Reviews

The Essential Unity of all Religions by Dr. Bhagavan Das, (Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Madras, 20.)

The different religious traditions clothe the one reality in various images, and their visions could embrace and fertilize each other, so as to give mankind a many-sided perfection. What is needed ii a fellowship (and not a fusion) of faiths. We need an outlook on life reverent to the eternal values and responsive to temporal events.

Bharataratna Dr. Bhagavandas, the distinguished scholar and philosopher, demonstrates this thesis in his monumental work on the essential unity of all religions. Eleven religions, viz., 1. Shintoism, 2. Taoism (or Laotsism), 3. Confucianism, 4. Vedism (or Sanatana Dharma, commonly called Hinduism), 5. Buddhism, 6. Jainism, 7. Sikhism, 8. Zoroastrianism, 9. Judaism, 10. Christianity and 11. Islam are usually regarded as great, living, and current at present. The book is evidently the result of a laborious study of all these, and contemplation spread over a long period, and brings together 1150 parallel texts from the sacred books of these eleven living religions of the world, in the original, with their English translations. All these texts are arranged systematically in three parts: 1. the way of knowledge (Jnana), 2. the way of devotion (Bhakti), 3. the way of works (Karma) which are also shown to be common to all religions. The author succeeds in developing a taste in the readers for discovering identities of thought in great records of the deepest human experience in different languages. Without attaining such synthesis, humanity cannot attain happiness here or elsewhere.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the President of India, in his Foreword to this book, rightly observes that the reason for the repetition of crusades, Jehads and individual persecutions was that the people had not cared to study and understand the fundamentals of different religions, and instead of appreciating their essential unity, laid emphasis on the differences of form. Pursuit of wisdom and practice of love are the basic assumptions of all living faiths. In the words of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the scholar-philosopher, this book which points out that there is a transcendent unity of religions, in spite of the apparent empirical diversity, helps towards inter-religious understanding.

Dr. Bhagavan Das, with his encyclopaedic knowledge of the origin and growth of different religions, has made a notable contribution towards bringing people together on the plane of mind and spirit. In the fitness of things, there is no copyright in this book. The author feels, evidently that there can be no originality in truth and there is only one eternal Truth for all to copy. Herein he reminds us of Count Leo Tolstoy, who renounced copyright over his books. This is a book that deserves to be read, re-read and digested inwardly. A great book like this is like a great symphony which must be heard many times before it can be really understood. The motto of live and let live, of tolerance and of toleration, and above all, the Realisation of unity in diversity, is reflected in every page of this book. When the mass man becomes the moral man, a community of mind with universal loyalty is created and it becomes possible to live up to this motto.

The author strives his utmost to clear the mists of misunderstanding and give to the world a friendly countenance and character calculated to dissolve the rigid postures and frozen attitudes and unveil rich horizons of the human spirit. Asoka in his 12th Edict proclaimed, “He who does reverence to his own sect, while disparaging the sects of others, wholly from attachment to his own, with intent to enhance the glory of his own sect, inreality, by such conduct, inflicts the severest injury on his own sect. Concord therefore is meritorious.” In this connection, altruistic ideals like Sarvesham Santirbhavatu, Sarve Janah Sukhinobhavantu, Sarvadeva Namaskara, meaning let there be all round peace and happiness, equal homage to all Gods, are significant. The printing and get up leaves nothing to be desired. The book deserves to be translated into the different languages of the world. It is a great book that the Doctor has given to philosophers and pious men for reverent study, as Rajaji aptly puts it in the course of his appreciation.

P. RAJESWARA RAO

108 Kritis of Sri Tyagaraja. With Text and Notation in Devanagari Script with Gamaka Signs. By C. S. Ayyar, B. A. (With a Foreword by Musiri Subrahmanya Iyer, Sangita Kalanidhi. Published by the Author at 46, Edward Elliots Road, Madras 4. Price Rs. 10. Postage Extra.)

Great poets and composers belong to the world and not to any geographically limited area. It is a mistake to call Tyagaraja a Telugu composer and Rabindranath a Bengali poet. And whatever the race or religion, and the language in which the creative artists expressed themselves, they have sought Truth and their paths, though different, have led them to One God. Tyagaraja’s in his musical compositions is the supremest expression of the universal mind. Since there is nothing like a universal script which everybody in the world could read, Devanagari, known to many people in India, in. spite of the fact that the country is linguistically broken up now, has been adopted by Mr. C. S. Ayyar to present a hundred and eight kritis of Tyagaraja. The publication happily coincided with the hundred and eighth year of the musician-saint’s death. To the inestimable value of the Sanskrit script, Mr. Ayyar has added further: very tactfully he has introduced the extra letters of Telugu by means of symbols.

