong hold of a believing man, and in India it has entered into the very nature of man and needs to be dealt with very carefully in a scientific manner, the secret of which is known only to the great Sages and Rishis. At times it becomes a great barrier and cripples the aspiration of the inner spirit, if one ignorantly keeps occupied only in its outer rounds and does not bring into it spiritual wideness and freedom. To quote the words of Dr. Bhagavan Das –"Too much religion kills God, God in man, and enslaves him to superstition instead of bringing him from all fear."

In India religion now-a-days is in twofold danger. On the one hand the influence of the Western scientific education and material progress translates itself as an awful doubt and tends to wipe away all religious faith and give an undue and enormous importance to the matters of external phenomenal world only, while the old orthodox systems with their crushing weight and unplastic rigidity drag it to the other extreme. To discover the real truth, what Dr. Bhagavan Das calls the "golden mean", the spirit of religion, and to allow a true expression of one soul's aspiration and free play of its inner forces is far more important at present than anything else in the world. This little book points the straight way with an unerring finger and is a very good guide to an individual wanderer as well as for the masses, and specially for India it will be of great help and use to dispel the dark clouds of superstition and ignorance that are floating over the atmosphere today.

It is an extremely difficult task to apply the philosophical terms of one religion to another, for there are intricacies of thoughts and conceptions that differ greatly in their inner sense, but the accuracy with which it is done in this book is extremely praiseworthy and striking. The passages selected from various scriptures are appropriate and correct and its quotations do supply very instructive material for a comparative study of religions.

AGA SYED IBRAHIM DARA

Saptapadarthi of Sivaditya.–[Edited with Introduction, Translation, and Notes by Mr. D. Gurumurti, M.A., (Hons), Vice-Principal and Professor of Philosophy, Theosophical College, Madanapalle. With a foreword by Sir S. Radhakrishnan, Kt.Vice-Chancellor, Andhra University. Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Madras (245 pages). Price Rs. 2-8.]

The Saptapadarthi (the compendium of the seven categories) is a work on Indian Logic, but, as its name indicates, it is neither purely Nyaya nor purely Vaiseshika, inasmuch as these Darsanas admit sixteen and six categories or Padarthas respectively. It represents a harmonious combination, or better, co-ordination of the two systems, which was possible, seeing that each of them was lacking in just what the other had and thus each could easily supplement the other. The Nyaya with its clear analysis of cognition, and the Vaiseshika with its careful investigation of the categories could be fused together to their mutual advantage. It may be said that Sivaditya heralded this syncretist period in the history of the Nyaya-Vaiseshika and set the fashion for many others to imitate.

Sivaditya follows the traditional method of exposition which consists in enumerating the topics to be investigated into ‘Uddesa’, the definition of the terms, ‘Lakshana’, and the enquiry into the admissibility or otherwise of the various entities (Pariksha). The book is almost uniformly distributed over these three sections. Nihsreyasa (or Moksha) can be obtained by Tattvajnana which is fourfold, viz., ‘Sravana,’ ‘Manana’, ‘Nididhyasana’ and ‘Sakshatkara.’ It brings about the end of all misery by destroying the cause of ignorance. Tattva is the unsupenmposed essence of things. Sivaditya admits only two ‘pramanas,’ which has led some to look upon hisbook as a Vaiseshika Prakarana. Except for a few minor changes, the treatment proceeds along the same lines as those in ‘Tarka Sangraha.’ As the translator puts it, "In a small compass Sivaditya has been able to condense all the important doctrines of Nyaya and Vaiseshika systems."

The book has been embellished by Prof. Gurumurthi with a scholarly Introduction containing a brief history of the Nyaya-Vaiseshika in general, a critical exposition of the doctrines of the system, and a historical note on the authorship of the book. In spite of all that the learned professor has said in the Introduction as well as in appendix (A), one cannot subscribe to the statement that Sivaditya preceded Udayana. (Vide Mr. S. Kuppuswami Sastri’s ‘Primer of Indian Logic’ Introduction pp. XLV; Prof. Ghate’s article on Sivaditya’s Saptapadarthi. pp. 34; Vol XXIII. B. B. R. A. S., and Mr. Bodas’ Introduction to Athalye’s Edition of Tarka Sangraha, pp. XLVI.)

Though he has depended upon other printed editions of the book, still he has given a fairly correct edition of the text excepting in two or three places, as for instance in Sakshatkari Jnana Karanam.

The transliteration, considering the present needs of India, appears superfluous. The utility of the book would have been greater still if it had been replaced by a good commentary, say, the Mitabhashini, which, in the words of the Editor, is the clearest and shows considerable philosophical acumen. The translation is really praiseworthy though one might wish it were better here and there.

The notes attached to each section are really of immense value for a college student. Parallels in Aristotelian Logic, like the Tree of Prophyry, Summum genus, infima species, are appropriately introduced and explained. The "inspection" of Bradley is said to correspond to Paramarsha and the Adrishta of Nyaya is considered parallel to the "pre-established harmony" of Leibnitz. How the concept of Abhava which took its birth as a logical necessity was transformed into an ontological category is well explained. In the notes on Samavaya it is clearly pointed out how that category is mainly responsible for the realism of Nyaya.

