'The Triple Stream'

. . . he that laboureth right for love of Me
Shall finally attain! But, if in this
Thy faint heart fails, bring Me thy failure!

-The Song Celestial

‘The Triple Stream’¹

FIVE YEARS OF ‘ TRIVENI’

Triveni enters on its sixth year with the blessings of a leading scholar and statesman of India,–a great representative of her culture, and her ambassador among the nations. In seeking to interpret the soul of modern India, Triveni has striven from the beginning to enlist the goodwill of men and women of diverse temperaments and schools of thought, but united in their zeal for Indian progress and for fruitful co-operation with the outside world. Help in the shape of money and literary contributions has all along flowed into Triveni from every source, to supplement the slender resources of the Editor. The thorns in his path have thus been transmuted into roses, fragrant and bright. The period of perpetual struggle to keep the Journal alive is definitely over. It is now possible to devote time and attention to the task of making Triveni, in a greater measure than at present, a messenger of the Indian Renaissance.

‘MORE THAN MOTHER’

It is but a few hours since the sacred fire consumed the physical frame of one so inexpressibly dear to us. Dr. Annie Besant, friend of humanity, fighter of forlorn causes, inspirer of great thoughts and noble deeds, is no more. In a beautiful spot near her Indian home, where the Adyar river rushes to join the sea, we watched the flames shoot up from her perfumed bier. Yet, it is difficult to realise that her voice has been stilled in death, that she will soon be a memory. Many of us have lisped her name in childhood, and through boyhood, youth, and early manhood, learnt to love her as more than a mother and to reverence her as a leader. She was the mother of a nation, nursing it into strength and tenderly watching over its destiny. Many tributes are being paid to her, and many memorials will be erected. With every Indian, her memory will abide as a precious possession. Her constant regret was that she was not born an Indian; but which Indian could claim that his love for India was greater than hers? During the long months that she waited for the call, like Bhishma the warrior of ancient India, her one desire was to be reborn in India and carry forward to a crowning triumph her great work for India. May she soon return!

A WORLD-CONSCIENCE

"So long as one man is in prison, I am not free; so long as one nation is subject, I belong to it." Such is the maxim that Sir S. Radhakrishnan would have us adopt "in our lives–and with our lives." As the Indian member of the International Commission on Intellectual Co-operation, he put forward an eloquent plea for the building up of a world-soul, a world-culture, and a world-conscience, "to inform and animate the one world-body." He believes that the Eastern nations, China and India, who are pacifist by tradition and temperament, have a good deal to contribute to the new world-culture. He exhorts those who stand up for the ideals of peace among the nations, of social progress and of human brotherhood, to equip themselves not only with mental agility but also the moral courage to suffer for their ideals.

From India, as yet unfree and struggling to express her inmost soul, has come forth the message of peace. Gandhi and Besant, Tagore and Radhakrishnan, have in recent years broadcast this message wherever they have gone. But India lacks the effective power to influence the world's decisions in matters of high policy. She is present at international conferences almost by sufferance; her delegates are nominated by Britain and are obliged generally to follow the lead of the British delegation. With limited opportunities for doing good, the message of her prophets of peace may be stifled; but in the spacious times ahead, her voice will be heard. The light that is lighted at Sabarmati and Adyar, at Shantiniketan and Waltair will illumine the dark places of the world. India is not bidding for domination; She wants an opportunity to co-operate with other nations in developing the world-conscience of which Sir S. Radhakrishnan speaks.

AN INDIAN ACADEMY

We invite the attention of our readers to Dr. P. Guha-Thakurta's proposa1 for an Indian Academy to guide the cultural movements of today. Some years ago, Dr. James H. Cousins planned an academy on similar lines. He sent round letters to important individuals and institutions in all provinces, but the response was disappointing. His intention was to get together the leading poets, artists, and writers in each linguistic unit, and through their co-operation, to enrich the expression of the renaissance spirit. Only last year, in his address to the Lucknow University, Mr. K. S. Venkataramani argued for a more organised effort to co-ordinate the cultural movements allover India, so that the best in modern Indian thought may be presented to the world.

Indian literature and art are in a stage of transition, breaking away from the fetters of tradition, but unable as yet to fashion the new. An academy such as Dr. Guha-Thakurta envisages is a real need. But learned societies have a way of transforming themselves into strongholds of reaction and obscurantism. In South India there is an academy which has rendered important services to Telugu literature. But it is so much obsessed with the idea of conserving the old that it has arrayed itself against all progressive tendencies. In its view, the new poetry, the new story, and all else that is new in literature or art is a symptom of decadence. Masterpieces of literature like Subbarao's Yenki Songs, Viswanatha's Songs of Kinnerasani, Krishna Sastri's Krishnapaksham, and Dikihitulu's Sabari convey no meaning to them. Possibly there are other reactionary academies in India. Most English-men, we learn, have a rooted prejudice against literary tribunals, Matthew Arnold notwithstanding. Everything of course depends on the constitution, functions, and methods of the proposed Academy. We are not combating Dr. Guha-Thakurta s view but are only concerned to point out a possible danger. Informal groups of literary men like the ‘Sahiti Samiti’ in Andhra, and the ‘Geleyara Gumpu’ in Karnataka have achieved notable success. The first effort of an all-India Academy should be to come into touch with these groups, and to form provincial committees to aid the central body. We gladly invite correspondence on this subject of vital importance to the future of Indian culture.

THE CONGRESS MIND

After his release, Gandhiji decided not to take part personally in the civil disobedience movement during the un-expired portion of the sentence of imprisonment. Other Congressmen are free to pursue the Poona programme, on their own initiative. Gandhiji will spare no efforts to achieve peace, but there are no indications of a corresponding willingness on the part of the Government to meet him half-way. The Congress is where it was months ago. Prominent leaders just released from prison are anxious to find their way to what has virtually become their home for years. They do not consider that the Mahatma's abstention relieves them of responsibility to continue the struggle, even in its present attenuated form. On the other hand, they seem to feel that this is an additional reason why his lieutenants should not lower the flag. According to them, the Gandhi-Irwin Pact is the nation's greatest achievement in recent times. The Governments, here and in England, considered the Pact a regrettable blunder. A successful attempt was therefore made to recapture the position, so that today the nation is deprived of the fruits of its victory. No alternative programme is calculated to develop the nation's strength and enable it once again to treat with the Government on equal terms. Such, in brief, is the Congress mind.

1 September 21, 1933.