The crown and glory of Karnatic Music are its graces and quartertones. To notate a composition completely, with all the gamakas and srutis, is an impossible task. To a person well-versed in Karnatic music, the graces and quarter-tones come spontaneously. The mere mention of the name of the raga on the top of the kriti would suffice for him. But, since the aim of the book under review, according to its editor, is to “give Hindustani musicians in particular, and the world at large, a clear grasp of the melodies themselves,” the use of some of the gamaka signs (peculiar to violin–as the three violin plates show) is really a welcome feature.

But the gamaka ‘Andolika’, says the author in his Grammar of South Indian Karnatic Music is “a word I have coined to mean a shorter Andola, that is a gamaka within the same svara,” This is only Andolita, a gamaka described by Sarangadeva; Aandolito laghuvegataha. And Andolika is the name of a raga as well.

Tyagaraja’s compositions are very pliable and offer great scope for modulations. His direct disciples preserved in palm leaves the compositions taught to them. Even then pieces attained slight variations in each disciple’s hand and hence the versions such as the Walajapet paddhati, the Umayalpuram paddhati etc. These direct disciples in their turn have taught many more of their own students who were innumerable, so that at present one comes across a music school in every street, Thus the compositions of Tyagaraja are so deviated from the original that even the front-rank musicians, instead of trying to preserve the authenticity of the piece show off their skill by polishing and embellishing the kriti. This assuredly is not to its advantage.

To record the pieces of great composers, the original tune of the composition has got to be maintained. This Mr. Ayyar has competently done. His capacity to take pains has been immense. While he hopes for a world-wide recognition of his work, and legitimately too, one feels that 108 Kritis of Sri Tyagaraja would have been complete if the author had given all the charanas for the multi-charana pieces and a general annotation for each composition. But, all the same, we are his debtors, for what he has given us; his is a noble enterprise in the vast and difficult field of music.

ANNAPURNA ISVARAN

Buddha Jayanti Souvenir. (Published by the Buddha Jayanti Celebrations Committee, Muktyala, Krishna Dt. Price Rs. 6)

Some of the imperishable monuments in stone and lime, of unforgettable episodes from the life of Lord Buddha, are recaptured here in photographs as well as graphic descriptions from the pens of art-critics and scholars of Andhra Desa who have made a fit occasion of the 2500th Parinirvana of the Buddha, to present the world of art-lovers and students of history with a well-illustrated Buddha Jayanti Souvenir volume.

Apart from messages of persons of importance to mark the occasion, there is a good number of valuable articles written specially for the occasion as well as others reprinted from earlier existing writings of eminent men. One such extract belonging to an earlier speech of Mahatma Gandhi, so long ago as 1925, looks fitting enough to take the place of honour. Indeed, a sentence as the one ‘In my opinion Buddha lived Hinduism in his own life’, or the other one ‘I found, Buddhism is nothing but Hinduism reduced to practice in terms of the masses’ may go a great way to disabuse minds, in some quarters, of a belief in a totally new religion founded by the Buddha.

The essays gathered here range in their subject-matter from an ardent appreciation of some of the wonderful friezes and bas-reliefs of sculptures in such historical places as Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, Jagayyapeta, Ghantasala and Bhattiprolu, to erudite discussions pertaining to some of the great masters and teachers of Buddhism who made Andhra their centre of teaching. Thus Nagarjuna, Aryasena, Dignaga and Bhavaviveka come in for short sketches of their lives and messages to humanity. A scrutiny of Buddhistic art in historical perspective has been made by P. R. Srinivasan in a brief survey, of pre-Buddhistic Art, while P. R. Ramachandra Rao has dwelt on the influence of Andhra art on subsequent styles in South India and the East. Somasekhara Sarma diverts us with a dissertation upon the tooth of the Buddha which became the bone of contention and the cause of strife among the prominent rulers of the times. ‘Buddhism after the Buddha’, ‘Buddhism absorbed in Hinduism’, and ‘Prakrit Inscriptions in Andhra’ throw sufficient light on research made by scholars so far in the respective fields.