We have however to observe that the notes on section 18 appear to us to go somewhat beyond the original. The statement ‘Akashaditrayam’ –(p 19) does not imply an identity of Akasa, Kala and Dik as the Professor thinks. If Sivaditya meant to identify the three Dravyas then his ninefold classification of Dravya (Section 4) would be vitiated: In sections 15, 16 and 17 he has spoken of Akasa, Kala and Dik as manifold, threefold and eleven-fold respectively. In section 18 he says that such a further classification of the three Dravyas is only due to the limiting conditions each of them actually being integral. (vide Ghate’s notes on section 15). The attempt to make Sivaditya anticipate Bergson, Einstein, and the modern physicists, though flattering to ourselves, does not appear to be quite convincing. The learned Editor has taken great pains in getting up the appendices, bibliography and index which are attractive features of the book which enhance its value. Barring the few points of difference of a minor character which we have noted above, we whole-heartedly concur in the opinion of the Vice-Chancellor of the Andhra University who observes that "this edition of Saptapadarthi", will be, "a suitable text book for the B.A. classes in Indian Philosophy," and we offer our congratulations also to the Editor on the ‘solid piece’ of work he has done.

M. LAKSHMINARASIMHAYYA

In The Temple of Truth.–APoem by G. Ramakantacharya, B. A., [With a foreword byProf P. Seshadri, M. A., Messrs Padma & Co., Bapatla, Price Re 1].

The poem is based on an incident in the life of Sri Ramanuja. His Guru had taught him the eight-syllabled mantra–"the golden key and fair that opes the Immortal Gates of Heaven." Contrary to the pledge of secrecy imposed on him, young Ramanuja went up the temple tower, and proclaimed the mantra to high and low alike. This is typical of the attitude of the great Reformer towards the lowly and the down-trodden who are ordinarily denied the consolations of religion. Mr. Acharya, in subsequent sections, ex-pounds the essential truths of the Vedic religion in mellifluous verse. The entire poem is a creditable performance. The author commands a simple, chaste style, and he has used his great talents in a worthy cause. When it is remembered that he is a busy official, bound to routine work, this literary venture appears all the more praiseworthy.

K.R.

GUJARATI

Jivan Joyti.–By Vallabh Bhanji Mehta of Morvi, Kathiawad. [Printed at the Saraswati Printing Press, Bhavnagar. Cloth bound. pp. 232. Price Re. 1-4-0, 1933]

This book of verses has been inspired by Kavi Khabardar’s Darshanika, and is modelled on it. It is divided into three sections, Karma, Bhakti and Jnana, and the verses naturally repeat the sentiments and principles found in the Gita and the Upanishads. Though the subject matter is more philosophical than poetical, still by means of homely language and familiar illustrations, the writer has been able to convey his thoughts in a way which his readers would not find it difficult to follow. The metre (Zulua Chhand) chosen for the versesis indeed very suitable for the subject and the linea run smoothly. The book should become popular.

K. M. J.

TELUGU

Nirvachana Bhagavatha Ramayanam.–By Ravipati Lakshminarayana, Taluk office, Gurazala, Guntur Dt. [Price As. 8.]

Telugu literature is remarkable not only for its poetic riches but also for the wonderful literary feats that it has made possible. Whole Kavyas have been written yielding, in one strain, several meanings and several stories. Besides, verses have been inlaid with verses, stories with stories, in a manner so dexterous and masterful as to mystify the ordinary reader. The book under review belongs to the category of such literary efforts as have been described above. The story of the Ramayana is narrated in verses which contain in themselves each a different verse, the collection of the latter producing the uninterrupted story of the Mahabbarata. The whole work is an example of garbha-kavita and is a novel addition to the Telugu literature. It reveals the author’s mastery over the metres and the language, and entertains the reader with the surprising variety of meanings strung with foresight and with care. Having thus paid the tribute that is due to the work, we are free to confess that the feat-complex in literature is of a derogatory character so far as pure poetry is concerned. Words assume an absurd importance and thought falls into obscurity. Modern taste has outgrown a fondness for such literary efforts, and we hope the author will not rest content with the type of work that he has produced, but will turn to the fresh fields of pure poetry.

G.V.S

Amaravati Stupam and other Essays.–By M. Somasekhara Sarma [Published by the Author, 1/11 Audiappa Mudali Street, Purasawalkum, Madras. Price As. 12/-]

This is a collection of five valuable essays contributed by the author from time to time to the Bharati, and to the Samadarsini, and Andhrapatrika Annuals. They deal with (1) The Amaravati Stupa (2) Ancient Vocational Education (3) Our Ancient Seats of Learning (4) Neglected Literature and (5) Research into Buddhist Literature. They thus cover a wide range of subjects, and serve to illustrate the author’s varied tastes. Mr. Sarma’s main object is to direct the attention of an indifferent public to certain aspects of our culture, ancient and modern. To the scholar’s accuracy and precision, he adds the patriot’s fervour. His style is rich, not gaudy. It is an expression of an inner richness of thought and feeling. His essay on the neglected folk literature is particularly appealing and reminds one of Addison’s essay on ‘Chevy Chase.’ Research scholars and epigraphists are usually imagined to be a prosaic set of people, but Mr. Sarma is a shining example of a scholar who is gifted with imagination, and who literally makes ‘dead bones live.’ We heartily commend this volume to our Telugu readers.

K. R.