Some of the picture’s included here, of sculpture from China, both in stone and lacquered wood, are remarkable specimens of expressive art under the influence of a great art tradition which blossomed forth with the Buddhistic revival in countries far away from the homeland of Buddhism itself.

We feel that souvenirs as the one under review are the true indications of a wide culture and love of art, so much inborn as well as cherished in a sacred land, and by followers of a religion which tolerated every other true progenitor of culture and spiritual outlook.

K. CHANDRASEKHARAN

On Art by Nandalal Bose (Kalakshetra Publications, Adyar, Madras-20, India. first Edition 1956. Price Rs. 10)

‘Art is creation. It is not an imitation of nature. The dynamic urge and the deathless energy that are in nature are active, too, in the artist’s own nature; imitation therefore has no purpose or meaning.’

Perhaps, the above passage sums up succinctly the entire basis of Indian Art. Those who are yet uneducated in the values of Indian Art, because of a certain lack of optical illusion in it which they are familiar with in Western representations, bound up as they are with rules of perspective, may find here enough material to make them conscious of a vast region till now concealed from their view. Let us then listen to what a Master-painter of our times has to say on one of the most vital of factors necessary for art-appreciation:

‘...one should remember that a picture is not a vision solely visible to our eyes.’

‘To our mind’s eye the distant may be as good as the near and a nearby object grown quite small or totally lost in a loss of emphasis or attention. There are no fixed standards of measurement for the mind and distances are only relative, that is, related to its moods. An Oriental artist either knows this or has this knowledge at the of his mind. He, therefore, denies that a break of our eye-habit or an over-stepping of the rules of natural perspective must necessarily spoil rhythm and beauty in his creations. The mind is the artist and not the eye. It is the mind that looks at and responds to the created beauty.’

These and more vital aspects pertaining to the philosophy of art are discussed in the pages of this very handsomely got up volume of the Kalakshetra Publications. The author of this monograph, famous as no doubt he is for his art-creations, is no less brilliant and clear while dealing with topics intimately connected with art and art-appreciation.

Eleven chapters inall, each bearing a title that itself is suggestive of the significant contents, are supplying the initiated, and the uninitiated as well, with sufficient information to enable them profit much by a careful study of and reflection upon them. We are sure to feel that art is long and time alone is short. Indeed but for our absorbed wooing of arts we could never attain anywhere near them. No matter what we are, let us try to become better. Let us reckon that the loss of a sense of beauty not only cuts off a large measure of emotional uplift but leads to an impairment of physical and mental health.

K. CHANDRASEKHARAN

Teacher and Friend: Being Volume I of Jesus Christ–Teacher and Lord by Anjilvel V. Matthew, M. Ed., Ph. D. (Bombay Tract and Book Society, Bombay 8. Price One Dollar or Rs.5)

Dr. Anjilvel V. Matthew’s Teacher and Friend which forms the first volume of Jesus Christ–Teacher and Lord provides very absorbing reading for its qualities of intelligent precision and clarity. Dr. Matthew, devout Christian, is a reputed name in the field of education, his specialist study consisting in his application of up-to-date advanced psychological analysis to an understanding of Christianity. Conceived and presented as a Book of Devotions, the volume carries 365 Meditations, one for each day of the year–all based on the teachings of Jesus, “his recorded words.” The ground covered is extensive; every human problem, every aspect of human life has been touched upon with an admirable relevancy. The scheme for daily studies in the Gospels, to supplement the prayer, given under each section, shows the thoroughness with which the work has been done. Here opens out a domain of spiritual light and opulence; a prayer a day can well be an aid for any kind of readjustment in adult life, and for the vital development of young lives toward faith, hope, and charity.

MANJERI S. ISVARAN

Painted Tigers–Stories by Manjeri S. Isvaran (Copies can be had from P. Mahadevan, Book-seller, Madras 4. Pp. 134. Rs. 3.)

Sri Isvaran is an outstanding writer of South India, with an assured place among the foremost of the Indo-Anglian writers of the time. This volume of short stories in English should therefore need no introduction or commendation to the readers of Triveni. The distinguishing features and recognsied excellences of the author’s work are all in evidence in this publication,–seriousness and sincerity, psychological analysis, poetic form and symbolism, powerful imagination, and a rare felicity of expression.

In the title story of this volume and in another ‘Mango Lane’, he seems to surpass himself in all his characteristic features, and his art reaches a very high level of excellence. He presents vivid and realistic pictures of obscure and out-of-the-way aspects of Indian life and manners. The glimpses of Indian life presented here should prove particularly attractive to foreigners keen on understanding the basic facts of our national life and character.

M. S. K.

A Critique of the Five Year Plans by Prof. M. B. Lal, till recently Professor of Politics in the Hindu University. (Published by Janatantric Samajvadi Mandal, Banaras).

This is the first effort of Prof. Lal after resigning his job and joining the P. S. Party as an active worker. When a professor turns into a professional politician, his works cannot be brushed aside as mere political propaganda. Prof. Lal catalogues a number of draws of the two Five Year Plans, and it is interesting that he quotes toe Plans themselves in support of his viewpoint. It deserves to be read by all, planners as well as students, not with a view to merely criticising the Plans, but to understand the direction in which improvements should be sought in future.

Parliamentary Democracy; Report of the First All-India Seminar. (Published by the Indian Bureau of Parliamentary Studies, 16, Golf Link Road, New Delhi. Price Rs. 2/8.)

It may well be said of the present day Indians, politicians as well as laymen, that they had made a Constitution and forgot about it completely. A democratic Constitution lives by criticism, otherwise either it perishes or turns into an instrument of dictatorship. It is in the light of the danger that we should specially welcome such studies in the working of our parliamentary democracy as the one sponsored by the Indian Bureau of Parliamentary Studies. What is now published is the Report of the First Seminar held in February, 1956 Though much of it deserves to be deleted, and seems to have been included more for show than for scholarship, there are a few contributions which deserve our special study, as they give an insight into the actual working of our system. Mention should specially be made of those of P. Kodanda Rao, M. N. Kaul, N. C. Chatterjee, and V. B. Gandhi. The Report deserves to be read by all well-wishers of Indian Democracy.

K. V. RAO

SAMSKRIT

Mahamahopadhya Tata Subbaraya Sastry Mahodaya by Sri Karna Vira Nageswara Rao. (Copies can be had from the Author, Vetapalem P. O. Bapatla Taluk, Andhra Pradesh. Pages 34. Price As. 12)

The author, in this brochure, describes in brief, the life and achievements of the late M. M. T. Subbaraya Sastry, a renowned Samskrit scholar, an unrivalled dialecticism and, above all, an able teacher who taught intricate subjects with ease and clarity. He handed on his torch to many of his pupils who are now spread throughout the Andhra country. This book is written in such a simple and chaste Samskrit prose that any person even with a smattering of Samskrit can easily understand it. We commend the author for the felicity of expression that is his and eagerly await his other publications.

B. K. R.

TELUGU

Sasikala by Adivi Bapiraju. (Copies can be had from Venkatrama & Co., Vijayawada. Pages 6 plus 114 Price Re. 1)

The author of this pleasing collection of lyrics was both a poet and a painter of high rank; and herein, the ‘artist’ in the author is seen pining for the sacred union with his divine sweet-heart, the Goddess of Art and Beauty. To her he gives a name ‘Sasikala’ and a local habitation in between the Sun and the Moon who, he says, are her parents. The path of the clouds is her lovely face and the moving clouds are her curling hair. Twinkling stars form her eyes and the dawn is her rosy lip. For her he yearns from his childhood, prays and searches for her, and at long last be has a fleeting viswn of her bewitching form. She is not only his sweetheart, but also a yogini whom he approaches with the utmost care and reverence. He places his flowers of worship, not on her feet but on the threshold of her temple, in order to avoid annoyance to her. He sings of her within himself but not aloud, lest he should disturb her silence. She is again a Goddess to him, whom he worships with the garlands of his looks and the incense of his breathings, within the temple of his own heart. At last she comes down, embraces him, soars high up into regions unknown, makes him divine and now their souls become one. Art is his and he is Art. This, in short, is the substance of the lyrics.

All these enchanting lyrics embody worthy feeling and sincerity of utterance. The chiselled language and remarkable imagery are characterised not only by beauty but also by propriety. As many of these lyrics were already set to music and sung by the author himself over AIR, the editors might have indicated the Ragas of all the lyrics herein, lightening thereby the job of the songsters also. We wish a wide circulation to this book.

B. K. R.